Canada in the UN & UN

(and NATO) Peacekeeping Operations:

Canada in the UN & UN

(and NATO) Peacekeeping Operations:

J Marshall 2007

A SERIES OF WW2 TALKS LED TO UNA SERIES OF WW2 TALKS LED TO UN

• 1. Establishing the UN• 1941: Atlantic Conference• 1942: Washington Pact - 26 nations sign (vs. the Axis)

• 1944: Dumbarton Oaks - the basic plan with 4 policemen (USSR, USA, UK, China)

• 1944: Bretton Woods - IMF/World Bank• 1945: Yalta - USSR only 3 seats + France on

Security Council

• 1945: San Francisco - 50 sign Charter

After the Washington Pact of ’42, the Allies referred to themselves as the United Nations.

UN MembershipUN Membership

• The refusal to let fascist Spain join showed not all were welcome (she joined in 1955).

• The expulsion of South Africa in 1974 showed that members who didn’t abide by certain rules could not stay; but,– what about Security Council members who are

totalitarian? And…– what about the Charter and non-interference in

domestic policies?

The Bipolar World

• Remember that Wilson could not get the Republican Congress to ratify US participation in the League.

• Remember also that the USSR was expelled from the League in 1939.

• Can you recall what crisis was the de facto death of the League?

• What difference would the inclusion of the two superpowers have in a new world organization?

• Remember that a flaw of the League was that many key countries were not members,

(or were members but were later expelled).

• While the UN started with 50 states, in 2007 it contains almost every nation of the world (193).

The UN HQ in NYCThe UN HQ in NYC

This building opened in 1950 - prior to that the UN met alternatively in London, Paris and New York.

This building opened in 1950 - prior to that the UN met alternatively in London, Paris and New York.

CIDA is not a Cdn UN group, although many of the humanitarian departments of the UN do similar work

As a member nation, we give $ to the UN earmarked for specific programs.

Peacekeeping

• Lester Pearson is credited with this solution and won the Nobel Prize.

• Actually the British first floated the idea, Pearson just took the ball and ran with it.

• The key is that the belligerants must want the peacekeepers - thus more recently we’ve seen peacemakers - not always from the UN (although usually UN sanctioned).

UK, France and Israel

vs.Egypt

(After President Naser nationalized the Canal

zone)

Does Canada’s siding with the US position vs. UK signal a shift in allegiance?

• United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt, December 1956.

Canadian soldiers stand in formation upon their arrival in Egypt. The Canadian force was part of a larger contingent of troops from Columbia, Denmark, Finland, India, Norway, Sweden, and Yugoslavia that the UN sent to Egypt to establish peace.

Blue helmets helped distinguish the Cdns from the combatant Brits who wore similar uniforms

1956 Suez - UNEF 1

• Lester Pearson is credited with this solution and won the Nobel Prize.

• Actually the British first floated the idea, Pearson just took the ball and ran with it.

• The key is that the belligerants must want the peacekeepers - thus more recently we’ve seen peacemakers - not always from the UN (although usually UN sanctioned).

Lightly armed observers in white vehicles and wearing blue helmets.

In 1988, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to United Nations Peacekeepers.

UNPROFOR: Yugoslavia in the 1990s

UNPROFOR: Yugoslavia in the 1990s

In places like Sarajevo, the limitations of the UN in the civil wars that characterized the ’90s were realized. Where else did (is) the UN fail(ing)?

By the mid ’90s the Cold War was over and we saw NATO’s IFOR, SFOR and KFOR deployments to uphold the 1995 Dayton Accord.

Note: an absence of white and blue paint. How does this image compare to the UNEF 1 photo?

Somalia, 1993 (Op Restore Hope)

• Cdn Airborne Regiment• Capture and torture of Shidane

Arone• Cover-up by officers and politicians

(P.M. Mulroney)• Cda’s image tarnished• Culture of Forces questioned• Somalia Inquiry (P.M. Cretien)• Airborne Regt disbanded

The Canadian Forces UN Myth: “Canadian soldiers

are peacekeepers”

The Canadian Forces UN Myth: “Canadian soldiers

are peacekeepers”

Cyprus vs the Balkans:

• 1987, 88 Cyprus

• 1992 Croatia

• 1999 Kosovo

• 2001 Bosnia

Cyprus: UNFICYPCyprus: UNFICYP

• The CF was preparing to fight a war in Western Europe (NATO vs. Warsaw Pact)

• Preparation for Cyprus was a few days

• Seen as a very soft deployment

• 90% of the effort was at the section level

Green LineDMZBuffer Zone

The Green line varied in terms of its distance of

separation (from meters to kms)

Life on the Green LineLife on the Green Line

• Platoon/section house• Static OPs• Foot/vehicle patrols• 6 days (12hrs on, 12 hrs off) / 3 days off• No protective equipment• 10 rounds / unloaded magazine on the rifle• 1 X 30 man platoon QRF in lightly armoured

vehicles (everyone else in jeeps)

Yugoslavia: UNPROFORYugoslavia: UNPROFOR

• Roto 0 = 2 infantry battalions from Cda’s NATO brigade

• Roto 1 = 3PPCLI sent a war- strength mech inf bn right after RV92 (with 5 wks of theatre-specific training prior to deployment)

• Watching an active war zone (other Cdns were in the news in Sarajevo)

The BalkansThe Balkans

Green Line?• UN Protection Area = UNPA• Sector West (Canada, Argentina, Jordan, Nepal)

• Platoon (or larger) camps• Static check points• Reconnaissance (RECCE) platoon• Vehicle presence patrols/ Vehicle check points• OPs (mostly at night)• Shot reports• Body armour 24/7• Ist line personal ammo / weapon loaded • MINE THREAT

Examples (war stories)Examples (war stories)

• 3 RCR N Coy: a wake-up call

• Riot at Sava River (NepBat) - Serb Sector

• Police (on both sides)

• Equipment - what equipment!

and…

RPG Attack

NATO: KFORNATO: KFOR• 14 days notice for battle group• Staged from Macedonia• NATO command and control• NATO bombing forced action• Prepared to fight into this war

zone• Almost a failed state - no formal

government• Atrocities - local damage• Translators

Kosovo

UN High Commission for Refugees

Guess who?

NO need for a DMZNO need for a DMZ

• Part of a British brigade (5000 pers)• APCs / 5 tanks (things are ramped up)• FULL combat load• NATO quickly became the de facto

government• Within 90 days the UN took over

administration of the locals• Disarm KLA: Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK)

Night Patrol

Platoon house bunker

Bringing it into a modern context: Canada in AfghanistanBringing it into a modern context: Canada in Afghanistan

What is our role in a post-911 world where there is no peace?

How do we decide where to deploy our forces?

How does perception affect our autonomy?

NATO is fulfilling a UN mandate: are these soldiers “peacekeepers?”

How has peacekeeping evolved and is this mission unpopular for many Canadians because it is in the news so people are aware of the violence, or because it has had more fatalities than other missions, or because it’s seen as a US war, or because it is incongruent with the peacekeeper icon?

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