1. United Nations:
Peacekeeping and
Peacebuilding
Sam Mehr, Sam McNerney, Hayley
Alderman, Shakib Hoque

2. Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
• “Certainly the idea of an international police force
effective against a big disturber of the peace seems
today unrealizable to the point of absurdity.”
–Lester B. Pearson

3. Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
• UN has not lived up to the high expectations of its
founders
• Illustrated by this fact: 1948-1988 UNSC authorized 13 peacekeeping
missions, while in that time an increasing number of interstate and
intrastate wars took place. In 1982 alone, more than 40 intrastate
conflicts were under way.

4. Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
• UN Charter did not refer to “peacekeeping,” concept
developed later on
– 51 founders rejected ideas that the organization could intervene in
internal affairs of a country. Thus peacekeeping – which eventually
meant placing military within the borders of a state for the specific
purpose of blocking hostilities – could easily be regarded as a breach
of national sovereignty.
• “Traditional” or “first generation” – peacekeeping possible only with the
consent of the hostile parties. Meant to avoid breach of national
sovereignty. Can work in reverse.

5. Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
– UN did not have the resources at hand for extensive peacekeeping
missions at the time charter was passed
– Not till mid-1950s that the first truly international (first large scale)
peacekeeping force was created
• Mid to late 1940s world was governed by European empires that assumed
they were entitled to play the role of a policing power within their
“sphere”
• As European empires and imperialism dissolved, problems and conflicts
arouse that called for a new kind of policing power (greater international
involvement)

6. Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
• SUEZ Canal
– 1956 – General Assembly passed resolution authorizing
Secretary-General to raise and deploy a UN Emergency Force
(UNEF)
• Purpose of 6,000 strong multinational peacekeeping forces was
straightforward: to erect a physical barrier between Israel and Egypt.
Worked for a decade till the Egyptian leader told UNEF to leave which
was shortly followed by the six-day war between Israel and Egypt.

7. Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
• UNEF created to soothe emergency situations. Job was not to resolve
the deeper sources of the conflict or enforce a permanent settlement.
• Peace could only be maintained if those on either side of the conflict
found it in their best interest
– Significance of Suez canal: it served as a prototype of modern
peacekeeping and its model was used in most Cold War-era
UN peacekeeping missions

8. "Generations" of Peacekeepers
• -1st (Around 1959): More focused on created physical barriers
between two internationally recognized states.
– Example: 1956 Suez Crisis
• -2nd (Around 1989-1993) Referred to as "peacebuilding", focused
more on creating political barriers between two groups through
complex multidimensional peace agreements, usually after civil
wars. Both states not required to be internationally recognized.
– Example: Cambodia 1991-1993

9. "Generations" of Peacekeepers
• -3rd : Referred to as "Peace Enforcement", focused more on
civil military actions, enforcing cease-fires, and rebuilding
failed states. Occurred oft between 1960's-1990's.
– Example: Yugoslavia and Somalia 1990's
• -4th : Rarely referred to as "peacekeeping", actions and
operations delegated to other international operations such
as NATO.
– Example: NATO in Bosnia mid 1990's-on

10. "Generations" of Peacekeepers
• The term "Generations" is misleading because
many of these different styles were used
simultaneously in different situations.

11. Peacekeeping Overreach
• After the cold war UN Peacekeeping operation dramatically expanded.
• In 1999-89, five new peacekeeping operations were added: To monitor
the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, The Iran-Iraq ceasefire, the end
fighting in Angola’s long lasting civil war, the resolution of Namibia’s
independence struggle and the ceasefires between rival factions in
Central America.
• In coming years the roster kept growing: West
Sahara, Cambodia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Somalia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Haiti, and many more.

12. Peacekeeping Overreach
• For all the new expansion of Peacekeeping new organization structures
and additional resources were required which was summarized in the
Un Secretary- General’s Agenda for Peace of January 1992.
• In the same year Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) was
created to ordinate the various peace operations.
• There was an increase of blue helmeted soldiers- 1991 there were
15000 soldiers which grew more than 76000 in 1994. So did their
peacekeeping operation by 600%. The human cost went up as well. In
1992 15 deaths in among UN Peacekeepers but in 1993 it was 252
deaths.

13. Peacekeeping Overreach
• Post- Cold War activism of the UN in peacekeeping didn’t
always produce desired results. They had to deal with civil
war situations and effectively mandated to enforce a
settlement. For Ex. EL Salvador and Mozambique where UN
Peacekeepers helped provide the internal security necessary
to achieve sustainable peace. And the Cambodia conflict
resolved through UN Advance Mission (1991-92) which was
going on for more than two decades.

14. Peacekeeping Overreach
• The whole impression of UN Peacekeeping was fading away
by the middle of the decade, largely due to three
magnificent failures. One of them was the failed operations
in Somalia (UNOSOM 1 and 2) where they weren’t able to
produce a secure environment from the civil war by the rival
militia groups. Other failures were in Rwanda and Bosnia.
• These failures didn’t completely erase the important role
that the UN Peacekeeping during Cold War and post-Cold
War but the successful afterwards reduced in comparison.

15. Reassessments
• Report of the Panel on United Nations Peacekeeping
• Commonly referred to as the “Brahimi” Report
• Lakhdar Brahimi
• March 7, 2000
• Review of United Nations peace and security activities and
recommending improvements. The report was published on
August 17, 2000. "essential to make the United Nations truly
credible as a force for peace."

16. Reassessments
• UN army or standing
• UN police force
• Lack by Member States of commitment to make available
standing peace operations personnel and resources, and
particularly its inability to carry out its mission for lack of a proper
global information collection, processing, and analysis capability.
• The UN Security Council adopted several provisions relating to
peacekeeping following the report, in 2000.

17. Reassessments
• The Secretary-General Kofi Annan, at the time, highlighted five
key areas in implementing the Brahimi report:
1. Enhancing rapid deployment of peacekeeping operations;
2. Strengthening the relationship with Member States and
legislative bodies
3. Reforming the management culture of peacekeeping operations
4. Reforming the peacekeeping operations relationship with field
missions
5. Strengthening relationships with other United Nations bodies.

18. Reassessments
• The Challenge of Peacebuilding
• Since the 1940’s, Peacekeeping has been high on the
UN’s agenda
• Limited success
• Established Peacekeeping Committee in 2005
• Illustrates a commitment to peacekeeping

19. Reassessments
The End