The .2 percent non-solution.

AuthorRenner, Michael
PositionU.N. Peacekeeping Reserve Fund - Editorial

Not long ago, a leading newspaper described the United Nations as a "huge paper mill" that cranks out reports "that hardly anybody ever reads." Such criticism falls on fertile ground, particularly among Americans, who have long tended to regard the U.N. as a bloated bureaucracy. General misgivings about the world organization now increasingly carry over to its peacekeeping operations as well. The misgivings are understandable, considering the great difficulties U.N. troops have had in Somalia and Bosnia.

Some critics interpret these difficulties to mean U.N. peacekeeping just won't work. But these critics may have second thoughts after considering a seven-page report by U.N. Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, published last November--one of those documents that "hardly anybody reads." The report strongly suggests that if the Blue Helmets have struggled, it is not because the system has failed, but because the member nations have sent them into the field without providing the support everyone agreed they would need.

The report recounts that in January 1993, recognizing the need for a stronger capability to respond quickly to emergencies, the U.N. members established a Peacekeeping Reserve Fund of $150 million to cover start-up costs of new missions--not a bad idea, considering that the U.N. has been called on to initiate 25 missions since 1988. Dispatching the Blue Helmets and their equipment in a timely manner can make the difference between success and failure. But as of last October, notes the report, only $300,000--or .2 percent of the budget amount--was available. How could this have happened?

According to the report, the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund never got more than 43 percent of its bare-bones allocation to begin with, because a number of the member nations had failed to pay their dues. Then, most of that 43...

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