The World of Peacekeeping Initiatives By Isabella Hassel
What do they do? United Nations Peacekeeping helps countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace. We are comprised of civilian, police and military personnel. (defensive help, never offensive)
3 Basic Principles Consent of the parties Impartiality Non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate
Back Story There have been many UN peacekeeping operations started since its establishment in 1948. Currently, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, with the support of the Department of Field Support, manages 17 operations deployed across five continents.
A High Success Rate Since 1945, UN peacekeepers have undertaken 64 field missions This among many other things, enabled people in more than 45 countries to participate in free and fair elections, and helped disarm more than 400,000 ex-combatants in the past decade alone
UN Peacekeeping is Cost Effective UN Peace Operations that are far less expensive than other forms of international intervention and their costs are shared more equally among UN Member States. A study by the US Government Accountability Office estimated that it would cost the United States approximately twice as much as the UN to conduct a peacekeeping operation similar to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti $876 million compared to the UN budgeted $428 million for the first 14 months of the mission.
Hot Spots in Need of Help Recently, UN peace missions have supported elections in eight post-conflict countries Nepal, Afghanistan, Burundi, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, the DRC and Timor-Leste with populations totaling over 120 million people, giving more than 57 million registered voters the chance to exercise their democratic rights.
Darfur Sudan is Africa s largest country, located just south of Egypt on the eastern edge of the Sahara desert. The Darfur region is a drought-prone area of western Sudan. By area, Darfur is roughly the size of Texas and is divided into three states that had a collective population of approximately 6 million people before the crisis in Darfur began in 2003. They exist largely on subsistence farming or nomadic herding. There are between 40 and 80 ethnic groups in Darfur. Despite being a country of many ethnicities, there has been a history of peaceful coexistence.
Focus on Darfur A civil war erupted in Darfur in 2003 between the Government of Sudan (the president, Al- Bashir) and its allied militia, and other armed rebel groups. Particularly during the first two years of the conflict, hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Fighting continues between the Government and the now splintered movements, and 1.8 million people are estimated to be internally displaced.
Up to 300,000 people are thought to have died and nearly two million have fled from their homes in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003. Over 400 villages destroyed Widespread atrocities such as the murder of civilians and the rape of women and girls have been committed and continue. The UN raised the alarm on the crisis in Darfur in 2003 and finding a lasting resolution has been a top priority for the Security Council.
UNAMID (African Union- United Nations Mission in Darfur) The mission s headquarters is in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. At full strength, UNAMID will have almost 20,000 troops, more than 6,000 police and a significant civilian component, making it one of the largest UN peacekeeping operations in history. Its budget is also largest of UN peacekeeping operations. However, UNAMID s full deployment has been hampered by a lack of cooperation from the Government of Sudan, delays in the readiness of troop and police contributors to deploy, the prohibitive environment, and the immense logistical challenges inherent to Darfur. As of early 2011, the force on the ground has reached nearly 90 per cent of its mandated deployment. UNAMID currently still continues to face shortfalls in critical transport and aviation assets (i.e. utility and light tactical helicopters). The Secretary-General has led appeals to the international community to provide the mission with the capabilities it needs, especially helicopters, so that it can live up to the expectations of the people of Darfur.
Current Humanitarian Initiative The African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur, was established on 31 July 2007 and continues to the present New Phase of Operation Spring Basket reached more remote areas in North Darfur (El Fasher, 12 June 2011) Goal is clear: protecting civilians, facilitating humanitarian aid and helping political processes in Darfur- success but assistance still needed
A woman participates in a Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program supported by UNAMID
http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-map-2008.jpg http://www.africa.upenn.edu/home_page/africamap.gif http://www.sd.undp.org/undp%20darfur.htm http://unamid.unmissions.org/default.aspx?tabid=888 http://www.unocha.org/where-we-work/sudan http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/learn