The Pros And Cons Of UN Peacekeeping

Created May 29, 1948, The United nations national security council approved and authorized the launching of a global peacekeeping force called the UN Peacekeepers to stabilize areas of conflict post world war two. As of 2018 The United Nations Peacekeeping corps has a personnel that consists of 104,657 in total and 90,000 soldiers. The rules of engagement for members of the United Nations peacekeepers corps cannot directly enter combat unless attacked; they are a defensive policy only force. Some argue that a defensive only force such as the peacekeepers is bound for failure under any circumstances while others argue that having the offensive capabilities of a fully functional international army will lead to multinational conflict and increased

There have been multiple instances of mass casualties due to the UN peacekeeper’s defensive rules of engagement. Supporters of offensive operations look to past instances where the the defensive practices of the UN peacekeepers have led to mass death. In 1994, 2000 Rwandans died in Rwanda as a result of the 90 Belgian peacekeepers not being allowed to engage the approaching militant group, the Hutus. The UN command avoided engaging even though they knew that the Hutus were planning a genocide on the rwandan people. They instructed them to instead, aid foreigners to local airports resulting in mass killings. Furthermore, more than one million rwandans died as a result of the genocide. The UN peacekeepers could only watch in terror because they were not directly attacked. Supporters of offensive operations for the UN believed that if the peacekeepers had the power to engage the Hutus, they would have been able to prevent the genocide that left millions dead, sparing hundreds of thousand of lives. On July 11th, 1995, 8000 muslim men in srebrenica were murdered by serbians in a UN declared safe zone. According to the Guardian, 6000 Dutch peacekeepers knew the massacre would be inevitable, but could not act, therefor they were unable to stop the massacre. They were

These crimes include rape, sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, and receiving ransoms. Peacekeepers have accounted for the spread of HIV/AIDS in many populations they are supposed to protect. According to the international magazine, Foreign Affairs, UN peacekeepers have been accused of sexual misconduct in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Haiti, Liberia, and many others. In 2014, peacekeepers from France and Georgia were accused of incidents of sexual violence against young children in the Central African Republic. In 2016, following investigations, the UN reported 41 cases of abuse involving peacekeepers from Burundi and Gabon. According to the Associated Press, there have been 2,000 sexual abuse and exploitation complaints made against U.N. peacekeepers and personnel worldwide over the past 12 years, with more than 700 occuring in Congo. An AP investigation found that despite promising reform for more than a decade, the U.N. failed to meet many of its pledges to stop the abuse or help victims. They have also found many instances of rape victims of UN peacekeepers who have birthed the children from their rape not see any compensation or settlement money. Opposers to the claim ask the question, how can the execution of offensive operation by UN peacekeepers be trusted to be successful and responsible