In the first 40 years of the United Nations 13 peacekeeping operations were authorised, most of them to monitor ceasefire lines. After the end of the Cold War another 20 operations were mounted, involving 75,000 troops by 1994, at an annual cost of $3.6 billion. Currently, some 35,000 troops are deployed in 14 countries.
This great increase in peacekeeping commitment over the last decade was not, unfortunately, accompanied by a thorough re-examination of the operational capacity and mandates of the forces deployed. They have remained dogged by inexperienced personnel, chaotic planning and inadequate resources. These shortcomings contributed to the disastrous experiences of the UN peacekeeping forces in Somalia, Bosnia and Rwanda, which led to a more general disenchantment and a swing towards the use of regional organisations such as NATO in Kosovo. All this is heavily underlined in an authoritative report on peacekeeping presented to the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, and published today. Its recommendations address many of the key issues involved; if implemented they would go a long way to repairing the shortcomings identified in the report.
Among the recommendations there is a strong emphasis on co-ordinating conflict prevention between the UN and other international organisations, and on the need for a greater planning and analysis capacity. Clear, credible and achievable mandates should be developed. Once deployed, UN forces must be able to defend themselves robustly against those who attack them. Peacekeeping forces and leading military and civilian personnel must be capable of being put rapidly in place, using standby arrangements developed between willing member States and on-call lists of officers. In preparation for that it will be necessary to strengthen UN headquarters staffing and organisation.
Throughout the document there is a particularly strong emphasis on the role of civilian resources, especially of police forces, and other legal and human rights experts. It calls for a "doctrinal shift" in this area "to reflect an increased focus on strengthening rule of law institutions and improving respect for human rights in post-conflict environments". Civilian police should be moved out of the military reporting chain and their autonomy respected. This approach reflects new thinking on security throughout the international community. It was also seen in a report on the European Union's rapidly developing security and defence policy, accepted at the Feira Council this summer, which gives a more central role to police work in monitoring elections, restoring democracy, establishing and maintaining the rule of law and training local police forces.
The Garda Siochana have played an honourable role in peacekeeping, which may well now grow if these proposals are implemented. Mr Annan has decided to put a senior aide in charge of putting them in place, in co-operation with the UN's member States. Government leaders will gather next month at the Millennium summit in New York to consider them, along with other proposals to reform and develop the world body. It is good to see evidence of such constructive thought as this being brought to bear on its deliberations.