ORGANIZATION OF
UN PEACEKEEPING
11 October 2016
Content
 Launching UN peacekeeping operations
 Running UN peacekeeping operations
 Department of Peacekeeping Operations
 Assembling and deploying troops
 Troop contributing countries
 Cold and post-Cold war era
 Motivations for state participation
 Top contributors
 Financing UN peacekeeping operations
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Launching UN peacekeeping
operations
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Launching UN peacekeeping operations
 first, the UN Security Council (SC) / the UN Secretary
General (SG) identifies a threat to peace and
international security
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Launching UN peacekeeping operations
 next, the SC authorizes the operation
 support from at least 9 of the 15 members of the SC, incl. all 5
permanent member states
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Launching UN peacekeeping operations
 Cold War – difficult to come to a unanimous decision in the SC
  to overcome a veto, the General Assembly (GA) adopted
the “Uniting for Peace” resolution (1950) (Korea)
 GA empowered itself to recommend collective security
measures whenever the SC is unable to reach a decision
 utilized to launch UNEF I and ONUC
 questions the authority of the SC
 the SC determines the mandate of the operation
 varying extent of Cold war and post-Cold war resolutions (see
ONUC vs. MUNOC)
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Launching UN peacekeeping operations
 Secretariat is the link between the will of the UNSC to respond and the
multi-dimensional realities of the field operations
 Crafting a mandate must be more inclusive than the currents needs
 To ensure preparedness and prevent ad-hoc adjustments with delay
 Presents a significant obstacle
 Crucial for preparedness to protect civilians in cooperation with
government – when government is itself the problem
 Post 1999 - ‘United Nations operations do not deploy into postconflict
situations so much as they deploy to create such
situations’ (Brahimi Report)
 Daily administration by DPKO and Department of field support
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Launching UN peacekeeping operations
 approval for a six-month period and subject to renewal
 usually reauthorized without much debate or change in mandate
 implementation of UN PKOs – responsibility of the SG
 SG makes recommendations on how the operation is to be
launched and carried out
 selects the force commander (military figure)
 reports to the Security Council on the mission’s progress
 appoints a “Special Representative” to a mission (diplomatic
figure)
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Where do peacekeepers go?
 Elements increasing the likelihood of deployment (Gilligan,
Stedman):
 Number of deaths - The more severe a conflict, measured by the number
of deaths, the more likely the United Nations is to intervene.
 Length of conflict - The probability of a UN intervention in a given war
increases as the war drags on
 Small army size - The United Nations is significantly less likely to intervene
in civil wars in countries with large government armies
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Biased preconceptions
 There is evidence of regional bias in the UN’s selection of missions, but the worst
bias is against Asia, not Africa. (more deaths needed in Asia to trigger)
 There is no evidence that the United Nations intervenes in secessionist conflicts at a
different rate than it intervenes in attempts to take over control of the government.
 There is no evidence that the United Nations intervenes more in countries with high
primary commodity exports (banana republic interventionism)
 There is no strong evidence that the United Nations intervenes in democracies at a
lower rate than it does in non-democracies (almost equal rate)
 There is no evidence that the United Nations intervenes in former colonies of
permanent members of the Security Council at a higher rate than it does in other
areas.
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Running UN peacekeeping
operations
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Department of Peacekeeping Operations
 day-to-day management of operations
 none till 1992; before, peacekeepers could reach UN headquarters
only from 9 am till 5 pm NY time...
 tasks: to plan, prepare, manage and direct UN PKOs
 political and executive direction to UN PKOs
 maintains contact with the SC, troop and financial contributors and
parties to the conflict
 aims to integrate the efforts of UN, governmental as well as nongovernmental
entities
 guidance and support to other UN political and peace building
missions
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Assembling and deploying troops
 Kofi Annan: “Our system for launching operations has sometimes
been compared to a volunteer fire department, but that description is
too generous. Every time there is a fire, we must first find fire engines
and the funds to run them before we can start dousing any flames.
The present system relies almost entirely on last minute, ad hoc
arrangements that guarantee delay, with respect to the provision of
civilian personnel even more so than military.”
 the SG asks member states to contribute troops and other
personnel
 supplies, equipment, transportation and logistical support from
member states or private contractors (1989/2001 Convention)
 civilian staff – personnel from within the UN system, loaned by
member states, or recruited internationally
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Assembling and deploying troops
 the time necessary to deploy a mission varies,
depending on:
 political will of member states to contribute troops
 availability of financial resources
 complexity of mandates and logistics
 elements of UNEF II deployed within 24 hours X
high-risk environments – within months
 Usual troop strength bellow resolution provisions for
entire duration
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UN and PMSCs
 1989 / 2001 - Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing
and Training of Mercenaries
 However recruitment is common practice without
 Non-combat roles for PMSCs – specifically:
 logistics, intelligence, demining
 most frequently policing and protection of civilian personnel
 Encroachment on traditional UN roles as well in DDR and SSR
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Troop contributing countries
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Cold and post-Cold war era
 Cold war operations
 states without direct involvement in the conflict
 dependence on host state consent  any bias could ruin the operation
 exclusion of contributions from the superpowers, other permanent
members of the SC and closely allied states
 if, then contributions from one member of the Warsaw Pact (e.g. Poland)
and one from NATO (e.g. Canada)
 important role of “middle powers” (e.g. Australia, Canada, India) – welltrained
personnel,
 other willing and able peacekeepers: e.g. Scandinavian states, Ireland,
Austria
 post-Cold war operations
 restrictions on participation partly lifted
 predominant contributors still the same
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Top troop contributors
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 expansion of peacekeeping after 1988 
expansion in the number of countries involved
 1988 – 26 countries
 1995 – more than 80 countries
 2013 – 116 countries
 Great shift in contributors during the 1990s
 Guess which states contribute most to UN PKOs?
1991- 03/2015
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Top troop contributors
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August 2015 contribution contrasts
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Month of Report :
31-Aug-15
Country Totals
Bangladesh 9,432
Ethiopia 8,309
India 7,794
Pakistan 7,533
Rwanda 5,685
Nepal 5,346
Senegal 3,628
Ghana 3,242
China 3,079
Nigeria 2,968
Month of Report :
31-Aug-15
Military Experts
Ethiopia 113
Pakistan 95
Bangladesh 74
Egypt 72
Ghana 67
Yemen 66
Russian Federation 60
Nepal 51
India 51
Nigeria 40
UN Standby force?
 Standby force
 50 nations, 40 000 troops, China 8 000
 Currently - China
 2833 troops in 9 missions
 2 force commanders
 High value assets – hospitals, engineers, logistics
 2nd largest financier of UN PKOs
 Possible upgrade to UN aerial capabilities
 Return of Canada and the USA?
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Sources
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 Bellamy, A. J. – Williams, P. – Griffin, S. (2004): Understanding Peacekeeping, Cambridge, Polity Press.
 Bureš, O. (2008): United Nations Peacekeeping: Bridging the Capabilities-Expectations Gap, Saarbrücken, VDM
Verlag.
 Daniel, D. C. F. – Caraher, L. C. (2006): Characteristics of Troop Contributors to Peace Operations and
Implications for Global Capacity, International Peacekeeping, Vol XIII, No 3, pp. 297-315.
 Diehl, P. (2008): Peace Operations, Cambridge, Polity Press.
 Global Policy (2005): Peacekeeping Operations Expenditures: 1947-2005, on-line text
(http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Z/pk_tables/expend.pdf)
 Ramsbotham, O. – Woodhouse, T. (1999): Encyclopedia of International Peacekeeping Operations, Santa
Barbara, ABC-Clio.
 S/RES/143 (1960), on-line text
(http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/157/32/IMG/NR015732.pdf?OpenElement)
 S/RES/1291 (2000), on-line text
(http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N00/313/35/PDF/N0031335.pdf?OpenElement)
 UN (2005): In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all. Report of the SecretaryGeneral,
on-line text (http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/270/78/PDF/N0527078.pdf).
 UN (2012): Background Note UN Peacekeeping, on-line text
(http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/documents/backgroundnote.pdf)
 UN (2013): Department of Peacekeeping Operations (http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/).