Whither UN Peacekeeping
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Whither UN Peacekeeping
| Author(s) | Berdal, Mats |
|---|---|
| Abstract | This paper examines how the UN’s capability for peacekeeping activities, including operations pioneered since 1988, may be strengthened. It emphasizes, however, that peacekeeping is still a secondary activity, whose practice must be placed within the broader framework of the diplomatic and military instruments available for resolving disputes among and within states. Much like arms control, peacekeeping is part of a wider political process which cannot alone resolve violent conflict in the international system. Chapter I analyses the range of tasks in which UN forces have become involved and singles out those categories towards which planning, the development of joint doctrine and training should be directed. It considers how these relate to the historical experience of peacekeeping and discusses their military requirements in terms of force structure, technology and concepts of operations. It also addresses the difficulties inherent in the conduct of operations which, although fundamentally consent-based, involve policing functions and low-level operations. The second chapter examines the challenges facing contemporary peacekeeping and the difficulties caused by the application of customary principles and practices to the operations enumerated in Chapter I. Specifically, it explores how the self-imposed restraints which have come to characterize UN peacekeeping – its ad hoc mounting procedures, the lack of pre-deployment planning, its complex procurement system, restrictions on the use of force and the availability of military intelligence – are affecting the ability of peacekeepers to carry out their assigned tasks. The chapter also considers the impact of the aforementioned restraints in the areas of logistics support, command and control, and the quality of UN troops and civilian staff. The question of funding for UN peacekeeping is only addressed to the extent that it impinges directly on field operations. Chapter III examines how the UN, in spite of recent initiatives has failed to acquire the management structure or resources necessary to plan, mount and sustain field operations effectively. It identifies current reform measures, as well as new initiatives, that will address the deficiencies outlined in the preceding chapter. Specific measures include: establishing a central planning agency in the Secretariat: assigning support units for UN duty while simultaneously pre-stocking general-purpose equipment; and securing formal agreements for strategic and tactical airlift from key member-states. Finally, the chapter highlights the need to improve the UN’s information-processing and early-warning capabilities, and considers how the world body may benefit from functional cooperation with regional organisations. |
| IssueNo | |
| Pages | 2-88 |
| Article | Access to Article |
| Source | Adelphi Papers No. 281 |
| VolumeNo | |
| PubDate | March1993 |
| ISBN_ISSN | 1857530543 |
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Political Institutions
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