The Peacekeeping Dilemma.

• Author: Meece, Roger
• Position: Essay

Peacekeeping operations are mandated to deal with some of the most intractable conflict areas on the planet, but receive little media attention and little debate at the political level about their nature, operations, and effectiveness. Occasional headlines will focus on perceived peacekeeping failures, suggesting operational or other implementation deficiencies. In my view, however, the apparent lack of success of these peacekeeping missions stems from systemic problems largely overlooked or ignored by the major powers, notably to include the five Security Council permanent members. We need to find more effective solutions.

As of July of this year, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the main agency overseeing contemporary peacekeeping operations, directs 14 operations on 4 continents utilizing roughly 110,000 personnel (military, police, and civilians) with an operating budget of U.S. $ 6.8 billion for fiscal year 2017-2018. In the words of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, they operate "... on the frontlines of our efforts to prevent the emergence of lawless regions where insecurity, transnational crime, and extremism can flourish. They are an investment in global peace, security, and prosperity."

The United States plays a key policy role in the establishment and overall direction of these peacekeeping operations. The U.S. currently pays 28.47% of the UN peacekeeping budget through the assessed contribution formula, which is based on the relative economic size of the member state plus an additional premium for Security Council permanent members. The next two largest funding providers are China (10.25%) and Japan (9.68%). The U.S., however, has little direct participation in peacekeeping operations, ranking 75th on the list of military and police personnel contributors, with a total of 53 people as of May of this year. In contrast, China ranks 11th with 2,514; France ranks 33rd with 759. The top military and police contributor is Ethiopia with 8,417 personnel.

By far the largest of the UN operations are in Africa, with missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Mali, and the Central African Republic (CAR), along with a "hybrid" UN/African Union force in Darfur, Sudan. These African missions constitute roughly 75% of the total current UN peacekeeping mission personnel strength. As with all UN peacekeeping missions, they are predicated on three basic principles: 1) consent of the parties, 2) impartiality, and 3) non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate. These principles and resulting peacekeeping mandates are effectively based on an assumed context of a general post-conflict environment accepted by the belligerents to monitor and support a truce, settlement, or overall ongoing peace process. All, however, operate to varying degrees in zones...