Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
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Picture Credit: United Nations
Peacekeeping
In the early 1990s, the UN Security council launched an unprecedented number of peacekeeping operations, including highly ambitious and very costly missions in Bosnia and Cambodia. By the mid-nineties, political and financial support for PKOs had waned, especially in the United States. Troop contributing countries' support shriveled as the UN fell behind in its payments and military challenges in civil war situations grew. As the UN peacekeeping enterprise declined, the United States started to promote "regional" approaches to peacekeeping, especially through NATO. But after the war in Kosovo (spring 1999), broad opposition to unilateral peacekeeping led to a revival of the UN variety. Major new UN PKO missions in East Timor and in various African states brought another surge in international peacekeeping, even though the UN remained under-funded and ill-equipped for this task, as the Brahimi Report of 2000 made very clear.
The ICC Crisis and the Threat to Peacekeeping
Also See GPF's Pages on:
Security Council
Basic Information
Offers an overview of UN peacekeeping and answers basic questions about who initiates, plans, carries out, and pays for peacekeeping operations. The page also offers a map of and facts about current UN peacekeeping missions.Index of Specific Countries and Territories
News on current peacekeeping operations, organized by mission.Data Tables on Peacekeeping
Tables show which countries contribute how many troops to peacekeeping operations and how the size of operations has changed over previous decades. A link to peacekeeping finance provides further information on the peacekeeping budget, illustrating which countries pay their peacekeeping dues and which countries don't.Analysis and Articles
These articles analyze peacekeeping operations.Peacekeeping Reform
Offers many articles and reform proposals including the Brahimi Report of August 2000. The section includes topics such as troop deployment (UN Standing Force and rapid deployment) and peacekeeper and military troop training.Lessons from Past Experience
Looks at past UN peacekeeping missions, including those that have been accused of being failures, and what lessons can be drawn from them. The experiences of Angola, Bosnia, Rwanda and Somalia have shed light on some of the difficulties that UN peacekeeping faces and have triggered new initiatives to make peacekeeping work.Peacekeeping Finance
Peacekeeping finance is the backbone of UN peacekeeping but it faces perpetual difficulties.US Policy on UN Peacekeeping
This page deals with US policies that affect UN peacekeeping. The UN's difficulties in funding its operations and compensating troop-contributing countries arise in large part from the US refusal to pay its share of the peacekeeping budget. Since the US is responsible for the largest portion of the budget and has extensive military resources, its policies towards the UN are crucial to the organization's success.Regional Organizations and UN Peacekeeping
NATO's involvement in the Balkans as well as the OAU's efforts in Africa have drawn attention to the role of regional organizations in peacekeeping operations. While the UN charter encourages regional efforts at peacekeeping and peace enforcement, much debate surrounds the question of how much autonomy these organizations should have in dealing with regional conflicts.Peacekeeping Links
Links to other important peacekeeping resources and sites.
