UN Peacekeeping

Pushing the African Union to Prevent Conflicts on Its Own Turf

• August 22, 2016

As the African Union ambitiously strives to end conflict and “silence the guns,” as it says, by 2020 amid rising instability across the continent, a new review by the World Peace Foundation on peacemaking efforts lays out how the African Union can become a stronger, more viable force in preventing and resolving violent conflict …

Africa, Peace and Security, UN Peacekeeping

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As China Becomes a Major Player in UN Peacekeeping, Will It Respond to Crises?

Barbara Crossette

• August 17, 2016

As China has projected its economic and military power more widely not only in Asia but also in Africa and to some extent in Latin America, little notice has been paid by the general public to another arena of growing influence: United Nations peacekeeping. In coming weeks, the Chinese are expected to announce the …

Africa, Gender Violence, Human Rights, Peace and Security, UN Peacekeeping

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Women Managers Sought for Jobs in UN Peace Operations

Susan Manuel

• May 28, 2016

The United Nations is looking for new blood to staff its peace operations while prompting long-serving employees to get out of headquarters and work in the field. In demand for jobs in UN peace operations are female managers, bilingual English-French speakers and those psychologically capable of performing effectively in a difficult environment where there …

UN Careers, UN Peacekeeping

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Fixing UN Peacekeeping Operations: The World’s Most Complicated Army

Barbara Crossette

• May 23, 2016

It has been almost a year since a sweeping assessment of United Nations peacekeeping operations by experts recommended significant changes from top to bottom: a reformed hierarchy in New York and greater coordination and discipline among military contingents in ever-more dangerous missions around the world. Few of their substantive ideas have been adopted. As …

Africa, Gender Violence, Secretary-General, UN Peacekeeping, Women

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Snakes, Scorpions and Red Tape: Europeans Adjust to the UN Mission in Mali

Dulcie Leimbach

• February 11, 2016

Since its rollout in 2013, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali has been actively recruiting more European troops to strengthen its ranks of police, military and civilian personnel from African and Asian countries, typical sources for UN missions. The mission’s main mandate is to protect civilians, stabilize the country and carry out a …

Africa, Terrorism, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations

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Report Damns the UN for Its Response to Sex Abuse Cases in Central Africa

Barbara Crossette

• December 17, 2015

A strongly worded independent report released Dec. 17 condemned the United Nations for bungled and deceptive responses to reports of sexual abuse of children by primarily French peacekeepers in the Central African Republic in 2014. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his “profound regret” and accepted blame for the organization’s systemic failures. The report implicated at …

Africa, Gender Violence, Human Rights, UN Peacekeeping

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At the UN’s Big General Assembly Day, Big Egos on Display

Dulcie Leimbach

• September 28, 2015

Monday marked another memorable day for the United Nations, drawing a record number of international leaders for the opening of the General Assembly, but it took an altogether different tone than Friday’s welcome for Pope Francis. On Friday, at the start of a three-day special session of the assembly devoted to the adoption of …

General Assembly, UN Peacekeeping

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We Need More Support to Expel Boko Haram, Chad’s Envoy to the UN Explains

Dulcie Leimbach

• September 16, 2015

An offensive against Boko Haram by a regional task force is preparing to deploy, led by Nigeria and its partners — Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin. At least that is the plan. Troops will number about 8,000 soldiers, with headquarters based in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, and headed by a Nigerian, Maj. Gen. Iliya Abbah. …

Africa, Terrorism, UN Peacekeeping

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The UN Tightens Rules on Peacekeeping Troops’ Medical Status

Barbara Crossette

• July 6, 2015

Almost five years after a rampaging cholera epidemic coursed through the Artibonite River region of Haiti and moved rapidly around the country, the United Nations, which acknowledges that a deadly strain of the disease originated in or around a Nepali peacekeepers’ base, is tightening medical prevention rules for soldiers and police. National governments will …

UN Agencies, UN Peacekeeping

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UN Security Council and Troop Contributors Chided by Review Panel

Barbara Crossette

• June 18, 2015

While restructuring at the top of the United Nations and better strategies and tactics for troops on the ground are issues provoking discussion and controversy after the recent release of a report by a high-level panel on current and future peacekeeping, less attention has been paid to the experts’ admonitions to the Security Council …

Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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UN Peacekeeping Needs Top-Down Restructuring, Expert Panel Says

Barbara Crossette

• June 16, 2015

The creation of a new office of deputy secretary-general for peace and security to consolidate and hasten United Nations’ responses to conflicts, and a surprising suggestion that the UN should not undertake missions involving counterterrorism were two major recommendations for the future of peacekeeping to emerge from a high-level seven-month study commissioned by Secretary-General …

Peace and Security, UN Peacekeeping

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Health Services Still Lag in Haiti, Shadowed by Cholera

Barbara Crossette

• June 15, 2015

More than five years have passed since the heart of Haiti was crushed by a cataclysmic earthquake that killed at least 230,000 people, only to be followed by an outbreak of cholera later that year that has left about another 9,000 dead. Billions of dollars in international aid have begun to show gains in …

Caribbean, Health and Population, UN Peacekeeping

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Making the Case for a Greater US Presence in UN Peacekeeping

Barbara Crossette

• June 2, 2015

United Nations peacekeeping needs new kinds of tools and troops to counter the demands posed by forces waging catastrophic wars beyond the control of governments and without even a semblance of adherence to the most rudimentary ethical rules of combat or international war crimes laws. The urgent need to rethink and retool peacekeeping, already …

Africa, Peace and Security, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations

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As Mali Teeters Closer to the Edge, the UN Mission Soldiers On

Sam J. Trudeau

• April 15, 2015

Facing a surge in violence that has made it the United Nations’ deadliest peacekeeping operations now, the UN mission in Mali is struggling to convince populations in the north of the country that it can overcome the remaining obstacles to ensuring that a peace agreement is signed soon and to help restore stability in …

Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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El Salvador Is Sending Peacekeepers and Helicopters to UN’s Mali Mission

Alexander Brotman

• April 6, 2015

The small Central American nation of El Salvador has been playing an increasingly active role in United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world. From the UN mission in Haiti to the one in South Sudan, troops from El Salvador are assisting with surveillance and rapid response, including engineering, refueling and aircraft support operations on …