Challenges in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations

Given the variety of actions concentrating on peacekeeping with significant successful operations, the United Nations (UN) continues to encounter concerns and challenges that have hampered its peacekeeping operations’ efficiency, effectiveness, and performance. This article aimed to investigate the primary challenges that adversely influence peacekeeping operations and challenge them based on the security theory proposed by Barry Buzan. According to the study’s findings, UN peacekeeping missions have been successful in addressing conflict situations and promoting peace in many regions of the world. Nevertheless, faults and challenges, notably in terms of the operations’ political, economic, and societal factors, have restricted the peacekeeping operations’ ability to achieve their objectives successfully. Therefore, a better policy that includes all involved actors, especially local government and the population, should be established in order to rebuild a conflict-torn country.

РОЛЬ РАДИ БЕЗПЕКИ ООН У ВРЕГУЛЮВАННІ ВІЙСЬКОВИХ КОНФЛІКТІВ

Ключові слова: ООН, Рада Безпеки, військовий конфлікт, операція з підтримки миру, війська ООН. Анотація У статті проаналізовано діяльність Ради Безпеки ООН, визначено її роль у врегулюванні військових конфліктів. Проаналізовано історичний аспект діяльності Ради Безпеки ООН у даному питанні. Висвітлено процес прийняття рішення щодо започаткування операції з підтримання миру під егідою ООН. З’ясовано які методи Рада Безпеки ООН застосовує для припинення військового конфлікту. Охарактеризовано з якими проблемами змушена боротись РБ ООН під час прийняття рішень щодо врегулювання військового конфлікту. Зроблено висновок про те, що у руслі подій які відбуваються в Україні, а саме військового конфлікту на Сході нашої держави, де прямим учасником якого виступає постійний член Ради Безпеки ООН (Російська Федерація), особливо потрібне реформування РБ. Посилання Akulov, 2005 – Akulov S. Mizhnarodni myrotvorchi operatsiyi yak politychnyy instrument vrehulyuvannya voyenno-politychnykh konfliktiv [International peacekeeping operations as a political tool for resolving military-political conflicts] // Politychnyy menedzhment. 2005. № 2. S. 165–172. [in Ukrainian] Bani-Naser Fadi, 2015 – Bani-Naser Fadi Myrotvorchi operatsiyi OON: teoriya i praktyka [UN peacekeeping operations: theory and practice] // Problems of international relations. 2015. № 10-11. S. 24–36. [in Ukrainian] Barhamon, 2017 – Barhamon N. I. Yurydychnyy analiz kompetentsiyi rady bezpeky OON shchodo pidtrymannya mizhnarodnoho myru ta bezpeky [Legal analysis of the competence of the UN Security Council to maintain international peace and security] // International law in the service of the state, society, man: materials of scientific practice. conf. (Kyiv, December 8, 2016). 2017. S. 6–11. [in Ukrainian] Hodovanyk, 2010 – Hodovanyk YE. V. Orhanizatsiyno-pravovi aspekty reformuvannya rady bezpeky OON na suchasnomu etapi [Organizational and legal aspects of reforming the UN Security Council at the present stage] // State and law. 2010. № 49. S. 648–655. [in Ukrainian] Doklad General'nogo sekretarya, predstavlyayemyy vo ispolneniye Rezolyutsii 53/53 General'noy Asamblei. Padeniye Srebrentsy [Report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 53/53. The fall of Srebrenza]. А/54/549. 1999. URL: https://undocs.org/ru/A/54/549 [in Russian] Doklad General'nogo sekretarya o situatsii v Somali, predstavlennyy vo ispolneniye punkta 13 Rezolyutsii 954 (1994) Soveta Bezopasnosti [Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia submitted pursuant to paragraph 13 of Security Council resolution 954 (1994)]. S/1995/231. URL: https://undocs.org/ru/S/1995/231 [in Russian] Leha, 2011 – Leha A. YU. Pravovi osnovy vrehulyuvannya viysʹkovykh konfliktiv [Legal bases of settlement of military conflicts] // Istorychnyy arkhiv. 2011. № 6. S. 80–83. [in Ukrainian] Malysheva, 2016 – Malysheva YU. V. Tsilespryamovani sanktsiyi ta yikh zastosuvannya Radoyu Bezpeky OON [Targeted sanctions and their application by the UN Security Council]: dys. … kand. yuryd. nauk : 12.00.11. Kyyiv, 2016. 253 s. [in Ukrainian] Operatsii OOH po podderzhaniyu mira [UN Peacekeeping Operations] // Ofitsiynyy sayt OON. URL: https://peacekeeping.un.org/ru/role-of-security-council [in Russian] Ostapenko, 2019 – Ostapenko N. V. Reforma Rady Bezpeky OON yak zasib podolannya kryzy efektyvnosti Orhanizatsiyi [Reform of the UN Security Council as a means of overcoming the crisis of the Organization's effectiveness] // Zovnishni spravy. 2019. № 1. S. 53–55. [in Ukrainian] Rezolyutsii Soveta Bezopasnosti OON 1960 [Resolutions of the UN Security Council 1960] S/4426 (1960). URL: https://undocs.org/ru/S/RES/146(1960) [in Russian] Statut OON [United Nations Statute]. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_010#Text. [in Ukrainian]. Fedorenko, 2011 – Fedorenko A. I. Shlyakhy ta napryamy transformatsiyi Rady Bezpeky OON [Ways and directions of transformation of the UN Security Council] // Aktualʹni problemy mizhnarodnykh vidnosyn. 2011. №. 96(2). S. 97–99 Security Council. United Nations. S/1999/1257/ 12 December 1999. URL: https://undocs.org/S/1999/1257 [in English]

Narratives in conflict and the limits on the interpreter’s agency: A case study from the UN Peacekeeping mission in Lebanon

This article presents a socio-linguistic analysis of interpreting in conflict zones and paints a picture of the limits on the interpreter’s agency when working in the field. It focuses on the interpreter’s behaviour towards cultural and linguistic barriers in communication between foreign military personnel and the civilian population in Lebanon. The aim is to analyse the level of agency that the interpreter has when working in a military deployment, taking into account the context and the narrative features that require mediation. Data were gathered through interviews with interpreters in Lebanon and analysed by applying narrative theory. Knowing and appreciating both the theoretical context and the linguistic and cultural barriers identified through the analysis are fundamental to understanding the difficult role that the interpreter-mediator plays in conflict settings and to reflecting on interpreter training that is appropriate to this context.

The Role of Local Actors in Peacekeeping: The Cases of Liberia and Sierra Leone

With the advent of multidimensional peacekeeping, in considering the changing nature of conflicts in the post–Cold War period, the role of local actors has become crucial to the execution of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mandate. Just as peacekeeping does not have space in the UN charter, local actors do not have a clearly defined space in the UN-led conflict resolution process. However, they have gained recognition, especially in policy work, and slowly in the academic discourse, as academics and practitioners have begun to find ways of making peacekeeping and peacebuilding more effective in the 21st century. Therefore the construction and perception of local actors by international arbitrators play an important and strategic role in creating and shaping space for the former to actively establish peace where violent conflict is imminent. Local actors have independently occupied spaces during and after the conflict, and although they bring a comparative advantage, especially as gatekeepers to local communities, they have largely been kept on the periphery.

Does UN Peacekeeping Protect Civilians? Evidence from the Border between Burkina Faso and Mali

Research in political science has shown that UN peacekeeping operations are an important tool for ending civil war violence. However, much less is known about how UN peacekeepers affect civilian victimization. Given that civilians bear the primary costs of intrastate conflict, understanding how international actors can contribute tothe resolution of violence affecting them is a pressing concern. How does the presence of UN peacekeepers affect civilian victimization? We address this question by offering a straightforward empirical test of how UN peacekeeping patrols affect the likelihood that there will be violence against civilians. We build on the existing literature and established practices of peacekeeping to argue that peacekeepers deter violence against violence. To test our argument, we examine the case of Mail, the site of large-scale communal violence managed by UN peacekeepers since 2013. We employ a Geographic Regression Discontinuity Design (GRDD) around the border of Mali and Burkina Faso to estimate the causal effect of deploying peacekeepers to an area with growing communal tensions. Ultimately, our research provides robust causal evidence that UN peacekeeping works at the local level to protect civilians.

Where is the West in UN Peacekeeping? An examination of the decline in Western troop contributions to UN peacekeeping

<p>This thesis explores an important aspect of the changing composition of United Nations peacekeeping troop contributions by examining the causes of the decline in troop contributions from the West. It does so by creating a theoretical framework within which the widespread decline in troop contributions from the West can be contextualized and reviewing a variety of possible arguments in secondary literature for the decline that can be considered within this theoretical framework. I assert that the constructivist concept of security communities, although originally focused on interactions between states in the community, can also be used to understand the ways in which these states respond to peace and security threats outside of the community, and that this is the reason there has been a systemic decline in troop contributions from the West. The past, current and future peacekeeping engagements of Canada and New Zealand will be explored in detail in this thesis. These countries have historically had a strong commitment to the UN, and been champions of its ultimate authority to sanction international responses to conflict. Both countries have a history of significant troops contributions to UN peacekeeping, but have decreased these contributions in the last 10-15 years. Understanding why these two internationalists all but abandoned UN peacekeeping can provide clues as to why other Western militaries have done the same, and concentrated their resources in other peace support operations. These cases also exemplify how the security community concept can be applied to understanding troop contributions to peace operations. This thesis is divided into four main sections. In the introduction I present the research question and discuss its relevance and importance, as well as the salience of the two case studies, followed by the explanation of my theoretical framework, a review of secondary literature on the topic, and the details of my research methodology. In chapter one I explore a variety of arguments that have been made by academics and practitioners regarding the decline in troop contributions from the West. Chapter two covers my first case study – Canada – and chapter three covers New Zealand. I argue that although the factors that determine countries’ troop contributions are unique and shaped by domestic as much as international circumstances, the wider trend in the West of decreasing troop contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, while increasing troop contributions to non-UN peacekeeping operations can be explained by building on the security community concept. As such, any return to UN peacekeeping is likely to occur throughout the West or not at all. I also argue that in order for the West to re-engage with UN peacekeeping, both Western governments and the UN must take steps towards redefining the parameters of troop participation in UN peace operations.</p>