The mission of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations is to protect and strengthen peace in post-conflict environments. Since 1945, the UN has undertaken 61 field missions and participated in the implementation of 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts, and enabled people in more than 45 countries to take part in free and fair elections. Read more about who UN peacekeepers are and what they do, where they work, and how many of them there are.
Who are UN peacekeepers and what do they do?
UN peacekeeping troops and personnel come from 110 countries, but the largest number of troops come from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Jordan, Nepal, Ghana, Uruguay, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa. The United States does not provide troops to UN peacekeeping, but it does lend a handful of experts in military and policing to advise on these operations. It is now widely understood that successful implementation of peacekeeping mandates depends on women serving in meaningful numbers and making major contributions, so the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is working to increase the number of female peacekeepers in the field.
UN peacekeepers have difficult and often complex missions that often include a variety of roles. They work to prevent the outbreak of conflict, contain the spill-over of conflict across borders, and facilitate the implementation of peace agreements. They engage in important infrastructure work, aiding the construction of the hospitals, schools, and roads crucial to any society moving out of war. In addition to maintaining peace and security, peacekeepers are increasingly charged with assisting in political processes, reforming justice systems, training law-enforcement and police forces, and disarming former combatants. In recent years, for example, UN peacekeepers have supported elections in Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- allowing over 56 million people to cast votes.
Peacekeepers are not war-fighters, and they cannot be deployed in between sides that are actively at war with one another. Following the recommendations of a study led by seasoned diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi in 2000, the UN can only deploy peacekeepers where a peace agreement has already been reached. This need for a "peace to keep" is essential to the ability of UN peacekeepers to do their job -- to help countries consolidate peace and transition to safe and stable societies.
Where do UN peacekeepers work?
UN peacekeepers operate in some of the most remote locations and hostile environments around the world. UN operations have provided practical, on-the-ground support for vulnerable populations while peacekeepers work to a bring stability and, eventually, long-term peace and development.
How big is UN peacekeeping?
In just a few years, the number of UN peacekeepers deployed to conflicts has more than doubled to reach its highest level in history. Today, more than 100,000 peacekeepers from 110 countries are serving in 16 missions around the world, while just four years ago barely 40,000 peacekeepers were active. Despite this growth, UN peacekeeping has an annual budget of just $7 billion, representing only 0.5% of global military spending.
This increase represents both a growing confidence in UN peacekeeping’s ability to stabilize post-conflict areas and the new demands being placed on the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations’ resources. Just in the past four years, UN peacekeeping has started up missions in Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Burundi, Darfur, Southern Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic, and East Timor, as well as expanded its missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lebanon. The United States, whose permanent membership and veto rights in the UN Security Council allow it to authorize or suspend any peacekeeping operation, has supported and encouraged this major increase in UN peacekeeping.
The number of UN peacekeepers deployed around the world will continue to grow, as the joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur has been authorized to deploy 26,000 troops and police. As the world looks to the UN to take on larger and more complex peacekeeping missions, it is essential that countries honor their financial obligations to UN peacekeeping. Member States, including the U.S., must live up to their promises by providing the resources and troops to allow missions to be successful. |
