Obligations, Interventions, Peacekeeping : Exploration For A New Mandate

Unmistakably, innumerable world events have set the stage for a multitude of moments of peace, liberty, and justice throughout the globe that have been long awaited for extensive periods of time. The key formula of momentous changes throughout history have not only been political decisions, but also the commonly associated aspect of warfare. Together, these often-chaotic melting pots of policy and conflict have paved the way for ending extensive moments of injustice and hardship while also toppling the authoritative rule of brute dictators such as Adolf Hitler. However, quite commonly the long-fought pathways towards victory and sequential freedom leaves behind a long tail of destruction and chaos often paid for in the cost of lives, limbs, damaged societies and post-traumatic stress disorder. On the positive side, however, what these long-fought battles sometimes give birth to are organizations and policies that emphasize the necessity of not only preserving peace, but also aiding those commonly negatively impacted by those moments of disorder and chaos. A great example of an

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.

People have ignored the cries of the weak, innocent, and forgotten for too long. We have a civil and moral duty to not let these cries go unheard. Who are we, if not the peacekeepers of the world? What are we, if not a body of nations, working

Theoretically significant to conflict is social identity theory. It allows “predictions to incorporate who is likely to perceive and act in group terms, to remain committed to the group in times of crisis” Turner (1999), Doosje & Ellemers, (1999). Bar-Tal stresses conflict exists when an incompatible goal exists between two groups. The question of when incompatibility sets become important in understanding the cause of inter-ethnic or communal conflicts for instance, even more importantly; conflict within ingroup. Inter-ethnic or communal conflict because within the scope of peacebuilding, that is the point where building peace thrives the most. There is an assumption that for peacebuilding to be

Kathy Vandergrift writes about the implementation of the United Nation Security Council’s Resolution 1612. Her work consists of writing about the resolution and how the Resolution 1612 could function and prevent further abuses against children. She states that making the protection of civilians in conflict, particularly children, is a priority. Her work shows how the United Nations dealt with the problem. The United Nations made some progress, but there is still a need for changes. Vandergrift shows the accomplishments and failures of the Security Council. She also mentions some measures that have been used for the protection of children. Those measures include public awareness, diplomacy of children and the support of humanitarian organizations

Holt explained, “For women such as Amma the situation is made worse by the Bosnian government's reluctance to recognize women as civilian victims of war” (Holt, 2005, para. 11). The law enforcement is negligent when it comes to proper enforcement, which can be seen in the case of the women within Rwanda, Bangladesh, and Bosnia. Moreover, it seems that within these countries there is not only a lack of enforcement within women’s rights, there also seems to be no education regarding these issues. While these concerns are of high importance, another daunting question remains, where are the global organizations when these crimes against humanity occur?

If not blamed on ‘male nature’, the fault is on commanders and managers that did not efficiently implemented UNSCR 1325. But the persistence of SEA cannot be blamed on isolated cases, and underlying patriarchal values seems to be a valuable alternative explanation to the dominant discourse. The UN discourse in these peacekeeping missions clearly embodies characteristics of rape culture including biological explanation, women objectification, victim blaming and lack of accountability. This is associated with a general unwillingness to implement reforms, or cultural resistance. The UN has a tendency to blame its failure on states and individuals. But as shown previously, the UN has the ability to held UN civilians accountable and fails to do so. By ignoring the roots of the problem, namely its internal patriarchal culture, the UN only perpetuates the mechanisms that cause SEA; and allows SEA by peacekeeping personnel to some extent. Until the reforms aims at ‘ the dismantling of violence-producing masculinities’ (Enloe, 2005: 283) the problem of SEA will persist, undermining the organisation legitimacy and authority as an actor in women’s

“The United Nations was never intended to be a utopian exercise. It was meant to be a collective security system that worked” stated former secretary-general of the United Nations (U.N.) Kofi Annan in the 2004 Report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. Although, peacekeeping operations are not mentioned in the U.N. Charter it is evident that it is an essential global security tool that has been deterring International conflicts ever since World War II. This paper argues that while U.N. peacekeeping operations are beneficial in terms of aiding to resolve conflicts around the world, there are severe limitations that global peacekeeping faces. Critical, realist, and postmodernist scholars question the efficacy and have competing

The Syrian refugee crisis is an outcome of the civil war that has suffered this country over four years. Therefore, a solution to this conflict is urgently needed to stop the humanitarian tragedy and the flood of refugees. In Syria’s civil war, the critical mass participation of local and international actors, with different priorities, perceptions and interests, has dramatically reduced the likelihood of a negotiated or military solution. In this context, the United Nation Security Council is the most suitable and pragmatic space to lead and seek for a multilateral solution, instead of continuing with these failed unilateral or bilateral military interventions that have taken place in Syria. The UN Security Council should promote a converging and problem-solving approach between Russia, the United States and other regional powers involved in Syria’s crisis, like Saudi Arabia and Iran; and then try to negotiate with the Government, rebels and paramilitary groups, as well as define an international strategy to defeat Jihadists.

With increased access to what goes on around and the need for the next big story to bump up the networks ratings the need to take action has become necessary. Now this in itself is not necessarily a downfall of peace operations but the call for immediate action and even faster resolution often is. The 10 minute segment we see on the news channel on our way to work shows us the most gritty and violent piece of information and we take our demands to the government in an effort to stop the violence. “Weak actors will want to "socialize" the conflict—that is, to enlist allies in their cause against a greater power and to increase the perception of suffering” (Bajraktari and Parajon 2007, par. 5). With this motivation the third-party must now gather the advisors and top personnel to devise a plan that fixes all atrocities taking place on the nightly news. “The international community would do well to recognize the danger of calibrating its responses to the substance and timing of the information it receives from media reports” (Bajraktari and Parajon 2007, par. 6). There is no mistake that action should be taken as quickly as possible to diffuse the conflict as much as possible but the overall goal that seems to be

How did the historical facts change Peacekeeping operations before and after the cold war? History

Much recent discourse surrounding humanitarian intervention has focused on the responsibility to protect (R2P). Prevention is a key component for good international relations and few would say it is not important, but as evidence to date would show prevention is very ineffective, the legality of military intervention still needs to be debated, as to date there is no consensus. For any intervention to be legitimate, whether unilateral or multilateral, it must comply with international law. So as not to cause any confusion, any situation in which an “intervention” is done with the permission or by request of the state being intervened, should be considered humanitarian assistance as state sovereignty is not breached. This paper will

The United Nations, with its rigid moral and political limitations against force, has become a benchmark of peace and a social achievement of modern times. From war torn Europe, the United Nations developed from five major powers with an initial goal to prevent the spread of warfare through peaceful means and to establish and maintain fundamental human rights. Through the past fifty years, this organization has broadened its horizons with auxiliary organizations from peace keeping missions to humanitarian aid, to economic development. However, in a modern example of ethnic cleansing, the UN faces new a new role as a bystander as its power is bypassed by NATO forces. The UN, however, promises to be an

The purpose of this paper is to examine the six chapters assigned for this week. First, in Weiss et al.’s first chapter entitled The Theory of UN Collective Security, the authors elaborate on the foundation and purpose of the United Nations serves on a global scale by means of collectivity. Second, chapter four entitled Evolving Security Operations: Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Libya, and Syria, provides specific examples of relations between the United Nations and individual nation-states, the progress the UN has made in developing countries, and how the resistance the UN faces affect the organization as well as the population they serve. Third, chapter ten of Weiss et al.’s book, Sustainable Development as Process: UN Organizations and Norms focuses on the humanitarian efforts of the UN, especially in the focus of establishing self-sufficiency in developing countries. Then the three chapters in Pease’s book, Security, The Environment, and Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues, focus on three key issues facing the international organizations today.

In 2012 on September 19th the United Nations Security Council met for its 6838th meeting to address the issue of Children in Armed conflict around the world and the role that the United Nations would play in the event of a Country utilizing children soldiers. The Security Council voted in favor 11 to 0 with only 4 countries abstaining such as China, Pakistan, Russia and Azerbaijan and their abstainment only came from issues with the Resolutions text and not the resolution itself. The Security Council sought to address this issue reiterating “its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and, in this connection, its commitment to address the widespread impact of armed conflict on children”.