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United Nations A Great Time for Genocide : World commitment to UN Peacekeeping Operations Severely Lacking by Sophia Barkat If you were a dictator in Asia, Africa or Eastern Europe hoping to commit a genocide, then the 1990s were a great time to do so. For if anyone was to stop you, the UN just could not. According to a 1995-2004 report from the UN, the world had committed only 14,000 troops in 1999 to UN Peacekeeping Forces, down from 65,000 in 1995. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/) The troop reduction was okayed by the UN Security Council -- lead by China, US, UK, Russia and France, its permanent members. This, despite a rising incidence of wars all over the world. Civil war in Liberia, which claimed the lives of almost 150,000 people – mostly civilians – and led to a complete breakdown of law and order, had started in 1989, way before the UN Security Council decision. The war displaced scores of people, both internally and beyond the borders, resulting in some 850,000 refugees in the neighboring countries. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/) Yet, the plight of Liberians did not have much bearing on the Security Council. Liberia was not the only genocide ignored. In Cote D’Ivoire, formerly the Ivory Coast, over 20,000 civilians were killed in the year 2000, and thousands displaced over a power struggle between elite groups which started in 1993. (See http://www.un.org/) And in the 1994, in Rwanda, about 800,000 Tutsis were murdered by the dominant ethnic group, the Hutus. The offensive began in 1990, also before the UN Security Council decision, and did not have any bearing on it. These are just three of the fifteen or more wars recognized by the UN to be wanting of peacekeeping forces. Of the three wars, Rwanda's situation was most grave. The UN also could only send troops to help Rwanda in the '90s. Only 5000 UN troops were sent to Rwanda in 1990, and that too, for the peaceful signing of a peace accord between the warring groups. No more were sent when the 1994 conflict broke out. Unpaid Debts of US, Russia & Germany force UN into Insolvency It is entirely possible that the aggressors had noted the UN’s inability to deploy forces in the ‘90s, (See http://www.gendercide.org/case_rwanda.html), and known of the UN plan to cut-back from 63,000 troops in 1995 to 24,000 in 1997. There were ample signs all over the UN, and the nations' politicians would have access to the information, as delegates of the UN General Assembly. During the 1990s, the UN was facing a serious cash shortage as a result of non-payment of both the regular budget and peacekeeping budget assessments by world superpowers. As of 31 December 1995, such member nations owed US $2.3 billion -- $564 million to the regular budget and $1.7 billion for the peacekeeping budget. As of 1996, the US owed the UN $414 million in unpaid general budget bills, and $812 million in unpaid peacekeeping bills -- a total of $1.24 billion. Russia also owed $404 million to the Peacekeeping Budget. Germany owed $24 million to the Peacekeeping Budget as well. (See http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca). Thus, two of the five permanent members of the Security Council were among the biggest defaulters. This forced the cuts in the UN peacekeeping operations, and the UN was forced to borrow unparalleled amounts of funds to pay for the regular budget expenses, such as staff salaries and running the Peacekeeping mission. As Kofi Annan stated in 1996, "The financial crisis has brought the UN to the edge of insolvency (See http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca) Attack on America mobilizes UN Peacekeeping but not from the West One wonders if the UN Peacekeeping effort would have been revived as fast as it was if the US had not been the target of a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. It finally gave the UN a legitimate cause to boost participation from the world. Suddenly, the budget and troop commitment were up from 14,000 in 1999 to 65,000 as of Jan 31st 2005 (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/). And yet, the West has not been interested to boost it’s participation in the UN Peacekeeping mission. Instead, poor nations, as usual, have upped their commitment. The leading nations to contribute peacekeeping forces to war zones are not from the US, Great Britain, Canada, or Australia. They have been nations in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and Scandinavia. According to a Jan. 31st, 2005 UN report, the top 17 nations to contribute troops were: Pakistan (8,183), Bangladesh (7,942), India (5,154), Nepal (3453), Ethiopia (3,428), Ghana (3335), Jordan (2,929), Nigeria (2,884), Uruguay (2,497) and South Africa (2,317), Morocco (1704), Kenya (1675), Senegal, (1575), Brazil (1367), Ukraine (1204), Argentina (1006), and Poland 724. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/) The West, however, has been missing in action, even though the West dominates the UN Security Council, which is in charge of ordering Peacekeeping missions. The Security Council consists of 15 members: 5 permanent members who have a veto (China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and USA) and 10 non-permanent members who are elected for a two-year period on a rotational basis and do not have a veto. In comparison to the members of the UN General Assembly, however, the Security Council members, particularly the permanent members, have shown gross negligence in troop commitment to the UN Peacekeeping Mission. As of Jan. 31st 2005, the world superpowers provided next to no troops: China (1038), France (606), USA (428), UK (431), Russia (363). Other industrialized nations like Canada (314), Germany (296), Sweden (303), Spain (260), Italy (184), Finland (47), Switzerland (34) and Japan (30) also lagged behind. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/). In comparison, the December 2000 numbers were: US (885), UK (584), France (493), Russia (290) and China (98) for the permanent members. Other EU nation commitments were as follows: Portugal (990), Netherlands (946), Ireland (782), Finland (723), Canada (568), Germany (481), Denmark (306), Italy (276), and Spain (195). (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/). Of the EU nations, France, Russia and Spain also raised their commitments in 2005, as did China, a member of the Security Council. A marked decrease, however, was seen in the troops from Scandinavian nations and Portugal. The can be seen as a need to increase domestic security after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The escalating war in Chechnya may have led to a decrease in commitments from Russia. The recent massive deployment of US, UK, and Australian troops in Iraq and somewhat in Afghanistan may also explain why none of these nations are increasing their troops in the UN Peacekeeping mission. Rape, AIDS/HIV & Lack of Oversight With minimal presence of UN Peacekeeping troops in Congo, it is impossible to stop warring ethnic Hema and Lendu militia from terrorizing Bunia. Rape is the preferred weapon for this group. In eastern Congo, the Hema and Lendu militia are known to snatch girls from fields or from their homes, despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers based there. In fact, UN Peacekeepers in Bunia have also been accused of raping young or trading treats for sex, suggesting a serious lack of oversight of UN operations, due to lack of funds. (See http://www.un.org/apps/news/) A recent World Health Organization study showed that over 40,000 rapes occurred in the two eastern provinces during the conflict. Children as young as 3yrs old were raped. Preventing rape is a major concern during and after all wars, something the UN Peacekeeping forces should try to stop. According to WHO, in the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, between 20.000 and 500,000 Muslim women were raped (about 1.2 % of the total pre-war female population). A report by the UN (1996) Special Rapporteur on Rwanda estimated that at least 250,000 women were raped during the Hutu-led massacre of Tutsis. In Liberia, towards the end of the 5-yr civil war, 49% of women (ages 15-70yrs) reported some form of physical or sexual abuse from soldier or fighter. (See http://www.who.int/hac/). Apart from the trauma associated with rape, the other effects are on the health of women and children, who are the main targets of rape. In Africa, in particular, this may have helped to spread HIV/AIDS within the population at a faster rate. Displacement by war, from fleeing and being driven out, have further lead to the spread of disease, as well as real physical and economic hardships to those displaced. Late but Necessary Action In the last three years, the UN, having revived its peacekeeping mission, has been able to deploy troops for the first time in many nations facing genocide. It now maintains peacekeeping operations in sixteen nations, mostly in Africa. (See http://www.un.org/). Most are also quite under-funded and under-manned and inadequate to avert violence. Here are some of those missions: As of Jan 31st 2005, the total number of UN Peacekeepers deployed in Congo (MONUC) is 13,950, up from 5000 troops in 2000 when MONUC was formed. The current figure is well below the 23,900 troops and 507 civilian police personnel originally requested by the Secretary General, Kofi Annan in 2002. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/) In 2003, the UN established UNMIL to stop violence in Liberia. As of Jan 31st 2005, 15,775 troops are now present in Liberia, but more are needed. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmil/) In Burundi, Operation ONUB was established in 2004. It now has 5,460 total uniformed personnel, and is involved in keeping the peace between the Hutus and Tutsis, two ethnic groups looking to make peace in Rwanda also. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/onub/index.html) UNOCI was created in 2004 to keep the peace in war-torn Cote D’Ivoire. (See http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/) There are only 6,224 total uniformed UN personnel there now. More Help Is Needed The lack of interest in UN Peacekeeping efforts by the West is being met by the world’s poor. The poor nations are not able to provide much more than their own troops, and are already quite invested. It is important, therefore, for the Western nations and global superpowers to step up to the plate. A powerful peacekeeping force is necessary to deter the various dictators and generals of the world who do not mind killing millions just for power. Action Alert! Don't let your politicians get paid for nothing... Ask your local elected official to lobby for more troops and funds to the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions. See the Activism Center for links on how to contact them. References: http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/pht/en/Mental_%20health_JEgeland_speech.pd
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