Factors Promoting Failure of Peacekeeping Missions - Case Study Example

Peacekeeping Introduction From time to time conflicts in different parts of the world emanate to war. Globalization has turned the world into a global village and therefore war in one part of the world becomes the concern of not only the warring countries or groups but the concern of the world in general. United Nations, African Union and NATO among others are the regional organization that was established with the aim of providing resources that can be used during peacekeeping missions. The essence behind the establishment of such organizations is to provide non-partisan solutions to conflicts. As pointed out by Welch (2000), the concept of peacekeeping has changed significantly since the cold war. Most conflicts between countries have reduced significantly but surprisingly internal conflicts inside countries have also increased. This creates a major challenge to peacekeeping because most of the countries are sovereign states and it is difficult for the UN to interfere during earlier stages to prevent or even stop the conflicts at earlier stages lest it be considered as interfering with internal issues. Welch also points out peacekeeping has not only been a failure but a success too. Examples of success stories are in countries like Mozambique, Namibia and Tajikistan. According to Lewis &Sewall (1993), peacekeeping generally refers to the act of deploying military personnel to observe such aspects as ceasefire between the warring parties and to act as the neutral party while at the same time ensuring civilian safety. Conflicts and inevitable and it is only obvious that some of them can develop to military confrontations. Since the conditions of war are always characterized by hostility and bitterness between the warring parties it is essential that a neutral party intervene to act as the mediator between the warring parties and therefore provide a platform and time for negotiations. Peacekeeping is not an instantaneous occurrence but takes a lot of time before sustainable peace can be established. The aim of peacekeeping is also to provide safety for the civilian population who in most instances may be caught in the cross fire leading to loss of lives, property and homes. However in the contemporary world the word peacekeeping is slowly acquiring a dark side because it has been used by the powerful countries to exert their influences towards warring parties by either supporting one group or by manipulating the war for political reasons. However before pointing a finger to peacekeeping it is important to first analyze the various challenges faced during peacekeeping mission and determine how they affect the overall process. Challenges Facing Peacekeeping As explained by Zwanenbury (2000) peacekeeping has become a complex undertaking because it does not just involve military elements but also such elements as civilian diplomacy making it even more complicated. According to the United Nations peacekeeping is the act of using various ways such as conflict prevention, peacemaking, peace enforcement and peace development. Therefore peacekeeping is a process that requires coordination and cooperation different parties for success to be achieved. Bellamy et al (2004) in the book 'Understanding Peacekeeping,' explains that peacekeepers rarely receive any external assistance and gives the example of countries such as Bosnia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone where peacekeepers were forced to carry out all the acts of peacekeeping as outlined by United Nations of preventing conflict, peacemaking, peace enforcement and peace development despite the fact in countries like Rwanda within a period of seven months at the height of the conflict more than 200 non-governmental organizations had already established themselves there.  Furthermore Bellamy et al explains that the NGOs always have different goals and objectives creating a recipe for total chaos due to lack of coordination. The aspect of coordination is further added to peacekeepers. According to Bellamy et al peacekeeping missions are also marred by confusion due to the constantly changing objectives as a result of the dynamics of war experienced. The authors give an example of Bosnia where peacekeeping objectives changed from sending humanitarian assistance to using force to ensure that the humanitarian assistance reached the needy civilians then to ensuring that the areas that had not been affected were protected and finally the supporting of NATO mission of enforcing peace in the area. Peacekeeping is also becoming a difficult undertaking since organizations like NATO and United Nations depend on troops from provided by various countries. Sometimes the number of troops provided is not sufficient. Furthermore as explained by Refugees International (2009) the fact that the troops are from different countries where they have undergone different combat trainings lack of coordination and cohesiveness becomes a major challenge. Controversies Surrounding Peacekeeping Perhaps the failure of many peacekeeping missions is as a result of the lack of in depth understanding of the political, social and economic forces behind a particular conflict and subsequent employment of the wrong strategy. Some conflicts like the one being experienced in Afghanistan presently, when viewed from a historical perspective are as a result of misconceived peacekeeping missions. Lack of understanding and the fight for supremacy between the United States and Soviet Union created a political climate which favored the thriving of such organizations such as the Taliban which supports the terrorist organization Al Qaeda. Instead of using diplomacy or other means the Soviet Union decided to forcefully occupy Afghanistan in 1979 to control the political conflicts amongst the tribes. The United States on the other hand decided to challenge the Soviet occupation by training fostering local uprisings against the Soviet. Afghanistan has never known long term peace since then and the local uprisings still thrive with the latest one being the Taliban. This is an example where two countries that were at cold war with each other misused the term peacekeeping to establish military and political supremacy and failed terribly. Further evaluation of additional peacekeeping missions display the extent to which peacekeeping has been misused or rather misunderstood. Most peacekeeping bodies lack in effective strategies and methodologies to employ during conflicts. As explained by Olonisakin (2008) it is difficult to evaluate the success of peacekeeping mission because of the political aspects surrounding such missions. The distinction between the four mandates of peacekeeping; conflict prevention, peacemaking, peace development and peace enforcement have been rather vague. Peacekeeping is a process rather than a single undertaking and might in some instances constitute all the mandates. As a result this perception of peacekeeping has been extensively misused in different dimensions. In most instances peacekeeping is perceived as the military intervention of a conflict where the sitting government has either failed or ignored the implementation of peace. There is still widespread controversy whether military intrusion of a particular conflict is the best option considering the situation in countries such as Somalia, Sudan and most recently Iraq. Peacekeeping missions should also be evaluated on their ability to create a sustainable peaceful environment instead of just momentous peace. As explained earlier, peacekeeping is a process that includes the use of methodologies and machineries that can prevent the re-emergence of conflicts. The report by the UN Secretary General (2001) provides four dimensions that must be fulfilled to ensure that peacekeeping process is sustainable. i) Providing a state in conflict with the ability to maintain law and order even after the peacekeeping troops have left, ii) Strengthening the rule of Law in that particular state and fostering the respect of human rights, iii) Fostering the establishment of legitimate political institutions using democratic processes and finally, iv) Creating a conducive climate for social and economic recovery including the resettlement of internally displaced people and refugees. Even for an established organization like United Nations these tasks present a challenge considering that there are many regions under conflict at any one time and the resources required to implement the tasks are desperately limited. The need to prevent human casualties and sufferings of innocent civilians has compelled the United Nations to take risky measures to deploy peacekeepers. However most of the peacekeeping missions have either taken a long time to resolve resulting in the death of many peacekeepers or have failed completely. Factors Promoting Failure of Peacekeeping Missions Peacekeeping is a huge responsibility that should be undertaken by various committed parties working cooperatively. The involved parties including NGOs, the parties in conflict and even the civilians must be committed to establish a long term solution. Without cooperation where each party acts according to their own interests can throw the whole process in total chaos. The establishment of ceasefire is an indication of progress and can be used for evaluation. However in instances where ceasefire has been established as a result of unfounded basis for instance international pressure or some unrealistic promises the situation can drift back to conflict. In most instances the need to establish quick ceasefire have had negative results because the organization provide peacekeeping either were not critical in looking at various options available instead of coercing the warring parties into signing irrelevant peace treaties. Mediation and diplomacy should always be the first option and military action the last option. The lack of various peacekeeping bodies to take into account various factors at play is one of the reasons why peacekeeping is losing its meaning at a very fast rate. Most conflicts are always regional and not unique to a particular nation and can therefore not be treated separately. The perception and extent of involvement of neighboring countries is a very important consideration during peacekeeping because it would threaten or even paralyze completely the process. For instance a significant number of political uprisings in Africa are always backed by neighboring states due to some historical injustices or border disagreements. In most instances peacekeeping missions fail to involve or consider the role of neighboring states in particular conflicts therefore creating a situation where the peacekeeping mission is working against unknown enemies. Furthermore regions have characteristic way of approaching conflicts therefore peacekeeping missions can gain a lot of information and intelligence that may be fundamental in the process. Recommendations Peacekeeping undertakings should be initiated objectively and with a clear understanding of the mandate and the strategies to be employed to avoid confusion midway through the process. Since the credibility of any peacekeeping operation is dependent on it being able to carry out its mandated tasks, it is important to ensure that the mandate reflects the level of resources that contributing nations are able and willing to provide. The deployment of for instance a United Nations peacekeeping operation is just the start of a long-term, but volatile peace and capacity-building process. In recommending to the Security Council the resources and capabilities needed for the peacekeeping operation, the Secretariat and its partners should also conduct a rigorous assessment of the requirements for longer-term engagement. In conducting this assessment, worst case scenarios should be examined as an aid in planning. Planning based solely on short-term engagement and best case scenarios has rarely proven to be a successful basis for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission and should be avoided. According to Welch (2000) some recommendations have been provided by the United States in which it encourages the UN to increase its capacity to address various peacekeeping missions around the world effectively and efficiently. According to the Brahimi report outlined by Welch peacekeeping should be completely reformed systematically from top to bottom. This should be done with the objective to ensure that the UN has the capacity to actively prevent conflicts by having ready and improved machinery to increase effectiveness. Welch also points out that resources to the UN including troops and weapons should be increased so that UN can be able to achieve these objectives. Facts provided by Welch outline that currently the 98% of the financial responsibility has been left to the 30 member states and nearly half of contribution to the UN is by U.S and Japan alone. The other 120 countries only contribute 1% collectively. The existing gaps and disparities in contribution is a major factor that has continued to limit the capacity of UN in peacekeeping and as explained by Welch there should be reforms to review how contributions of the UN can be distributed. The recommendations were that countries like China and Russia can and should contribute more towards the UN. Conclusion Peacekeeping is a necessity that the world cannot survive without because of the conflicts constantly experienced in various countries. Particularly important is the fact that peacekeeping is desperately required in the Middle East, Parts of Eastern Europe, and parts of Africa and some Parts of Asia. The first recorded act of peacekeeping was in 1948 when the UN sent troops to monitor the situation between Israel and other Arab states. Successful resolving of conflicts have required the involvement of various parties including governments and civilians. The aspect of cooperation is very important in assisting countries in conflict to recover from conflict and establish a peaceful atmosphere. An integrated mission is one in which there is a shared vision among all the parties involved through strategic planning and objectives. The reasons why various peacekeeping operations have failed is because of lack of unity in terms of strategy and objectives of the various players. Furthermore the inclusion of neighboring states as well as the understanding of the political dynamics of conflicts is imperative. Lack of the consideration of these aspects may threaten the relevance of the peacekeeping in its own sense.        References Bellamy, A. Williams, P. and Griffn, S. Understanding Peacekeeping, Cambridge: Polity, 2004 Lewis and Sewall. United Nations Peacekeeping: Ends versus Means. 1993. Zwanenbury, M. Accountability of Peace Support Operations, Leiden Martinus Publishers, 2000 Olonisakin, F. Lessons Learned from an Assessment of  Peacekeeping and Peace Support operations  in West Africa. Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre. 2008. Report of the Secretary-General, No Exit without Strategy: Security Council Decision-making and the Closure or Transition of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. 2001 Welch, D. Peacekeeping: The US, the UN and Regional Players, The US Department of State. 2000.     Bottom of Form Read More