UNIT I. PEACEKEEPING

Motto: “Peace, like war, must be waged.”

I. THINK AHEAD

1.

Look at the five photos above. What

are some of the most common tasks of U.N. peacekeepers?

2. Where do you think these photographs have been taken? Which other countries do you know where

peacekeeping troops are deployed?

3. Why is there a need for U.N. peacekeeping missions nowadays?

II. Read the following text and answer the questions below.

1. What kind of zones are peacekeepers deployed in?

2. What is the primary objective of peacekeeping missions?

3. What two non-military operations do peacekeepers carry out?

4. When are peacekeepers allowed to use their weapons?

5. What are other three U.N. operations aimed at peace?

6. What is the general term for all these types of operations?

7. What body authorizes all U.N. peacekeeping missions?

8. What has generated a new perspective on peacekeeping operations?

9. Why was U.N. peacekeeping initiated at the break of the Cold war?

10. How do peacekeepers basically contribute to peace efforts today?

Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is “a way to help countries torn by conflict to create

conditions for sustainable peace”. It is anything that contributes to the furthering of a peace process, once

established. Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants

in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, such as

enforcing and supervising the rule of law, monitoring of withdrawal by combatants from a former conflict area,

power-sharing arrangements, supervision of elections, provision of reconstruction aid, delivery of food supplies,

and other specific operations.

The main thrust of peacekeepers is towards establishing a permanent state of cease-fire in the affected

areas. However, in order to achieve a lasting peace, peacekeepers have refocused their attention to long-term

measures aimed at building confidence and ensuring economic and social development. These measures are

intended to neutralize the very causes of conflicts and to stifle any discontent that may linger among the

population of the affected zones. Consequently, peacekeeping operations are basically double edged, on the one

hand dealing with military operations and on the other hand working in the range of economic and social issues.

The peace that is desired ought to be self-sustainable, that is, the local powers have to be able to continue to

live in peace even after the peacekeepers withdraw.

Peacekeepers were not at first expected to ever fight. As a general rule, they were deployed when the

ceasefire was in place and the parties to the conflict had given their consent. Their mission was to observe from

the ground, after which they reported impartially on how the conflicting parties adhered to the ceasefire and

withdrew their troops, or on other elements of the peace agreement. This gave time and breathing space for

diplomatic efforts to address the underlying causes of conflict. UN peacekeepers can include soldiers, civilian

police officers, and other civilian personnel. While soldier-peacekeepers are sometimes armed, they do not have

to engage in combat and are restricted to using their weapons for self defense only.

Thus, a distinction must be drawn between peacekeeping and other operations aimed at peace.

Peacekeeping means keeping people from attacking each other by putting some kind of barrier between them.

Often this barrier is made up of neutral soldiers – peacekeepers – from the UN or a group of neutral nations. The

soldiers do nothing to settle the disputants’ differences or help negotiate a peace agreement – they simply keep

the two sides apart. Along with Peacekeeping (PK), there are also Peacemaking (PM), Peace Enforcement

(PE), Peace Building (PB), Conflict Prevention (CP) and Humanitarian Operations. These are all part of Peace

Support Operations (PSO), and are often erroneously put under the umbrella term ‘Peacekeeping’.

The Charter of the United Nations gives the UN Security Council the power and responsibility to take

collective action to maintain international peace and security. All UN Peacekeeping missions must be

authorized by the Security Council.

United Nations peacekeeping was initially developed during the Cold War as a means of resolving

conflicts between states by deploying unarmed or lightly armed military personnel from a number of countries,

under UN command, to areas where warring parties were in need of a neutral party to observe the peace

process. Peacekeepers could be called in when the five permanent members of the Security Council tasked the

UN with ending conflicts that were threatening regional stability and international peace and security. The end

of the Cold War precipitated a dramatic shift in UN and multilateral peacekeeping. Missions have become

increasingly complex and now tend to involve more and more non-military elements.

Some have criticized peacekeeping for leaving conflicts unresolved. Peacekeeping can have the effect of

maintaining an unstable status quo that will inevitably collapse in the long run. However, it is not the job of

peacekeepers as presently defined to create a permanent solution. Their only goal is to stabilize a situation so as

to give the politicians and diplomats the opportunity to establish a permanent peace.

III. Read the text again, then match the words on the left with their meaning on the right. Write

the corresponding letters in the table provided below. The first one has been done as an example:

0. torn a. with two possible meanings, one of which is not very nice

1. enforce b. at war or fighting each other

2. withdrawal c. to continue to behave according to a particular rule, agreement, or belief

3. ceasefire d. to end an argument or solve a disagreement

4. double edged e. (about a country or a group) divided because people in it have very different

ideas and are arguing or fighting with each other

5. to adhere to f. the state of a situation as it is

6. self sustainable g. able to continue by itself for a long time

7. consent (n.) h. an agreement to stop fighting for a period of time, especially so that a more

permanent agreement can be made

8. to settle a difference i. permission to do something

9. warring j. to make people obey a rule or a law

10. status quo k. act of moving an army, weapons etc away from the area where they were

fighting

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

e

IV. Use words in the exercise above to complete the following text. Two of the words do not need to be used:

Since the humanitarian conditions in the violence-torn (0) province of Darfur had been going from bad

to worse, the U.N. Security Council finally authorized sending a peace keeping force there in 2007. I served

with the UNAMID in the same year.

Peace had been ____________ (1) in the region by a U.N. peace enforcement mission prior to my

deployment. At the same time a treaty had been signed which was meant to ____________ (2) between the two

____________ (3) parties in Sudan. Since both the Arab militia groups and the rebels had ____________ (4) to

this treaty, peace was expected to replace a decade of civilian wars.

We here stationed in Northern Darfur, 50 miles away from the Chadian border. Our mission: to ensure

that the ____________ (5) agreement between the Sudanese military or Janjaweed and the rebels was observed.

This was a ____________ (6) situation for us: on one hand we were caught in the middle of a conflict which

threatened to burst out any moment, on the other hand the Lybian government which was secretly supporting

the rebels with weapons and ammunition. And finally, there were the Darfuri people themselves who, due to

war and famine, had been split off from the rest of their country. They had become refugees, hundreds of

thousands of them.

This was the situation at the time of my deployment there. We were tasked to maintain this

____________ (7) until politicians would negotiate a permanent peace, or as they called it “a ____________ (8)

peace”, in the province of Darfur. How did I accomplish my mission? Well, this is a different story which I will

tell you some other time.

(Track 1)V. Listen to the following recording about peacekeeping and answer the questions below. An example has

been given for you:

1. How long has the UN been running peacekeeping operations?

2. What role did peacekeeping missions have in the beginning?

3. What yearly budget do peacekeeping operations require on average?

4. What countries have mostly contributed with funds to such operations?

5. What major challenges have peacekeeping missions faced so far?

6. How many member states does the Security Council consist of?

VI. You are the leaders of an international peacekeeping company stationed north of Al Fashir, in

the province of Darfur. Your AOR (area of responsibility) includes a refugee camp with more than 50,000

people. This morning you have received the following SITREP (situation report). Read the report, then

work in groups to analyze the situation. Discuss alternative solutions and decide upon the most suitable

one. Consider the primary role of UN peacekeeping missions when taking the decisions.

UN RESTRICTED

To: OPS OFFRS

From: TEAM Red Scorpion

Subject: Daily SITREP / 19 August, 2007

The entire region is in turmoil. Violations of the

Darfur Peace Agreement have been reported on the

ceasefire line between Al Fashir and Nyala, alongside

with incursions of rebel troops and government militias

both north of Al Fashir and into the refugee camp.

The refugees have become restless, many of

them leaving the camp overnight and fleeing west to the

neighboring Republic of Chad. In fear of a massive

exodus, the Chadian authorities have closed the border,

threatening to kill any trespasser.

A humanitarian convoy left Khartoum four days

ago, heading west to the IDP camp. This morning they

have been caught under heavy mortar fire, ten

kilometers east of the camp. They are requesting

immediate UN protection.

(Track 2)VII. Listen to part of Jean-Marie Guéhenno’s speech on peacekeeping. Fill in the missing words while

listening.

For long, peacekeeping was essentially about ‘Blue Helmets’ and 0. establishing a measure of security.

Peacekeeping is really lowering the temperature, so that you can 1. _______ the patient. But if you want to

cure the patient, I think, there is now an understanding that, in the type of crisis that we 2. _______, you need a

much broader array of responses than the pure security one. Yes, 3. _________ the combatants, uhm…

reforming the security sector, making sure that when somebody sees a policeman, our soldier in the dark, this

soldier, this police is not going to be seen as a threat, but as a reassurance. All that is essential to successful

peacekeeping 4. ________, but if you don’t complement that with a 5. ________ of capacities for the state, so

that that state will be able to deliver the basics of administration to its people… so, peacekeeping and peace-

building are not two separate faces; they are part and parcel of the same effort at stabilization in a 6.

__________ situation. (Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the UN chief of peacekeeping operations)

VIII. Match the following definitions with the collocations boldfaced in the text and filled in by you

in the previous exercise.

0. to establish security a. to remove weapons from the individuals

1. to ___________ the patient b. the state of affairs after a fight

2. to ___________ the crisis c. to improve the abilities to perform

3. to ___________ the combatants d. a plan of action for maintaining peace

4. peacekeeping ____________ e. to confront a situation of extreme difficulty

5. to ___________ capacities f. to provide and ensure a state of safety

6. _______________ situation g. to make an ill person healthy again

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

f

IX. Read the text below and answer the following questions with T (true) or F (false):

0. Peacekeeping operations need to be approached differently today as compared to the past. T

1. Classic peacekeeping restrains military intervention to monitoring and mediation only. ___

2. At present, robust peacekeeping measures do not prohibit the use of armed force. ___

3. African countries have been perceived as a constant threat to the UN’s development. ___

4. The UN contingents required on the African continent are insufficient to manage the crises. ___

5. The peacekeeping mission in Somalia failed partly due to a lack of cultural awareness. ___

Challenges of UN-led Peacekeeping Missions

Since 2000, the number of “blue helmet” soldiers and police officers has increased five-fold to

approximately 70,000 (April 2006). In light of this surge, the UN are facing great challenges. On the one hand,

they can look back on considerable success. In 2005, for example, two peacekeeping missions in East-Timor

and in Sierra-Leon were ended successfully, and in Burundi and Liberia it was possible to implement free

elections. On the other hand, the need for change and support has become apparent.

According to the nature of its measures, peacekeeping might be roughly classified into “classic”

peacekeping and “multidimensional, robust” peacekeeping. In the category of “classic” peacekeeping, the

missions follow the principles formulated by the former second Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag

Hammarskjöld: impartiality, consent and minimum use of force. Classic peacekeeping operations are mandated

under chapter VI of the United Nations' Charta. The essence of the operations is the monitoring of cease-fires,

peace agreements and mediation, which may arise out of international conflicts.

Nowadays, multidimensional and robust peacekeeping appears more often than the classical

peacekeeping. These missions always contain elements of peace building such as: the reestablishment of

security and the rule of law; disarmament; demobilisation; reintegration; repatriation; reestablishment of legal

structures, including the police force and the military; humanitarian aid; help for refugees and the

implementation of elections. The robust UN peacekeeping missions must always be able to react in a decisive

and appropriate way to a breach of contract, violence and abuses of human rights. The United Nations Security

Council provides such missions with a “robust” chapter VII mandate, legalising the use of military and ploice

force. Since 1999, seven out of eight mandated missions have been granted this sort of “robust” mandate.

Africa has been the main point on the agenda of UN peacekeeping missions. A so-called "crisis belt"

crosses the African continent from West Africa over to Central Africa to the Horn of Africa, threatening

neighbouring states with its negative development. The international community must intervene in crisis-prone

areas and help to break the vicious circles of poverty, ethnic tension, scarce resources, illegal exploitation of

natural resources (most of which is financed by illegal smuggling of weapons), bad governmental leadership,

corruption, brutalization and militarization of society, with a coherent civil-military strategy.

Yet, the complex tasks established by the UN have to be managed under difficult circumstances. On the

one hand, there’s a huge discrepancy between the geographical dimensions of the African continent and the

comparatively small number of peacekeepers operating on these grounds. On the other hand, the cultural factor

turned out to raise serious problems as well.

The intervention in Somalia in the early 1990s was the first real occasion for the Western military to

understand its importance in peace operations. The peakeepers’ failure to understand Somali culture reflected

not only at the decision-making level, but also in their lack of knowledge of Somalia, its history and culture.

Hence, Somalia became a reference point in identifying what kind of troops would be more successful in

complex scenarios such as those that were going to proliferate in Africa in the decade to come.

(Track 3)

X. Listen to a recording about a UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur and answer the questions below.

1. Why did the UN have to replace the African Union force initially deployed in Darfur?

2. What are the major risks of a resource-lacking peacekeeping mission?

3. Why is Guéhenno hesitant to allow a peacekeeping force in Darfur?

4. What steps should be taken in authorizing a peacekeeping force?

XI. Discuss these questions with your classmates:

1. What are the difficulties of a peacekeeping mission?

2. What are the dangers a soldier might face on peacekeeping missions?

3. What possibilities of entertainment are there for peacekeepers?

XII. Look at the pictures below and predict what the following peacekeeping stories might be

about.

XIII. Read these peacekeeping stories and identify similarities between them.

Movies and Missiles

I was the duty NCO in the mess at Kamp Krusty Croatia, where I was running the movie "Commando" with

Arnold Schwarznegger for some customers. As anyone who has seen the movie knows, the last 20 minutes is

rather noisy, as fearless Arnold proceeds to demolish an island single- handedly. I was so pleased everyone

enjoyed the movie. Taking the movie back, I saw some APC’s warming up, but I turned the blind eye to them.

Next, I went for the night report. Big mistake. I was greeted by ‘Where were you when we were running to the

bomb shelter with all our guns?"

"When was this?", I asked, a little taken aback.

"Oh, around quarter to ten," my superior replied.

"Watching a movie", was all I could mumble.

It seems that, while someone was firing an M-80 anti-tank rocket at us, I was so caught by Arnold’s blowing up

the little island that I became unresponsive to anything around. Fortunately, by some combination of bad

Eastern Bloc technology and lack of marksmanship, the rocket fell short by about 150 meters. We all had a good

laugh at someone's expense.

The Monkey Attack

In the few relaxation hours a peacekeeper has, David, an NCO, took a walk in the zoo of Badme. As he

walked past a monkey that was chained to a nearby tree, the monster sprung out and attacked him, grabbing

hold of his leg and locking his fingers, attempting to bite him. Terrified, he did not know if he should shoot the

beast or try to break free. Finally the beast freed him.

David returned to camp anxious to tell everyone the story with the savage beast. I wasn’t at the zoo at the time

to witness the whole ordeal, and kind of doubtful I decided to go see for myself this so called beast that David

described as a huge black gorilla. I was rather surprised to see a monkey the size of a little two year old. It was

a black spider monkey that stood to your knee. I don't understand how this miniature could have almost dragged

a 180lb human being to the ground. When David approached the monkey again, it started to freak out. We had a

good chuckle about the whole situation and David still swears that the monkey was much bigger and more

ferocious than all of us have witnessed.

My First Mission

I remember arriving in Santici, looking puzzled at my officers and thinking, ‘what is it that we have to do?’

General McColl arrived on our doorstep and provided me with my mission. He said - ‘We want you to go out

there and further the peace’. What could be more motivating? First, I was asked if I wanted to stand guard in a

tower, or become a Sentry Dog Handler. Well, I loved dogs and hated heights, so I decided to learn dog

handling on the job! I was assigned to three other Infantry guys whom I outranked all. Nevertheless, I didn't

know anything about infantry tactics. A little disappointed, I tore off my stripes and played the dumb private.

Once we were in position, I was startled to discover my dog did not want to sit still and listen. No amount of my

pleading could convince him to be quiet. The dog made so much noise that the infantry guy in charge asked for

permission to send me back to the perimeter. They pointed me in the proper direction and told me the password.

On the way back, feeling quite frustrated with the dog about to pull my arm off, we tripped a wire attached to a

trip flare. Then I knew I was going to be shot by the guys on the perimeter. I promised myself, as I screamed the

password over and over, that if I lived through this night, I would become the best “infantryman" and dog

handler possible. Somehow, by the grace of the big guy, I made it to the perimeter and with much training, I did

become a good infantryman and scout dog handler.

XIV. Look in the three stories for words or expressions that have the following meaning. Write

them in the space provided:

0. ignore turn the blind eye to

1. fail ……………………………………

2. seize suddenly ……………………………………

3. painful experience ……………………………………

4. behave irrationally ……………………………………

5. be superior in rank ……………………………………

6. stumble upon ……………………………………

(Track 4)

XV. One of the challenges of a peacekeeping mission is the interaction with foreign speakers of English.

Listen to the following peacekeepers and find out who……

1. has had professional accomplishments Speaker number

2. expresses concern for his country Speaker number….

3. has had personal achievements Speaker number….

4. has seen the benefits of his mission Speaker number ….

5. feels proud of being a peacekeeper Speaker number….

XVI. Work in groups of four. Chose one peacekeeping story, imagine a different ending and tell it

to the class.