UN & Peacekeeping Flashcards
(43 cards)
What were the origins of the UN Emergency Force?
In 1956, to facilitate the disengagement of British, French, and Israeli troops from Egypt following the Suez Crisis, a multilateral armed force dispatched to help keep the peace until a political settlement could be reached
What is the primary mandate of the UN?
Maintaining international peace and security
What are the caveats of the UN prohibition on the use of force?
- Prohibition against the use of force does not cover all situations
- Sovereign states can use force within their territory
What are the UN mandates on self-defence?
- Self-defense must be necessary and proportionate to the aggression
- When a state faces an imminent attack, it may have a right to act in anticipatory self-defence
What are the Security Council Powers on dispute settlement?
It can call disputing parties to resolve their conflict through peaceful means such as fact-finding, good offices, negotiation, arbitration and judicial settlement
It can compel compliance with decisions binding on member states
It may impose diplomatic and economic sanctions and authorise military force
It can delegate enforcement to regional bodies
What are the types of peace operations?
They range from small observation and monitoring missions to peacebuilding in conflict-afflicted societies
Usually small-scale under Chapter VI
What were peacekeepers initially intended to be?
Original role of peacekeepers was to serve as buffer forces and observers
What were the origins of the UNTSO?
Created in 1948 to monitor the ceasefires after the first Arab-Israeli war
What is the UNTSO?
Unarmed military observers
Still monitors ceasefire agreements in Lebanon, Golan Heights, Sinai
What are the five Peacekeeping Principles?
- UN-mandated missions
- Consent of parties
- Impartiality
- Voluntary troop contributions
- Minimum use of force
What is the UN Post-Cold War shift for peace missions?
Shift from peacekeeping to peace enforcement
What is Peacemaking?
Measures to address conflicts in progress and usually involves diplomatic action to bring hostile parties to a negotiated settlement
Involves negotiation, mediation, and democratic decision-making processes
How is Peacemaking different from Peacekeeping?
Unlike peacekeeping, peacemaking uses mutual dialogue to achieve fair agreement about how to solve the immediate problem, thereby removing the parties’ incentives to use violence
What does Peacekeeping mainly refer to?
The deployment of national or, more commonly, multinational forces for the purpose of helping to control and resolve an actual or potential armed conflict between or within states
Who authorises Peacekeeping missions?
Most peacekeeping operations are undertaken with the authorisation of, and are often led by, the United Nations (UN)
But regional organisations may also conduct peacekeeping operations, and in some cases single states have undertaken such operations as well
What are the characteristics of Peacekeeping forces?
Peacekeeping forces are normally deployed with the consent of the parties to a conflict and in support of a ceasefire
Peacekeeping forces are usually unarmed or only lightly armed and use the minimum of force necessary
What are the goals of Peacekeeping efforts?
Involves efforts to stop or limit the harmful symptoms of escalated conflict—direct violence (such as abuse or attack) or potential violence—and to establish sufficient safety to enable efforts toward preventing further violence
What is Peace Enforcement?
Refers to the use of military assets to enforce a peace against the will of the parties to a conflict when, for instance, a ceasefire has failed
What is the relationship between Peace Enforcement and Peacekeeping forces?
Peace enforcement often exceeds the capacity of peacekeeping forces and is thus better executed by more heavily armed forces
What is Peacebuilding?
Measures targeted to reduce the risk of relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities for conflict management and to lay foundation for sustainable peace and development
Transformation of social relations - repairing the systemic factors that were causing and exacerbating harmful conflict
How are Economic Sanctions and International Criminal Prosecution utilised?
In addition to military force, Security Council also uses non-military coercion
Sanctions on Iraq, al-Aqaeda and Islamic State
Criminal tribunals - esp. former Yugoslavia and Rwanda
What were the origins of peacekeeping?
League of Nations brought in to resolve territorial dispute between Colombia and Peru, 1933-34
Each side’s military forces were withdrawn and an internationalised force of Colombian troops under the Commission’s supervision remained
What was the fate of the territories of the Saar basin, formerly part of Germany?
Placed under the administration of the League of Nations for a period of 15 years
At the end of 15 years, a plebiscite was to be held to determine the final status of the Saar
An international police force, composed of soldiers from Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, and Sweden, was deployed to maintain order on the day of the plebiscite
What were the weaknesses of the League of Nations and its efforts at maintaining peace?
Intended to prevent states from going to war, the final sanction was the threat of force
Ultimate authority rested on the mobilisation of world opinion
Belief that the threat of economic sanctions, alone, would be sufficient to deter states from aggression
