Canadian Peacekeeping In Canada

Canada is a country known for its humanitarian efforts and generous compassion for those in other countries who need help. The biggest humanitarian effort in modern history has arisen in Syria and Iraq. Millions of people are displaced and are driven out of their warzone of a country. With an oppressive government and dozens of terrorist’s groups destroying the country, these people have no choice but to run to safety. That safety just so happens to be us; Countries who have been blessed with wealth and proper government, that gives us the opportunity to help those in need.

To add on, Lester B. Pearson accomplished a very great task, he created the first UN peacekeeping force. This may not sound like a huge thing, but there is a very good reason to why Pearson created this force. That reason is the Suez Crisis. On July 26, 1956 the Egyptian President, Abdul Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal without giving any compensation to the real owners of the canal – France and Britain. Nasser could now block the canal and this could “cripple the British economy” (suezcrisis.ca). France and Britain both could not let that happen so they secretly decided to have an agreement with Israel. Israel was then asked to launch an attack on Egypt, they agreed as the arms building up in Egypt threatened Israel. Once Israel attacked France and Britain used it as a distraction and bombed Egyptian positions. From there, all hell began to get lose. The whole Western alliance started to rip apart. Before things started to get worse, ours truly, Lester Bowles Pearson came into act. He started

Not many people recognize what the Suez Crisis is, but to those who do, they all know that Lester B. Pearson played a crucial role in the neutralization of the situation. In 1956 3 , Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, thus triggering a crisis. Britain and France soon joined in a coalition along with Israel, in order to topple the Egyptian government. The invasion was halted due to pressure from the U.N. Lester B. Pearson understood that France, Britain and Israel could not all hold onto the Suez Canal without consequences, most thought of a war of some sort. He also understood that the war would cause NATO and the Commonwealth to crack under the pressure. Knowing this, Lester B. Pearson convinced the U.N. peacekeeping force in an impressive 57-0 4 fashion, thus diffusing the Suez Crisis altogether. For his contributions, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. This is a defining moment in Canadian history and is often regarded as the start to Canada’s humble and nice keeping persona and it all started because of this man.

By playing a role in being a peacekeeping nation, the matter has eventually come to be an identification trait for Canada due to their previous involvement. Peacekeeping

Canadian identity wasn’t always stereotypically related to polar bears, maple syrup and beavers. Various movements in the 20th century began the development of Canadian identity. Aspects of Canadian society such as technology, peacekeeping and immigration gave Canada a distinct identity. Technology distinguished Canada as a developed nation amongst others with advanced transportation, communication and electricity. Peacekeeping is also an essential part in Canada's identity as it displays effort and desire for world peace, which is something many individuals embrace. Lastly, diversity in Canada is recognized worldwide and plays a major role in Canadian identity. Through technology, peacekeeping and immigration during the 20th century, Canadian

Canada contributes nothing to the world of peacekeeping. Canada disgraces its past image by not being a piece of the puzzle to peacekeeping. It is an abnormality that peacekeeping that no longer relates to the Canadian society. The previous statistics as a peacekeeper are drastically different than the current stats. “High of 3,336, started at 850. As of Sept 2014 – 118” (Shepard) Canada’s participation in peacekeeping has changed over the past years from prominent to non-existent. If Canada was once called the peacekeeper now it should be called the nothing-keeper, because Canada is not keeping anything at this point. They started higher than what they are currently. Canada’s contribution is nothing compared to the past as they are a disappointment to their past peacekeeping image. In conclusion Canada no longer has the reputation as a peacekeeper due to its lack of contribution.

Canadians pride themselves on being a “peacekeeping country” and many believe that peacekeeping represents a defining aspect of Canadian identity because it reflects fundamental values, beliefs and interests. Canada has been a leader in peace operations since its development that spearheaded by a Canadian. In fact, Canada’s role as peacekeeper remains the main focus of the Canadian military after its invention around 60 years ago, originally started by a Canadian. Their efforts have gained an international reputation for Canada as a significant contributor to international peace and stability. While Canada has an exemplary history in UN peacekeeping, the current extent of its contribution, both in terms of peacekeeping personnel and percentage of funds to peacekeeping missions, are on a clear decline. The belief that Canada is a peacekeeping country is misguided because recent Canadian commitment shows a sharp decline in Canadian participation in UN peacekeeping. Surprisingly, as of March 2007, Canada ranked 59th out of 114 countries in terms of military and police contributions to UN operations. Despite Canadian declined involvement in peacekeeping during the last decade, it still remains a valuable and important mission that greatly deserves Canadian resources including monetary support, resources and personnel.

Canada has been actively involved with the United Nations since its creation in 1945. Since then, Canadian peacekeepers have participated in almost every single peacekeeping mission. The role of Canadian peacekeeping was to bring peace and stability between countries. However, Canada’s role is slowly starting to diminish because of its failure to prevent conflict in peacekeeping missions. Examples of this instance include the mass genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Somalia and Yugoslavian crisis.

The Suez crisis was a conflict that could have easily turned into a third World War. With a battle between the Israelis and Egyptians at Sinai, the British and French invasion of Egypt, and nuclear threats from the Soviet Union, all of the elements were present to escalate the conflict and pull other countries into the fray. Canada had no direct ties to the Suez crisis, in terms of control or economic interest. However, Canadian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lester B. Pearson, persuaded the UN General Assembly to send in the United Nations Emergency Force. Even though Lester B. Pearson dismayed the Commonwealth with his measures for peace, Canada was recognized for starting the first ever United Nations Peacekeeping mission.

Canada's involvement with organizations such as the UN and NATO are good examples of Canada acting as a middle power. These were strongholds of international politics, in itself a requirement of a middle power, which were home to peacekeeping, economics and culture. These are political ideals that are used to define the position of a middle power and, by taking part in both the UN and NATO, Canada clearly exemplified the role.

Also, Canada is pressures on the political field by the United States. As a superpower United States is pressuring Canada to support them. During the Cold War Americans moved the nuclear missiles into Canada, even though the majority of Canadians were against it. Canada sends forces to Afghanistan to finish the

Unquestionably Canada was a major contributor to the United Nation’s mission in South Sudan. Canada supported South Sudan in establishing a long term stable economy capable of supporting their population. In addition, Canada protected the rights of civilians in South Sudan by supplying the necessary resources to the United Nations and South Sudan. Furthermore, Canada assisted the establishment of a non-corrupt democratic government in South Sudan. Thus, the peace operation of South Sudan from 2012 to 2016, Canada played a crucial role in supporting long term economic development, protecting the rights of citizens and establishing a stable government.

As the 20th century comes to an end, Canada is a transcontinental nation whose interests and representatives span the face of the globe and extend into every sphere of human behaviour. However this was not always the case. When the four colonies of British North America united to create Canada on July 1, 1867, the new country's future was by no means secure. Canada was a small country, with unsettled borders, vast empty spaces, and a large powerful neighbour, the United States. Confronting these challenges was difficult for the young country. Though Canada was independent in domestic matters, Britain retained control over its foreign policy. Over the next fifty or so years, Canada's leaders and its

Limitations of UN Peacekeeping have been exposed time and again. The alterations caused by these limitations have now been incorporated in the operational structure. The influence of a UN Peacekeeping Operation, too, depends on extent of involvement of various actors, whose conduct depends greatly on assessment of strategic interests. So, the characterization of United Nations as an international authority which could issue directives to enforce its mandate would be an overstatement as previous missions have demonstrated. There have been calls for overhauling the UN Peacekeeping structure. A High-level independent panel on peace operations was appointed by Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of United Nations in October, 2014 to review the state of UN Peacekeeping Operations. A major concern shared by all panel members which was also earmarked as an essential shift in the future process was the emphasis laid on striving towards a political solution rather than an attempt to diffuse the crisis by military means alone. Political instability has been at the roots of many conflicts, which the UN has sought to defuse by deployment of peacekeeping missions. Most missions failed to address the larger issue of restoring stability, on account of the fact that military interventions change the dynamics of regional security forever. Also, removal of a regime could lead to further deterioration of the conflict as political vacuum created by such removal and facilitating the creation of an interim proxy regime has challenges of its own. Taking out governments/rulers is perceived as the most effective immediate response to any call for intervention. The real challenge for international community arises after a successful throw over, as it pushes the country towards a political crisis. It is this situation that world/regional powers are keen on exploiting by appointing ‘friendly’ rulers, with an eye on strategic interests, which is why a concerted political solution should be the primary objective of the international community to avoid complications. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley recently hit out at the UN peacekeeping operations, calling for a clear demarcation between

In order to understand the concept behind peacekeeping we have to first look at the history of this UN term and how it got established. The initial kick-off year was 1948 (un.org) when the Security Council deployed troops to the Middle East in order to observe the region. It was the outcome of the creation of the state Israel and the rest of the land piece was given and left over to the Palestinian Arabs. The Arab society and the Arab Nation leaders did not accept this division which caused the conflict. At first the UN sent only observers and peaceful troops to the region