UN Peacekeeping Operations: The Limitations and Possibilities

A. Introduction

War is one of the common discussion topics within the UN actors. Since the establishment of the UN in 1945, as a sign of the end of massive and bloody global wars, the UN has been actively working with many actors to establish and nurture global peace & security. One of the UN’s tools in achieving global peace and security is UN peacekeeping. Over the past sixty years, UN peacekeeping has been involved in various UN missions. The number of military, police, and civilian personnel deployed in UN peacekeeping operations has grown, but its mission has also become increasingly complex. Two of the difficulties and dangers of UN peacekeeping missions are the genocide in Bosnia and the massacre in Rwanda. Many in the international community have given strong critiques to the UN, especially the Security Council, for the lack of commitment. Despite some ‘failures’ from these missions, they have also provided valuable lessons to the UN and the international community in using military force.

Nowadays, the mandates of the blue helmets have grown after involving in many missions, which include facilitating the political process through the promotion of national dialogue and reconciliation, protecting civilians, assisting in the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of combatants, supporting the organization of elections, protecting and promoting human rights, and assisting in restoring the rule of law (UN Peacekeeping Operations, 2008). I argue that the evolution of the blue helmets is one of the substantial and essential achievements for the UN and the international community because it brings many improvements, such as increasing the number of women peacekeepers (including soldiers and specialists) and improving military equipment with cutting-edge technologies. Even though it has improved significantly, there are some limitations that affect its mandates and reputation. Also, there are some possibilities that need to be developed for improving its effectiveness during operations. In this short paper, I briefly explain two points for each condition.

B. Limitations

There are two limitations of the blue helmets. First, the United Nations peacekeeping operations are deployed on the basis of a mandate from the UN Security Council (SC). Unfortunately, SC mandates differ from situation to situation, depending on the nature of the conflict and the specific challenges it presents. The conflict of interest inside and outside of the UN also affects the consensus for the mandate. During the BBC Hardtalk interview in April 2018, Kofi Annan clearly explained that there were two UNs: the first UN was the political side, which included the SC, the General Assembly (GA), and the Secretary-General (SG), and the second UN was the program side, which was below the Under-Secretary-General (USG) (BBC Hardtalk, 2008). Kofi Annan said that the genocide in Bosnia and the massacre in Rwanda happened because of a lack of commitment to the UN Charter from the political side. I argue that UN peacekeeping operations do not fully adhere to one of their basic principles, impartiality, because the conflict of interest among the P5 with their veto power may affect the initial operations of the blue helmets.

Second, the boundary between peacemaking and peacekeeping has become increasingly blurred. While UN peacekeeping operations are deployed to support the implementation of a cease-fire or peace agreement, they may also use force at the tactical level to defend themselves and their mandate. In the case of the peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN used its authority to use military equipment in protecting the peacekeepers and civilians from armed groups. During this situation, the line between “robust” peacemaking and peacekeeping may appear blurred at times. In this situation, UN peacekeeping may use force at the tactical level and/or strategic level to defend its mandates. These types of forces are quite different in terms of authority. At the tactical level, this military force can be deployed with the consent of the host authorities and/or the main parties to the conflict. However, at the strategic level, this military force is normally prohibited by the Member States under Article 2(4) of the Charter, unless authorized by the SC (UN Peacekeeping).

C. Possibilities

There are two possibilities for the blue helmets. First, sustaining peace will depend on the willingness of the political side of the UN. UN peacekeeping is one of the UN’s tools in creating and nurturing a peace and security environment. As I stated on the first page, this tool is very important for the UN and the world. Despite some ‘failures’ that have happened before, this tool has improved much better than before. It is similar to a sword. If the sword is used by a kind and wise swordsman, then that sword can be used to help and protect his/her people. It also happens in this case. The blue helmets need a clear strategy on what needs to be achieved or what is achievable on the ground to solve a crisis. The UN system may review (and/or renew it, if needed by the stakeholders) the current doctrine to be a more realistic approach to what UN peacekeeping can achieve and what it will never be able to. Then, this UN tool can be more efficient and clear in accomplishing its mandates.

Second, based on the missions of the blue helmets like peacemaking, peace enforcement, and peacebuilding, I suggest that the blue helmets should show a different image or brand in each mission. For instance, the peacekeepers can show their military strengths by using cutting-edge military equipment (tanks, weapons, A.I. missiles, etc.) during the conflict. However, their activity should change when the mission shifts to peacebuilding by bringing many non-soldier workers (engineers, specialists, etc.) on the ground, especially women workers, reducing military equipment and/or facilities, and emphasizing negotiation activity rather than using military forces. I believe that a branding strategy is very important for the blue helmets because it can improve trust levels and reduce threat levels on the ground.

D. References

BBC Hardtalk. (2008). Kofi Annan – Former UN Secretary-General (1997–2006) [Television interview]. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cswjfc

United Nations. (2008). United Nations peacekeeping operations: Principles and guidelines (Capstone doctrine). https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/capstone_eng_0.pdf

United Nations. (n.d.). Principles of peacekeeping. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/principles-of-peacekeeping