International day of peace keeping
29th May is the Day of International Peace Keeping
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding – Albert Einstein
The beginning
The first UN peace keeping mission was launched under the banner United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation to monitor armistice agreement between the newly created Jewish state of Israel and its Arab neighbours on 29th May 1948. This was followed by UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), established on 24th January 1949. It is still ongoing as one of the longest peace keeping operations. Since then, the UN has deployed 72 missions with military, police and civilian personnel contributed by more than 120 UN member states.
The peace keepers in the current form with blue helmet and white vehicle started in 1956 after Israel, France and Britain attacked Egypt. When Israel refused to withdraw from Egypt the then US President Eisenhower famously said ‘should a nation which attacks and occupies foreign territory in the face of UN disapproval be allowed to impose conditions on its withdrawal?’
It was the US and Soviet Union jointly condemning Israel, France and Britain for attacking Egypt. It was then that the first United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was established by United Nations General Assembly to secure an end to the Suez Crisis in November 1956. The UNEF was developed as a result of efforts by the then UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold who died in a mysterious plane crash en-route to another ceasefire negotiation between Congolese forces and Katangese forces. That was the UN then!
Successes and failures
The UN peace keeping missions have achieved successful outcomes on many occasions such as in Liberia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Core d’Ivoire, Timor Leste, Haiti, etc. But on many occasions the UN peace keeping mission also failed miserably as in Cambodia, Somalia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, Darfur in Sudan, etc. There are many instances when UN remains a helpless spectator such as in Palestine, Kashmir, Yemen, Myanmar, etc. The UN was also unable to stop invasion of Iraq under a false pretext and several other proxy wars between the powerful countries.
Price of talks
The talks and negotiations in the UN system have become rhetoric. Issuing statements, when agreed by the P5 has become a cheap ritual with no impacts whatsoever on the ground. More than 3,800 peacekeepers have died under the UN flag while trying to keep the peace which remained eternally illusive. The noble ideology behind the UN’s peace keeping has become a dream in recent years.
The number of people displaced by various conflicts in recent years has reached nearly 80 million. Meanwhile people who are not displaced are trapped in insecurity, externally imposed unilateral sanctions and counter terrorism measures.
There are also unspeakable terrors inflicted on health care providers. In 2020 alone 182 medics were targeted and killed in 22 conflict affected countries. Similar incidents have been reported in recent weeks in Myanmar and Gaza. Countries’ compliance with humanitarian law has significantly eroded in recent decades. There are international laws to prevent wars and conflicts and to protect civilians from harm but no country has the will to apply them. Why? How did we get here? This is now!
At the moment there are 13 peace keeping missions with almost 100,000 military, police and civilians deployed to undertake various duties. In recent decades the scope of peace keeping has also ‘evolved’ beyond the idea of ‘peace’. The peace keepers are expected to assist countries in transition to recover from the conflicts which includes rehabilitation and reconstruction. The mandate has also been extended to include electoral reforms and inputs to development of affected communities, which needless to say overlaps with functions of several other UN organisations present in the field. It may be desirable but was it necessary?
Why we are failing?
With the end of colonial era (barring isolated islands and territories controlled by few countries) the world community was expecting for a peaceful coexistence whose only aim is human development. But it was not to be.
First, there are conflicts based on territorial issues such as in Palestine and Kashmir with no solution in sight. Second there are conflicts spreading based on rising ethnic nationalism, and discriminations based on social and linguistic differences. And third, conflicts that are based on conflicting claims on natural resources such as minerals, oil, gas, water resources, etc. Who owns and controls such resources such as gold mine in Papua New Guinea, uranium mine in Niger?
Needless to say, there are rising religious extremism and many grievances among ethnic minorities in ethnically heterogenic countries. The UN could possibly play a role in settling such disputes but unfortunately such situations are politicised for vested interest including in destabilising the countries concerned mostly by external parties, especially if the countries are blessed with natural resources. This leads the countries in question to declare the issue as ‘internal affairs’ of sovereign nations, thus closing any possibility for UN engagement. But some of these countries do accept bilateral military assistance!
The UN has international instruments to fight all forms of discriminations (ethnic, linguistic religious, etc.) through legal means but cannot be enforced, as bias is ingrained in human mind; there is no UN resolution or software to rewire human mind! Similarly, greed also cannot be legislated as control of resources (territories, natural resources) are top priorities of every leader, national and international. Rich countries take control of natural resources in poorer countries through ‘legal means’ creating political divide in those countries – those who support and those who oppose. These situations are the seeds of eternal discontents and conflicts.
It is UN’s fault!
The UN is often blamed or rather thrashed for its failure in keeping peace but no one dare ask the question who broke the peace in the first place!
Mother of all ironies
The United Nations Security Council is like the nucleus of the entire United Nations Systems. This is the holiest place where all decisions are made to ensure effective global governance to maintain global peace. Really, it is true! The five permanent members of UN Security Council are collectively responsible for 74 per cent global weapons sale. And three other countries (Germany, Israel & Spain) add additional 12 per cent of weapon sale. No wonder global peace remains elusive!
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/trends-international-arms-transfers-2020#:~:text=',-US%2C%20French%20and&text=The%20United%20States%20remains%20the,more%20than%20any%20other%20supplier.
Masters of War - Bob Dylan, 17 January 1961
Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
Finally an anthem for us all,
Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us and the world be as one – John Lennon, 11 October 1971.
So unfortunately true. Too much greed and prejudice. UN peace keepers have little chance.
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