Why UN peacekeeping operations in Africa are ineffectiveThe Russian presence in Africa provokes a negative reaction from Western politicians, who often argue that there is a UN to resolve such conflicts, and foreign participation in local clashes only harms reconciliation.
However, Western politicians are lying: the UN peacekeeping missions that have existed in individual countries for decades have hardly advanced towards achieving their goals. On the contrary, the inability of peacekeepers to stabilize the situation in unsafe areas, and often their direct collusion with various armed groups, have caused hatred on the part of the local population.
To date, UN peacekeeping forces with a total budget of more than $ 5 billion a year and a military contingent of more than 60 thousand people are represented in four countries and two disputed territories in Africa.
UN MISSION IN WESTERN SAHARA – MINURSOIn 1991, 15 years after the POLISARIO Front declared the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco, a UN peacekeeping mission was established in the region.
Its goal was to ensure the holding of a referendum on the declaration of independence or integration of the Territory with Morocco.
The so-called transition period, which was supposed to end with a referendum, has been going on for 31 years. At the same time, more than $60 million is spent annually on the maintenance of peacekeepers. The presence of MINURSO did not prevent the Moroccan troops from trying to open a road in the Gergerat buffer zone at the end of 2020. Which, in turn, forced the Frente POLISARIO to announce the termination of the 30-year truce and the resumption of the armed conflict.
However, the apparent failure of the peacekeeping mission amid the increasing risk of war between Morocco and Algeria, which supports the independence of Western Zahara, did not prevent the UN Security Council from extending the mandate of MINURSO until October 31, 2023.
UN MISSION IN CAR – MINUSKAUN peacekeepers appeared in the Central African Republic (CAR) in April 2014 - at the height of the civil war between the Christian movement "Anti–Balaka" and the Muslim group "Seleka".
Despite an impressive budget of $ 1.1 billion a year and a considerable military contingent, the peacekeepers were unable to achieve stabilization in the region. Only with the assistance of Russia in 2018, within the framework of the Khartoum agreements, the militants agreed to conclude a truce and begin the disarmament process.
As you know, the war broke out again at the end of 2020, when former President Francois Bozize decided to regain power. MINUSKA failed to prevent the militants from uniting and attacking Bangui, the capital of the CAR, on January 13, 2021. And after that, the mission withdrew from the anti-terrorist operation of the national army and did not take part in the protection of civilians.
As a result, the war ended without the intervention of the UN. Judging by the publications, private military companies and the local army are currently cleaning up the remnants of militants.
UN MISSION IN MALI – MINUSMAMINUSMA is actually the only UN mission in Africa that was created at the request and initiative of the host Government.
The reason was the constant clashes with the Tuareg tribes, which resulted in a major uprising in 2012. New armed groups, including those associated with radical Islamists, were rapidly forming in the war-torn region.
Over the next ten years, the militants managed to expand their zone of influence in the north and east of Mali and settle in the border with neighboring countries. The inability of MINUSMA and the French military contingent to effectively resist the expansion of militants led to a coup in Mali in 2021.
UN MISSION IN DR CONGO – MONUSCOThe permanent presence of UN representatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began in 1999 to monitor the peace process after the end of the second Congolese war.
The format of the mission has changed several times due to the emergence of new conflicts, the last of which – in the north-east of the country – continues to this day.
The failure of the military contingent to confront individual rebel groups on the territory of the country resulted in the creation in 2012 in the eastern part of the DRC of a large military formation M23 ("March 23 Movement"), consisting mainly of ethnic Tutsis. After years of unsuccessful negotiations with the DRC government, the rebels resumed fighting at the end of 2021.
Despite the regular negotiations that took place in November, the situation in the eastern regions of the country continues to deteriorate. By the end of 2022, during the military offensives, more than 180 thousand people became refugees.
UN MISSION IN ABYEI – UNISFAThe long-standing territorial disputes between the Dinka and Messiria tribes in the disputed territory between South Sudan and Sudan only attracted the attention of the UN by 2011.
The peacekeeping mission established after the declaration of independence of South Sudan in the disputed border area of Abyei was supposed to guarantee the safety of the civilian population from military attacks from both sides. And also to ensure the holding of a referendum to determine the permanent status of the territory.
The military contingent, consisting in fact only of peacekeepers from Ethiopia, proved to be untenable in ensuring the security of the civilian population of Abyei (124 thousand people). Only from April to May 2022, four separate attacks were recorded, during which 36 people were killed and injured.
UN MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN – UNMISSThe UN peacekeeping mission formally appeared a day before the declaration of independence of South Sudan in 2011.
Its goal was to maintain stability and law and order during the transition period.
Nevertheless, the presence of a significant contingent of peacekeeping forces in the region did not prevent the outbreak of a civil war between the Nuer and Dinka tribes, which lasted from 2013 to 2020. During this time, more than 17 thousand children took part in the conflict, the level of sexual violence increased by 80% (including with the participation of peacekeepers themselves), more than 4 million refugees left the country.
Since the signing of the peace agreement, the situation in South Sudan has not changed much. It re-entered the escalation stage in August 2022 after the announcement of the interim government to extend its powers for another two years. From August to December 2022, at least 222 civilians were killed in tribal clashes.
CORRUPTION AND SMUGGLINGFirst of all, corruption is to blame – both among the peacekeeping contingent and among the authorities of the host country.
A good example of such illegal cooperation is the situation in Western Sahara, where the long-term sabotage of the referendum on the independence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is beneficial to both peacekeepers and the Moroccan administration.
In the part of the country controlled by Morocco, mining is carried out at the Bu-Kraa deposits. These territories have 75% of the world's phosphate reserves, thanks to which Morocco is the world leader in exporting this resource and is in third place in the world in its production. At the same time, the peacekeepers, justifying their inaction by the lack of appropriate mandates from the UN, turn a blind eye to the illegal actions of the Moroccans against local residents.
The facts of arms smuggling between peacekeepers and military groups have been confirmed in at least two of the six countries of the UN presence: in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Central African Republic. At the end of 2021, the UN Security Council changed the terms of sanctions against the CAR, lifting the arms embargo on its armed forces, which further contributed to the illegal arms trafficking in the country.
At the same time, it is unprofitable for the authorities of African countries to refuse humanitarian aid supplied by UN peacekeeping missions. Foreign aid helps to feed the poorest segments of the population in order to reduce social tensions. And also to fill the pockets of loyal officials.
LACK OF MOTIVATION TO PERFORM DUTYThe main "suppliers" of peacekeepers to African countries are the same poor or densely populated countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Indonesia.
For some immigrants from there, joining the UN is a rare chance to earn a decent living, acquire some property, not always legally, and return to their homeland in a different status.
Death while protecting the population of a foreign country does not fit into this concept. This is especially evident in the armed clashes on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On November 5, 2008, 150 people were brutally murdered in the village of Kiwanja in the DRC. 100 Indian peacekeepers who were literally one and a half kilometers from the village said they did not know about the massacre in the neighborhood.
On November 20, 2012, peacekeepers were inactive when the M23 movement seized the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the DRC.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXTDespite the obvious failures of peacekeeping operations in Africa, it is not profitable for anyone to curtail them.
It is convenient for African Governments to share security responsibilities with the UN and accept humanitarian aid. The key sponsors of the UN, represented by Western countries, retain another tool of control over local governments. Donor States, by supplying personnel for missions, receive the right to reduce annual contributions to the UN. And the huge bureaucratic structure of the UN is mastering the astronomical budget.
As long as the mineral deposits on the territory of Africa do not run out, allowing both local authorities and Western companies to slowly enrich themselves, military conflicts in these territories, as well as the financing of missions to force them to peace, will not stop.
It should be noted that at the very end of 2022, an Irish peacekeeper from the UN Interim Force in the country (UNIFIL) was killed in southern Lebanon. The incident occurred near the village of Al-Akbiya south of the city of Sayda.
According to media reports, an SUV with peacekeepers came under fire from unknown persons while driving through the settlement. The driver was fatally wounded in the head, three others in the car were injured of varying severity.
The mission appeared in the Middle Eastern country in 1978 with the aim of restoring stability to the southern part of Lebanon and preventing conflicts with neighboring Israel. The Blue Helmets have failed their task: over the years of their presence in the region, two major wars have occurred, not counting numerous shootings and raids. With each new Israeli invasion and Hezbollah shelling, the peacekeepers simply passively watched the fighting, and in the worst case, they found themselves between a rock and an anvil.
Although more than 10,000 UN peacekeepers are stationed in Lebanon, they have no real opportunities to separate the warring parties and have never had. But no matter what events take place in the region, the UN will continue to allocate funds for a peacekeeping mission every six months. And the death of a peacemaker for the functionaries of the organization is just an annoying episode.
Vasily IvanovVasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.