The dynamics of peacekeeping have grown to incorporate transnational organised crime, illegal resource exploitation, climate change impacts, a proliferation of cheap weaponised technology and targeted disinformation campaigns.
These additional “challenges” according to United Nations (UN) Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, mean peacekeeping missions mounted under the world body’s flag need more resources and greater political support.
Addressing the Security Council (SC) earlier this week, he singled out the low-cost technology utilisation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drones, along with mounting geo-political tensions as reasons why all UN member states should commit to peacekeeping. “UN operations can only ever be as strong as the collective support of nations,” he told the 15 member Council, currently chaired by Cameroon in the form of Philemon Yang. The UN has it he is a seasoned diplomat who was also Prime Minister from 2009 to 2019.
Elaborating, Lacroix said the 70 000 plus peacekeepers currently deployed worldwide make a difference daily protecting civilians, clearing mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), monitoring fragile ceasefires and preventing hostilities escalating.
He used regional examples, including three in Africa, to illustrate.
In the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), MONUSCO peacekeepers “are alone in protecting” over a hundred thousand displaced civilians at the Drodro camp. The UN mission in South Sudan – UNMISS – is working to advance political solutions by engaging local and national stakeholders, building confidence for long-term peace. And in Abyei, the UN Interim Security Force (UNISFA) mediates peace agreements between herders and farmers competing for scarce natural resources, preventing conflict during cattle migration seasons in collaboration with local and international partners.
Noting improvements in and to peacekeeper safety, Lacroix warned the increasing threat posed by hostile attacks, including drone attacks, pointed to a need for better counter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems.
He stressed there are limits to peacekeeping telling the UNSC “blue helmets can act robustly to protect civilians, but they do not fight wars”.
