Title: POLITICS: Are UN Troops Ill-Trained For Peacekeeping?
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, May 10 (IPS) - The crisis in Sierra Leone has
brought into focus an oft-repeated criticism of UN peacekeeping
operations, namely, that most UN troops are neither trained nor
fully-equipped for the sometimes dangerous task of keeping the
peace in post-conflict situations.
"We have never assumed responsibility for training peacekeeping
troops," UN Spokesman Fred Eckhard admits. "We expect the
contributing governments to do that."
Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters Wednesday that the
best peacekeeper is a well-trained soldier. "And we would like to
see some of the governments with capacity, with good armies and
well-trained soldiers, to participate."
But unfortunately, he complained, these countries are "not running
forward to contribute to this force."
"So we have to take the forces we get. And that is why I hoped
that some of those with capacity would go to the assistance of
those who are in there, doing the bidding of the Security Council
and the UN," he added.
As of April 30, the 10 largest troop contributors to all UN
peacekeeping operations were: Nigeria, India, Ghana, Australia,
Jordan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Poland and the Philippines.
On Monday, Annan appealed to countries such as Britain, the
United
States and France for a "rapid reaction force" to move into Sierra
Leone and boost the embattled UN peacekeepers there. But none
of
these three countries - all with highly professional armies - has
responded to Annan's request.
Responding to a comment that the United Nations, once again, is
being let down by member states who make promises but don't
deliver, Annan said: "The UN can be as strong as its member
states, and we go back to the question of political will, and
resources, and the willingness to commit resources."
More recently, however, the United Nations has developed manuals
and video clips for soldiers serving in peacekeeping operations
while UN staffers have travelled to various countries to train
military trainers.
"We have a sort of a training infrastructure in the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations," Eckhard said.
But the basic instructions and guidelines provided by the world
body have apparently not helped the troops in Sierra Leone, mostly
from Zambia, Nigeria, Jordan and India, who have been quick to
relent under pressure from armed and unarmed rebels.
The rebels, belonging to the 45,000-strong Revolutionary United
Front (RUF) led by Foday Sankoh, have succeeded in abducting and
detaining about 500 UN troops and civilians causing a major
political crisis for the world body. At the last count, the UN
peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone had a total strength of 8,936
troops.
The abductions have not only humiliated the United Nations but
also threatened all future peacekeeping operations because it may
deter member states, mostly from Third World nations, from
providing troops.
The abducted troops - described as "detainees", not "hostages" -
have also been stripped of their light weapons and communications
equipment.
One newspaper report said that a teenage rebel hijacked an
armoured personnel carrier without a fight. Of the 16 armoured
personnel carriers with the Zambian contingent, at least 13 have
been lost to rebels who have deployed the vehicles in and around
the capital of Freetown.
As is customary, the UN force in Sierra Leone is equipped mostly
with light arms and armoured personnel carriers. And each
battalion is expected to arrive fully-equipped with their own
transport, communications, light weapons and even helmets and flak
jackets. But not every unit comes fully equipped. Meanwhile, the
United Nations has ordered some Russian helicopter gunships. They
are expected to arrive by the end of May.
Eckhard has already admitted problems with the UN's communications
equipment in Sierra Leone. " (It is) not good ... It is always
breaking down," he said.
As a result, the United Nations has urgently shipped additional
equipment from its storage facility in Brindisi, Italy. "But it is
still not the kind of communications equipment we would need that
would be absolutely reliable. We are using one of the least
reliable systems right now," he added.
But despite these shortcomings, the UN force in Sierra Leone is
planning to stick to its guns. "We hope it will not come to a
pitch battle, but we are preparing for one," Eckhard added.
Meanwhile, the United Nations is also blaming its misadventure
largely on budgetary cuts and sub-standard equipment. "Frankly,
governments have not given us the strengths we need here at
headquarters to do the kind of professional job we would like to
do," he said. "Our numbers have been reduced. Our budgets have
been cut."
Part of the problem lies in the fact that by the late 1990s it
appeared as though all UN peacekeeping missions were winding
down.
"And then they created large missions in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and
East Timor, and they have now authorised a large one for the
Democratic Republic of the Congo," he said. (END/IPS/IP/td/da/00)
Origin: SJAAMEX/POLITICS/
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[c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
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