UN marks 60 years of peacekeeping - 29 May 08

Al Jazeera's Ghida Fakry speaks to Jean-Marie Guehenno, the Under Secretary General for United Nations peacekeeping on whether the UN should take a more aggressive role in enforcing peace.

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News & Politics

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• Al
• Jazeera
• Ghida
• Fakry
• Jean-Marie
• Guehenno
• United
• Nations
• peacekeeping
• 60
• years

[Polargoo]

to be honest, i don't beleive that the UN is making any difference in the world.

[EyesoreII]

What did the UN do to stop Rwanda?

[Polargoo]

@Jordonification You NOOB, Haiti is a case of natural disaster. Any country with influence would have help Haiti out.

Just because you see the media covering crap about the UN doesn't mean it's true and shit.

The UN is a mere organization that has no influence what so ever on peacekeeping or peacemaking.

Humanitarian Aid is a different field, don't compare them. Capish?

[Jordonification]

@Polargoo how about Haiti n00b.

[maxbiteme]

im sorry but i think many of you are wrong in saying the UN is useless and not making a difference, simply because of the fact your using the internet means youve got a computer and your speaking english. which means you likely in a country or area with good resource and communication, so it makes perfect sense that 'you' dont notice the difference but im sure their are many unheard thankful opinions.

[mephistox2010]

i agree, the irish are always too drunk to do any good.

[ocean3da]

Irish should withdraw from UN missions.

[Maxcom12]

the last time the UN did a good job was the korean war and to all the idiots out there it was a UN operation (look it up)

[thunderflash82]

There is also a belief in the world today that countries that contribute PK don't have the stomach for casualties (belgiums in rwanda

1994, US in somalia 1993, UN in 2006 israeli/lebanon war). Once these countries withdraw their forces the mission collapsed.

PK operations are also taking place in conflicts zones that are less centralized and thus are harder to control. The 1st PK mission was b/w prof. armies, now they include militias, terrorists, pro-gov, anti-gov, and everything in between.

[thunderflash82]

From a soldier's and commander's POV, UN peacekeeping missions are rather haphazardous. More CF personal were killed in PK operations than in Afghanistan. Rules of engagement prevent the forces the freedom to respond to conditions and prevent situations from getting out of hand.

[thunderflash82]

The idea of Peacekeeping today is very much flawed. It's a romanticized idealogy (at least in Canada) which has it's footprint in a much different world than todays. There are never enough troops or money to support operations, too much beauracratic control from people who don't realize what's actually taking place, and often prevented from being effective in the endless conflicts of interest that come about when you get the world's nations competiting against each other. ex China vetoing Dafur.