WHAT CANADA HAS DONE AND SHOULD BE DOINGFOR UN PEACE OPERATIONS

2017 EDITION

edited by John E.Trent

THE UNITED NATIONS AND CANADA:

2017 EditionThe United Nations and Canada: What Canada has done and should be doing for UN peace operationsJohn E. Trent, editor

Dedication: This 2017 volume is dedicated to the memory of Warren Allmand. Mr Allmand, who passed away December 7 2016, was one of Canada’s longest-serving and successful parliamentarians. He represented the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce from 1965 to 1997 and held several Cabinet positions in governments led by Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He also led many internationally-mindedorganizations such as Parliamentarians for Global Action, the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, andmost recently, the World Federalist Movement – Canada.

This volume has been compiled and published as a project of the World Federalist Movement – Canada (wfmcanada.org). The views and opinions expressed in each of the articles are the sole responsibility of the authors.The online publication can be viewed at: UnitedNationsandCanada.org

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0

ISBN: 978-0-9939268-1-5

To order additional copies, contact:

World Federalist Movement – Canada110 – 323 Chapel St.,Ottawa ONK1N 7Z2Tel: (613) 232-0647Email: unandcanada@worldfederalistscanada.org

John E.Trent is a Fellow of the Centre onGovernance at the University of Ottawa,where he was formerly a professor andchair of the University’s Department ofPolitical Science. Professor Trent is theformer Secretary General of theInternational Political ScienceAssociation (IPSA), Executive Director ofthe Social Science Federation of Canada,and a founding Vice-President of theAcademic Council on the United NationsSystem (ACUNS). He is chairperson ofWFM – Canada’s Board of Directors.

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John E. TrentCanadians were at the beginning of peacekeeping.You might say that peacekeeping is in the CanadianDNA. It is similar to diplomacy, mediation,conciliation and understanding other people’s pointsof view in an international context: we just happen tobe good at it – or we used to be. Let us look at thehistorical record, the current complex situation andfinally at Canada’s present embarrassing position. At the height of the Suez Canal crisis in 1956, withour allies invading Egypt, Canada’s foreign minister,Lester B. Pearson, proposed a resolution at the UN toset up a peacekeeping force to separate thebelligerents and help ease Britain and France out ofthe war. As the former President of the UN GeneralAssembly, Pearson was listened to. It took only a weekto create the United Nations Emergency Force(UNEF) and, in effect, to save a critical situation atthe time. Today it can take up to a year to put anemergency force in the field. Pearson and Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld together set up theparameters for the new type of force which was noteven contemplated by the UN Charter. It would bebased on the principles and practices of consent ofthe belligerents, monitoring, impartiality, non-use offorce, and lightly- armed peacekeepers.

Such peacekeeping operations would have themultiple benefits of being impartial, beingconfidence-builders in conflict zones, providingtransparency, and establishing and policing a bufferzone. ey were designed to combine war-likeenforcement with peace-like negotiation. eybecame a signature activity of the United Nations. In the 1990s the Security Council went beyond thenarrow task of ‘keeping the peace’ to actually usingforce for ‘peace-making’ or ‘peace enforcement’. Morerecently, a third generation of multidimensional‘peace-building’ has evolved which includes in itsoperations not only peace-enforcement but also long-term international support for the redevelopment ofinstitutions and finances in failed states and themonitoring of elections. is multidimensional approach aims to facilitate thepolitical process, protect civilians, promote humanrights, support elections, restore the rule of law, andassist in the disarmament, demobilization andreintegration of former combatants. In most instancespeace operations are to overcome civil wars.Peacekeeping has become an essential element ofinternational security in a globalized world. at iswhy an October 2016 CTV survey indicated that

Preface

Peacekeeping: The Canadian Context

almost 70 per cent of Canadians supported deploying Canadian forcesin UN peacekeeping missions.By August 2017, there were 16 UN-led missions in the field at anannual cost of $8.2 billion U.S. ey include 112,000 military, civilianadministrators and police. us, the Department of PeacekeepingOperations in the UN Secretariat now supervises more personnel inthe field than any single country. For years Canada contributed thelargest contingent. But since the 1990s, Canada’s numbers havedwindled to 30 military personnel and 58 police. We now rank 71stamong contributors. It was no doubt to rectify this embarrassingsituation that more than a year ago the Trudeau government promisedto create a contingent of 600 military and 150 police with a three yearbudget of CAD $450 million. Apparently there have been severalrequests from the UN but at the time of writing (October 2017)Canada has still not sent a contingent to fulfil its promise. is isdespite the fact that in November 2017 Canada will be hosting the 3rdUN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Forum in Vancouver, with theparticipation of hundreds of delegates from around the world.So there we have the context for the Canadian experience inpeacekeeping – past, present and future. ere is a compelling case forCanada doing more to fulfil its responsibilities. We are needed by theUN and by the world. We have special capabilities. Canada has neverbeen a colonizer. Our forces speak two languages and are trained forboth peace and war. We can handle modern communications. Wehave the planes, helicopters, land transport and specialized personnel.Around the world, people are not averse to welcoming Canadians –especially when they are in need. Doing more will make Canadiansproud. In an interview published on Sept. 28, 2017, the Globe and Mail askedthe former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, why Canada hadfailed to win a seat on the Security Council in 2014. He replied that

members of the UN did not much appreciate the foreign policy of ourformer Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. en he added, “I am hopefulCanada can be elected next time (for a two-year seat in 2021-22). at’sthe general expectation. Prime Minister Trudeau has been seen as aleading voice in the international community on humanitarian andpeace and security issues, and even refugee issues.” We should note thatthe former Secretary-General specified peace and security issues. JustinTrudeau and the Liberals should note it also. How can we hold up ourheads, how can we fulfil international expectations, if we do not sooncarry out our promises to provide peacekeepers, policy, money,equipment and up-graded training. Only then, as Trudeau promised,will we be able to claim that “Canada is back.”In this short publication, our authors tell us the why and how ofpeacekeeping. Canada’s former Foreign Minister, Lloyd Axworthylinks peacekeeping with the problems of refugees and migration. Prof.Jocelyn Coulon, former advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, tellsus why Canada should send its peacekeeping mission to Mali.Monique Cuillerier of the World Federalists discusses Canada’sNational Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security. WFM – CanadaPresident, Prof. Walter Dorn writes about Canada’s peacekeeping pastand the need to fulfill current commitments. Peter Langille, a leadingthinker on the challenges faced by the UN, discusses standing forcesand rapid deployment. Former Disarmament Ambassador, PeggyMason, writes about the UN organization’s comparative advantages asa peacekeeper. And two of Canada’s best-known former “uniformed”peacekeeping personnel, RCMP Chief Superintendent (Ret.) DaveBeer and Brigadier-General (Ret.) Greg Mitchell, discuss Canadiancontributions to UN police peacekeeping and to peacekeepingtraining, respectively. And Beth Woroniuk discusses how the UN cando more to address sexual abuse on peace operations. But all thesespecialized topics should not impede us from raising our voices toremind the government about Canada’s responsibility for peacekeeping.

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Table ofContents

Lloyd AxworthyPeacekeeping and security for refugees 4

David BeerThe Strategic Guidance Framework for International Police Peacekeeping: A role for Canada 6

Jocelyn CoulonMali Needs Canadian Peacekeepers 8

Monique CuillerierUnited Nations Peacekeeping and Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 10

Walter DornCanada: The Once and Future Peacekeeper 12

Peter LangilleCanada: rapid deployment or routine delays? 14

Peggy MasonThe “Value Added” of UN Peacekeeping 16

Gregory B. MitchellPeace Support operations and whole of government education and Training 18

Beth Woroniuk Gender Perspectives in Peacekeeping: More than Deploying More Women 20

Lloyd AxworthyAs we await the government of Canada’s renewedengagement with United Nations peace operations,we would do well to consider the changing globalsecurity challenges that confront modernpeacekeeping – including those posed by recordnumbers of migrants and refugees.According to the UN High Commissioner forRefugees, the number of forcibly displaced persons –over 65 million in 2016 – is higher now than at anytime since the end of the Second World War. Of thistotal, the number seeking safety across internationalborders as refugees topped 22.5 million. As more and more of the world’s citizens seek refugefrom armed conflict, UN peacekeepers areincreasingly tasked to serve in operations where thecessation of armed conflict is still a work in progress,and Security Council “protection of civilians”mandates face enormous difficulties. Recent fundingcuts by peacekeeping’s largest financial contributor,the United States, constitute yet another challenge.Countries hosting some of the largest concentrationsof refugees are also heavily reliant for their internalsecurity on UN peace operations. Examples includeSouth Sudan, Central African Republic andDemocratic Republic of the Congo.

e UN system demonstrates an awareness of thecross-cutting nature of many of these challenges (butnot always the will to make the changes necessary).Some examples:

e June 2015 UN High-Level IndependentPanel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) called foran essential shi in the way peace operationsare conceived and carried out. e HIPPOhighlighted the “primacy of politics,” the ideathat lasting peace is achieved through politicalsolutions and not through military andtechnical engagements alone.e current Secretary-General’s embrace of“sustaining peace” as an overarchingframework for much of the UN’s programmingencompasses the spectrum of peace andsecurity operations: conflict prevention,mediation, peacekeeping, peacebuilding andlong-term sustainable development.And last September’s Summit, “AddressingLarge Movements of Refugees and Migrants”led to a declaration that includes a plan ofaction, “Towards a Global Compact for Safe,Orderly and Regular Migration,” setting out yetanother framework for positive responseswhen governments meet again to address theseproblems in the Fall of 2018.

Peacekeeping and security for refugees

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As Canada’s foreign Minister, I was involved in effortslike the Landmines Treaty and the InternationalCriminal Court, which made me realize that there arelimitations within UN structures to the degree offreedom to think and act outside the box. A lot ofinterests are at stake. Ultimately the UN needs to bethe place where change happens, but it’s not the placewhere the best thinking is going to be done on thekinds of normative and institutional changes that arenecessary. With climate change, famine, armed conflict all onthe rise, the way the world comes to grips with therising number of refugees need a major re-set. e World Refugee Council that I am chairing --supported by Centre for International GovernanceInnovation (CIGI) and the government of Canada –hopes to come up with recommendations forsignificant reforms, as well as mobilizing the politicalwill needed to implement them. For example, the whole system of funding refugees,based primarily on donor government pledging, isreally kind of archaic. Many of the legal instruments,like the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement,the 1951 Refugee Convention and, in a peacekeepingcontext, the Kigali Principles on the Protection ofCivilians, are weak and/or out of date. We need a new,much more coherent multilateralism.

Canada not only supports our work on the WorldRefugee Council, but also provides an example toothers of how best to re-settle refugees and managediversity. Our contributions to peace operations and to refugeesystem reform can provide important reasons forother UN member states to view positively Canada’scandidacy for election for a two-year term on the UNSecurity Council in 2021-22.

Lloyd Axworthy is currently Chairpersonof the World Refugee Council. He hasheld several federal Cabinet positions,including Minister of Employment andImmigration and Minister of ForeignAffairs. He is also a member of theCommission on Global Security, Justiceand Governance, and international Co-President of the World FederalistMovement – Institute for Global Policy.

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David BeerIf Canada intends to reinvigorate its long covetedimage as peacekeeper, any strategic response couldinclude support to the UN Police (UNPOL) “StrategicGuidance Framework” for International PolicePeacekeeping (SGF) as a logical, affordable and highprofile marketing of “Brand Canada.” Today about 13,000 police are deployed to 18 UNmissions. Once monitors and reporters, police arenow problem-solvers, mentors and trainers;protecting civilians, securing elections, investigatingcrime and fighting extremism. However, PoliceContributing Countries (PCCs) represent widelydiverse standards of justice and operational policingcapacity that are weaknesses of police peacekeeping. Since 2009 UNPOL has worked to develop a newpolicy foundation. UN PCCs were consulted to find,not “best” practices, but “good” practices they allcould embrace as a collective policy for policepeacekeeping. e product, the SGF, is a coherentframework ready to roll out as a foundation of theUN strategy for sustainable peace through justice andsecurity. It includes guidelines for: capacity building,command and control, police operations andadministration, and assures pre-deploymentreadiness and wider operational capabilities.

Narrowing diversity among PCCs, it details skills andstandards, and gives operational guidance forcivilian-led “integrated” missions. e SGF stresses transparency and accountability,principles of consent and impartiality, and onlyjustified use of force. It is a global policing model, amodel not influenced by biases, racism or corruption-- common maladies that creep into even well-founded systems. Underpinned by human rights,gender equality, protecting the vulnerable, combatingviolence and exploitation, and overarchingcommunity service, the SGF is a benchmark offundamental “good practice” for any policing system. By the 1990’s the changing nature of conflict, withintra-state conflict more common than inter-state,traditional peacekeeping grew to include alternativeand inclusive strategies. e importance offundamental justice as a foundation of sustainablesecurity and state development was recognized.Today civilian police missions are oen complex anddangerous, sometimes including executive toestablish and sustain security, as well as mentoring,advising, training and building capacity towardsustainable local capacity development.While the fundamental role of civilian police -

The Strategic Guidance Framework for International Police Peacekeeping: A role for Canada

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internal security through enforcement of law andprevention of crime - is a universal idea, to “serve andprotect” is interpreted differently around the world.Police resources and practice among UN memberstates represent widely diverse policing experience,expertise, techniques, training and skills. ey comefrom different judicial systems, reflect differentcultures, societies, religions, and languages. Today itis not uncommon for police missions to includeofficers from as many as 40 or more countries. Add tothat reality persistent logistical challenges, dynamicand dangerous conflict environments, rotatingcontingent deployments, and national caveats wheremember states stipulate and even restrict thedeployment assignments of their national policerepresentatives, and the complex formula of policemissions is better understood. In a painstaking process to standardize and improveUN police performance, the UN has made concretesteps to identify roles, responsibilities, skills andcompetencies, and created a framework of strategicguidance for police contributions to peacekeepingmissions. e result is the Strategic GuidanceFramework for International Police Peacekeeping, acohesive and coherent plan for United Nations Police

to meet the challenges of the complex mandates ofmodern post-conflict.

A path for Canadais all presents a clear path for Canada to take aleadership role supporting UNDPKO. Canada is anexperienced police peacekeeper, current in the“integrated mission model”, universally recognizedfor police professionalism, and a contributor to thedevelopment of the SGF. Moreover the SGF mirrorsCanadian foreign policy priorities; human rights,gender equity; reducing sexual violence; protectingthe vulnerable and refugees. As the UN prepares to roll out the SGF globally, itwould welcome financial or administrative assistance,or direct human resources support like trainers,senior mentors, or subject matter experts.

Reference:UN Police, Strategic Guidance Framework for InternationalPolice Peacekeeping:http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/sites/police/initiatives/framework.shtml

David Beer, Chief Superintendent (Ret.),Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

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Jocelyn CoulonIn the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeaupromised Canadians and the world that, under hisgovernment, Canada would re-engage in UN peaceoperations, long neglected by the Conservatives. Inpower, he repeated his determination to keep hispromise at his first meeting with the UN SecretaryGeneral in March 2016. A few months later, inAugust, he unveiled an ambitious plan to deploy up to600 military personnel and 150 police in UNoperations and to provide specialized equipment. eDepartment of Foreign Affairs also had an annualbudget of $150 million for the next three years tofinance peace and security initiatives for fragile states,to protect women and girls, and to strengthenregional peace and security organizations.Although the Canadian plan was well received by theUN on paper, the government has been slow toimplement it. However, in December 2016, JustinTrudeau received a full briefing on the variousdeployment options. e four options presentedconcerned missions in Africa: in Mali, the CentralAfrican Republic, South Sudan and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. Since then, the Prime Ministerhas been unable to choose, and this attitude isunforgivable.

In my opinion, Canada should participate in the UNpeacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, for atleast three reasons.First, in Mali, Canada is on familiar ground and hasdeep roots. e two countries have had diplomaticrelations since 1970, and Mali is one of the topbeneficiaries of Canadian development assistance.Canadian diplomacy, supported by cooperants andNGOs, has spared no effort to support developmentand democracy and to promote the protection ofhuman rights at all stages of this country’s sometimesviolent history. Canadian industrialists, especially inthe mining sector, have also invested heavily there.Second, Mali is in the heart of an area, the Sahel,where many crises and issues, such as weakgovernment, proliferation of Islamist terrorist groups,trafficking of drugs, weapons and people, competitionfor natural resources, and migratory flows, threatenthe security of all of West Africa, as well as Europeand consequently North America. Furthermore, since2012, Mali has been going through a delicate politicaltransition following a coup, a rebellion in the north ofthe country and repeated attacks by Islamist terroristgroups. is situation has led to the deployment ofthree military operations to stabilize not only the

Mali Needs Canadian Peacekeepers

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country but also the region: the Barkhane operationled by France, with the mandate of fighting terrorismin the Sahel; the UN mission, MINUSMA, whosepriority tasks are to protect civilians, to accompanythe peace and reconciliation process betweenMalians, and to restore the government’s authoritythroughout the country; and finally the EuropeanUnion’s mission, EUTM–Mali, with the mandate oftraining a national army.e job of reconstruction and stabilization isimmense. As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterressaid on September 20, 2017, Mali is still fragile and ina sensitive period one year before the nextpresidential election. If the country is to take this stepand implement the peace agreement, it needs all theresources at its disposal. In his latest report on thesituation in Mali to the Security Council, theSecretary General called on member states tocontribute to the mission. In particular, he requestedsome specialized equipment to fill some ofMINUSMA’s gaps, such as armored personnelcarriers, helicopter units, an intelligence, surveillanceand reconnaissance company, and a company toneutralize explosives and munitions. Canada has thisequipment and could make it available to the mission.

ird and last, Canada, as a founding member of theUN, has the responsibility to ensure thatpeacekeeping operations run smoothly. SeveralEuropean countries have returned to peacekeepingmissions, especially in Mali, in order to strengthenthem. Canada must share the burden of peace andsecurity in Africa. It must help Mali and the UN.

Jocelyn Coulon is a researcher at CERIUM,University of Montreal. He served asSenior Policy Adviser to Canada’s Ministerof Foreign Affairs, 2016-2017.

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Monique CuillerierIn the more than fieen years since the first UnitedNations Security Council resolution (1325) tospecifically address the women, peace and securityagenda, sixty-three countries have developedNational Action Plans (NAPs) — and sixteen newones are in progress. National Action Plans act asimplementation frameworks for a government’s workin women, peace, and security. ere is no specifictemplate for countries to follow in developing anational action plan and their details reflect nationalinterests and priorities.Canada’s first national action plan (C-NAP) coveredthe period from 2010 to 2016, expiring at the end ofMarch of that year. A new C-NAP has been in processsince then and is scheduled to be released shortly.e C-NAP includes participation by numerousgovernment departments and other bodies who areinvolved in work related to the women, peace andsecurity agenda. is, of course, includes thosegovernment bodies involved in peacekeeping: GlobalAffairs Canada, the Department of NationalDefence/Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF), andthe Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).efirst C-NAP was based on the four pillars of thewomen, peace and security agenda: prevention,

participation, protection, and relief and recovery.Amongst others, Canada made peacekeeping-relatedcommitments such as increasing the meaningfulparticipation of women in peace operations;increasing the effectiveness of peace operationsincluding the protection and promotion of the rightsand safety of women and girls; and improving theCanadian capacity to address violence and protecthuman rights of women and girls within the contextof peace operations.ese broad goals were backed up by 28 actions and24 indicators, divided amongst the four pillars andwith reporting commitments assigned to the relevantgovernment bodies. ere are various ways of considering issues related towomen and peacekeeping. One approach, that wasprevalent, if not dominant, in the first C-NAP was theuse of quantitative indicators. Examples of relevantpeacekeeping indicators that DND/CAF and theRCMP were responsible for include the percentage ofpre-deployment courses that address the differentialimpact of armed conflict on women and girls; thenumber and percentage of personnel deployed topeace operations that have received such training;and the number and percentage of female Canadian

United Nations Peacekeeping and Canada’s National ActionPlan on Women, Peace and Security

Links to documents fromWPSN-C and Global AffairsCanada at https://wpsn-canada.org.

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Forces personnel, police officers, and civiliansdeployed to peace operations. While such indicators are not a problem, there wereidentified issues in the first C-NAP with a lack ofbaselines and targets attached to them. In the finalprogress report of the first C-NAP for 2015-2016,released in June 2017, Global Affairs Canada says thattheir intention is that “the renewed C-NAP have astrong baseline and realistic targets with a limitednumber of actions which are clearly focused on movingfrom one to the other and for which performance canbe measured through appropriate indicators.” Reporting commitments that realisticallyacknowledge the current situation and move Canadatowards feminist foreign, defence, and internationalassistance policies, as the federal government hasindicated they want to do, will ensure a Canadianpeacekeeping contribution that incorporates a genderperspective. But they alone are insufficient. So long asthe C-NAP acts primarily as a reporting frameworkand not as a call to further action, there is a danger itwill merely be a bureaucratic tool. ere are also issues related to the women, peace andsecurity agenda and peacekeeping that are not so easyto measure quantitatively. Conflict-related sexual

violence, for example, is an acknowledged problem.And although details can be counted — the numberof complaints, for example — the problem itselfrequires a change in the fundamental attitudes andbehaviour of peacekeepers. is change will take timeand patience, along with a supportive C-NAP thatencourages the federal government to take thechallenges of the women, peace and security agendaseriously.e new C-NAP is also intended to be bi-structural,having both an overarching framework andindividual departmental reporting, according to theirown goals and plans. e overarching aspect will,ideally, bring together an overall strategic objectivefor implementing the women, peace and securityagenda across the relevant parts of the federalgovernment.Clearly, if the new C-NAP is going to contributepositively to Canada’s peacekeeping efforts movingforward, it needs to address the challenges of fullyintegrating the women, peace and security agenda intothe workings of DND/CAF and the RCMP, while alsomeaningfully measuring the integration of a genderperspective in peace operations and related areas.

Monique Cuillerier is the Membershipand Communications Director of theWorld Federalist Movement - Canada.

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A. Walter DornOn the night of his election victory, Justin Trudeaudeclared that Canada is “back” on the internationalstage and said that, “if there’s any country in theworld that can live up to our collective expectations,it’s this one.” He continued to set high expectations inhis Mandate Letters to the Ministers of NationalDefence and Foreign Affairs, tasking them to re-engage Canada in UN peacekeeping. is re-engagement – being “back” – would be a majorundertaking since Canada has had an illustrioushistory in peacekeeping.During the Cold War, Canada was the leadingcontributor to peacekeeping, providing the mostpeacekeepers of any country (about 10% of the total)and being the only country to have participated inevery UN peacekeeping operation. For a period aerthe Cold War, Canada remained the top contributor,providing at its peak 3,300 uniformed personnel inJuly 1993. However, when the number of UNpeacekeepers in the field surged in the twenty-firstcentury from 20,000 uniformed personnel in the year2000 to 100,000 by 2015, Canada did not contributeto the surge (except briefly in 2000-01 for the missionin Ethiopia-Eritrea, the last time Canada rotatedmilitary units in UN operations). Instead it keptconstant the number of peacekeepers at 200–250. In2006, the newly elected Harper government withdrewCanadian peacekeepers from the Golan Heights,

where Canadian logisticians had been stationed since1974. at brought the numbers of Canadianpeacekeepers down to about 50, which were furtherreduced to around 30 for most of the Harpergovernment. us the Canadian contribution was amere shadow of what it had once been. And when USPresident Barak Obama co-chaired a leaders’ summiton peacekeeping at UN Headquarters on 28September 2015, Canada offered nothing. at sameevening, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau complainedabout this in an election debate with Prime MinisterHarper, saying: “e fact that Canada has nothing tocontribute to that conversation today [in New York] isdisappointing because this is something that aCanadian Prime Minister [Lester B. Pearson] started,and right now there is a need to revitalize and refocusand support peacekeeping operations.”But for the past two years, following the 2015election, Canada has not increased its peacekeepingcontribution. e numbers of uniformed personnel inthe field actually decreased. Canada found that it would be excluded from thedefence ministerial on UN peacekeeping inSeptember 2016 in London unless it made a concretepledge beforehand. So in late August 2016 inSaguenay at the time of a Liberal caucus meeting,Canada pledged “up to” 600 troops and 150 police. Italso offered to host the next ministerial, scheduled for

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Canada: The Once and Future Peacekeeper

14-15 November 2017. e Vancouver pledgingconference aims to obtain new pledges and to takestock of the old ones made in New York and London.Much to Canada’s embarrassment, in the year sincethe London ministerial, Canada has not even madegood on its own pledge. As of August 2017, Canadawas contributing only 29 military personnel and 41police, a historical low for the once prolificpeacekeeping nation!Prime Minister Trudeau and his Minister of NationalDefence Harjit Sajjan insist that they want to get thepeacekeeping deployment “right” but the ditheringhas diminished the Canada’s status and contribution.It has also reduced Canada’s chances of being electedto a UN Security Council seat, which it seeks for2021-22. From the 1950s to the 1990s, Canada coulduse its consistent peacekeeping contribution as astrong reason to be elected to a two-year seat everydecade on the UN’s most prestigious and importantbody. But by 2010, this rationale no longer held andCanada lost the election. Now, as an attempt is againmade, the government dithering weakens its chancesto win the election in 2020, over 20 years since it lastwon such an election.Even if Canada were to provide the entirety of itspledge of 600 troops and 150 police it would still be acomparatively small contribution to the 100,000uniformed personnel the United Nations has in the

field. But even with relatively low troop numbers,Canada can make a significant difference on theground by providing key enablers (e.g. heavy-liaircra, expert medical units, and advancedtechnologies for monitoring). e United Nationsneeds experienced and well-trained troops, whichCanada has, although not yet experienced in UNmissions or trained on them. Most importantly, itneeds nations eager to deploy.Two years aer Trudeau claimed on election nightthat Canada was back (a claim he reiterated in his2016 UN General Assembly address), we have yet tosee the peacekeeping promises fulfilled. So emphaticadvice is needed:

Action, not simply words.Accountability, not simply pledges.Impact, not simply contributions.Example, not simply hosting. Rapid response, not simply political analysis. Humanity's collective interest, not simplynational and sectarian interest. Put humanity first! Make the UN better!

Walter Dorn, Professor of DefenceStudies, Royal Military College and theCanadian Forces College, and President,World Federalist Movement – Canada.

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H. Peter LangilleWe made at least a beginning then. If on thatfoundation we do not build something morepermanent and stronger, we will once again haveignored realities, rejected opportunities andbetrayed our trust. Will we never learn?

- Lester Bowles Pearson, “e Four Faces of Peace”, Nobel Lecture, Oslo, December 11, 1957

As we mark the 60th anniversary of Lester Pearson'sNobel Prize lecture, Canadians have heard that we’re“back” within the UN club, including a commitment of600 Canadian Forces troops, 150 police personnel, alongwith $450 million in support of United Nations peaceoperations. Within the UN, hopes were high. Canada,once a leader in UN peacekeeping, is urgently needed,whether to avert a wider war in South Sudan, to fill gapsin the Central African Republic, to support in stabilizingMali or for help in other UN operations. It wasn’t so much that the promise of 600 CF troops wasall that impressive. By UN standards, that’s modest. eenthusiasm for Canada was based, firstly on thelikelihood that we might also bring much-needed assets(what the UN calls critical enablers) in strategic andtactical airli, military engineering, a mobile fieldhospital, even helicopter fleets. And secondly, Canadawas once highly regarded for innovative reforms in UNpeacekeeping, for its ideas and expertise, particularly inthe related areas of operational planning, training,peacebuilding and rapid deployment.

Rapid deployment matters, especially if the UN is toimprove on conflict prevention and protection ofcivilians. In the absence of a prompt response, conflictstend to escalate and spread, then result in the currentphenomena of later, larger, longer operations at farhigher costs, setting back the prospects for disarmamentand development.If the Government of Canada plans to be “back” in UNpeace operations, with a credible focus on rapiddeployment and conflict prevention, two key questionsare ‘how now’ and, ‘what would be needed’? e following steps merit consideration:

1. UN peacekeeping has to be elevated to a nationaldefence priority, as a number of Canadian civil societyorganizations have recommended. 2. An independent team is needed to supervise anddirect a whole of government approach to UN peaceoperations.3. DND’s Directorate of Peacekeeping Policy should beelevated to a CF Command, headed by a supportiveMajor-General.4. An independent research capacity is needed, todevelop serious analysis, ideas and, policy-relevantplans and proposals. e former Canadian Institute forInternational Peace and Security, initiated by formerPrime Minister Pierre Trudeau, remains a modelworth emulating.

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Canada: rapid deployment or routine delays?

5. A ‘Peace Operations Forum’ could also be restoredas it proved to be a cost-effective means ofcoordinating and informing both civil society andgovernment officials of recent developments in thisfield. 6. Canada could begin to address the UN's 2005 callfor the transformation of advanced military’s Cold Warcapacity to UN peace operations with the following:

Assign two CF combat engineer regiments, anengineer support regiment and a constructionregiment to stand at high readiness for UN peaceoperations;Designate three of the five CF CC-177 GlobemasterIII planes to support UN strategic li and eight of thesixteen CF CC 130J planes to support tactical li;Prepare a mobile field hospital to specialize inproviding rapid humanitarian relief in operationsabroad, and;On a rotational basis, one of the CF’s three brigadegroups could be designated and prepared as a high-readiness stand-by formation for UN peaceoperations.

7. Canada must develop a dedicated peace operationstraining centre.

Finally, it is widely apparent that the official preferencefor pragmatic, incremental reforms does not deliver areliable capacity for UN rapid deployment.

Governments remain reluctant to deploy personnel andresources to operations that entail risks. us,prevention and protection are laudable “Responsibilityto Protect” priorities, but unmanageable objectives in theabsence of appropriate UN capacity.

8. e current Trudeau government could lead insupport of the Canadian proposal for a United NationsEmergency Peace Service (UNEPS). is ideastemmed from the former Liberal Government studyfor the UN General Assembly, Towards A RapidReaction Capability For e United Nations. With thisone development – effectively a standing ‘UN 911 firstresponder’ for complex emergencies – the UN wouldfinally have a rapid, reliable capacity to help fulfill fourof its tougher assigned tasks – i.e. to help preventarmed conflict and mass atrocity crimes, to protectcivilians at extreme risk, to ensure prompt start-up ofdemanding peace operations, and to address humanneeds where others either can’t or won’t.9. A fundamental review of security approaches andpriorities is overdue. e umbrella concept of“sustainable common security” merits consideration. Itencourages the deeper international cooperationrequired to address current and future globalchallenges.

“Will we never learn?”

Dr. H. Peter Langille specializes in conflictresolution, independent defence andsecurity analysis, peace initiatives andUN operations. He wrote the initial plansfor a Canadian multinationalpeacekeeping training centre, served onthe 1995 Government study, Towards ARapid Reaction Capability For The UnitedNations and developed the proposal for aUNEPS. His latest book is “Developing aUnited Nations Emergency Peace Service:Meeting our responsibilities to preventand protect,” (New York, Palgrave Pivot,2015).

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Peggy MasonUN peacekeeping is no miracle cure and there are noguarantees of success. But when properly mandated,resourced and managed, UN peacekeeping offers thebest chance for a society emerging from violent conflict.Peacekeeping is the front end of a complex, long-termprocess of helping conflicting parties create thenecessary conditions — political, socio-economic,security — for sustainable peace. At the centre of this effort is the peace process.Complex political problems always lie at the heart ofviolent conflict and require political solutions thatare negotiated and agreed to by the parties. Acapable security force will be essential in both thepeace negotiation and implementation phases, but itis a supporting element of the overall missionnonetheless. As the Afghanistan debacle has so dramatically andtragically illustrated, no amount of military“robustness” and professionalism on the part ofinternational military forces can make up for the lackof a credible peace process. Recall the “whole ofgovernment” mantra repeated throughout Canada’slong Afghanistan military engagement: “ere is nosecurity without development and no developmentwithout security”. But the hard truth of the matter wasthere could be neither security nor development

without ending the war and that, in turn, could not beachieved by military means but only through acomprehensive peace process. e statistical evidence is clear: looking at all pastwars of the last quarter-century, only 15 per cent haveended decisively on the battlefield, and in these casesthe rebels prevailed at least as oen as thegovernments they fought. All the rest ultimately hadto be settled at the negotiating table.Precisely because of the primacy of the peace process,today’s multi-dimensional UN peace operations —which involve military, police and civiliancomponents — are much more than militaryoperations charged with providing a safe and secureenvironment. e core of the effort comprisescivilians mandated to facilitate the peace process,promote the rule of law, and support theestablishment of legitimate and effective institutionsof governance. Increasingly mandates, like that for MINUSMA inMali, also include security assistance to the electedgovernment so it can reassert its authoritynationwide. is military assistance is in concert withdiplomatic and technical support for nationalpolitical dialogue and reconciliation efforts.

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The “Value Added” of UN Peacekeeping

For a collective enterprise of this magnitude tosucceed — as UN peacekeeping does more oen thannot — the international effort must be perceived aslegitimate and impartial. And it must have thebroadest possible international support within acoherent legal and operational framework.Only the UN Security Council (UNSC) can mandatesuch an operation and only the UN Organization canlead the mission if it is to be internationallyacceptable. Headed by a civilian in the role of SpecialRepresentative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG),with all the other components, including the militaryand police, reporting to him or her, the very structureof the UN peacekeeping mission reflects the centralityof the peace process. is stands in sharp contrast toNATO-led military missions, even where authorizedby the UNSC to assist in stabilizing a conflict.NATO-led stability operations lack the perceivedlegitimacy and impartiality of UN-led operationsprecisely because their political and military leadersare seen to represent a very specific set of powerfulcountries and interests. Not only does the separatemilitary command structure undermine coherence inthe international effort, NATO leadership constitutesa gi to spoilers on the ground decrying alleged“foreign occupation” - the presence of additional non-NATO forces notwithstanding.

An integrated mission under the overall authority ofthe SRSG also allows UN command and control to bedecentralized to the operational level. is contrastswith the centralized, top-heavy and opaque commandstructure operating in NATO.Many current UN missions may have comprehensivemandates to build sustainable peace but theymanifestly lack the professional forces and equipmentto provide the secure environment necessary forpeace to take hold. e full potential of UNpeacekeeping will not be realized until countries likeCanada meaningfully re-engage.

Peggy Mason is President of the RideauInstitute and a former CanadianAmbassador for Disarmament to the UN,with over 20 years of experience inpeacekeeping training.

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Gregory B. MitchellModern UN Peace Support Operations (PSO) have a high degree ofoperational complexity, and most are conducted in austere, post-conflict, and oen hostile environments. Mission integration amongstvarious UN organizations and contributing nations is an essentialelement of success, because different PSO actors have different roles,deployment time-lines, procedures, budgetary pressures andsupervising authorities. erefore, it is only by pursuing an integratedapproach that short-term, political or security gains can be balancedagainst the longer term developmental, humanitarian, and socialobjectives needed to create sustainable peace. As many like-minded nations have done, Canada has formallyadopted a whole-of-government approach to its foreign policy PSOactivities. Coherence amongst defence, diplomacy, aid, and trade,should be a priority to help achieve Canada’s strategic objectives.When the Government of Canada (GoC) deploys Canadians toparticipate in a UN Peace Support Operation, the primary objectiveshould be to contribute to the achievement of mission success.ebest way to do that is the provision of appropriate education andtraining for the military, police and civilian personnel it intends todeploy. Modern complex, multidimensional PSOs require a comprehensiveapproach to education and training. If the whole-of-governmentapproach to operations is to gain traction, an integrated approach totraining and education must first be adopted, and should be targetedat all levels - strategic, operational and tactical. When Canadian

involvement in a new PSO is being considered, departmental staffsconducting the strategic level policy analysis require levels ofexpertise, knowledge and skills that are quite different from those ofthe staffs that go on to develop the operational level campaign plan. Inturn, their levels of expertise, knowledge and skills are different fromthose tacticians tasked with implementing the plans on the ground.Training in some of the more complex, cross-cutting issues should beprovided in a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach.ethree major components – diplomacy, defence and development -should be trained to work together in an integrated fashion to fosterunderstanding of the others’ roles and responsibilities, to facilitatecommunication and synergy, to achieve unity of effort, to developmutually supporting plans and activities, and to bridge culturaldifferences and achieve levels of cooperation seldom found even atUN headquarters or in most national capitals. Organizational strategic objectives and policies should be taught,including introductions to the range of UN mission objectives. Also,the necessary psychological preparation for difficult, morallyambiguous, and potentially dangerous situations should be included(confronting armed child soldiers is one clear example). Training onthese and other evolving issues requires personnel with considerableinternational expertise and experience, informed by a high degree oftheoretical and practical research, coordinated within a clear, centrallydirected and seamless program of training.

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Peace Support Operations and Whole of GovernmentEducation and Training

Such a comprehensive approach was previouslyprovided by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre (PPC)that, for over a decade, provided the capacity andnetwork of experts to offer a full range of PSO research,education, training and international capacity building.PPC was the world’s first, civilian-managed,peacekeeping training centre, and was one of only ahandful conducting training, capacity development,public education and research that reflected themultidisciplinary realities of contemporary peaceoperations. By actively pursuing the development ofcapacity with civilian, military and police institutionsengaged in and/or supporting international peaceoperations, PPC contributed directly to Canadaachieving some of its international objectives:exporting Canadian values; enhancing Canadianleadership on peace and security issues; and increasingthe quantity, quality and effectiveness of Canadianmilitary, police and civilians in peace operations. It is therefore proposed that a new institution beestablished – the Canadian InternationalPeacekeeping Training Centre (CIPTC) – withcapabilities similar in nature to the former PPC. e following specific recommendations are proposed:

1. e Government of Canada should establish theCanadian International Peacekeeping Training

Centre, an institution to replace the capabilitiesprovided by the former Pearson Peacekeeping Centre.2. e institution should be fully funded andsupported by the Government of Canada.3. e institution should partner with other Canadianorganizations involved in research, development,education and training of PSO-related subjects.4. Canada should consider offering its enhancededucation and training capabilities, along with otherareas of peacekeeping expertise, to assist ininternational capacity-building ventures.

Given its leadership role on the international stage andits intent to reclaim a prominent position with the UN,Canada should seek to develop state-of-the-arteducation and training, both for its own use and for itsefforts towards international capacity building. Itshould embrace a system that can meet the diverseeducation and training requirements of all threecomponents - military, police and civilian. To ensureCanadian personnel are effective in achieving PSOsuccess, the Government of Canada should address theissue of training and education as a matter of priority.

Brigadier-General (Ret’d) Gregory B.Mitchell was a career Canadian militaryofficer who completed five UnitedNations peacekeeping missions. His finalmilitary posting was to Denmark wherehe was the only Canadian ever tocommand the Multinational Stand-byHigh Readiness Brigade for UnitedNations Operations (SHIRBRIG). He laterworked on behalf of the UN’sDepartment of Peacekeeping Operations,Romeo Dallaire’s Child Soldiers Initiativeand the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre,Ottawa. He is currently Executive Directorof Peace Operations Consulting, a globalnetwork of independent peaceoperations professionals, ExecutiveDirector of the Royal Military CollegesClub of Canada and peacekeepingadvisor to the Canadian PeacekeepingVeterans’ Association.

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Beth Woroniuk e historic United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000)on women, peace and security (WPS) notes the Security Council’s“willingness to incorporate a gender perspective into peacekeepingoperations, and urges the Secretary-General to ensure that, whereappropriate, field operations include a gender component.” Seventeenyears later there is still confusion regarding what this means, what itinvolves, and how to achieve it.Given that the “integration of gender perspective remains at the heart”of the Vancouver UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial hosted byCanada in November 2017, it is important to clarify the issues involved.What should Canada do to ensure robust integration of genderperspectives in peacekeeping operations?First, deploying more women is a priority and should be supported;however it must be done responsibly.ere have been global calls for more women peacekeepers. Yetprogress has been glacial. As of August 2017, 3.7% of militarypeacekeepers and 9.5% of police peacekeepers were women. Initiatives to increase the number of women peacekeepers includefinancial incentives to encourage and reward troop contributingcountries (TCCs) who deploy more women, more and improvedtraining for women peacekeepers, mentorship programs, women’sprofessional networks and pipeline mechanisms to identify seniorwomen candidates.However, it is essential not to take a narrow view of increasing women’sparticipation. e focus cannot be on numbers alone. One must also

consider institutional culture, structural, attitudinal and logistical issuesthat must be addressed in order to ensure that these deployments aresuccessful and not harmful to the women deployed. Research showsthat women peacekeepers are also subject to harassment and abuse.Understanding and addressing issues related to sexism and homophobiain the security sector are critical. Canada’s efforts to tackle these issuesthrough an initiative such as Operation Honour must yield results if weare to be a credible advocate on the global stage. Learnings from theseinitiatives can also be shared with other TCCs. Additionally it is crucialto ensure that women peacekeepers have proper training, medicalsupport, equipment, and facilities.Second, support and funding for the full range of gender mainstreaminginitiatives in peace operations is required. is includes - inter alia -gender analysis across all issues including rule of law, protection ofcivilians, security sector reform (supported by gender advisors);consultations with women’s organizations (from mission design towithdrawal); including gender issues (including conflict-related sexualviolence) in mission mandates; improved gender data; improvedcapacity building/training on gender analysis and gender perspectives –that includes participation from women’s organizations (including formission leadership); specific programmes to increase women’sparticipation in post-conflict reconstruction (electoral, judicial,disarmament, etc.); the deployment of women protection advisors; andimproved reporting on all of these issues.Deploying more women will not address the need for gender analysis acrossmission agendas. Gender advisors (senior, experienced, with the relevantexpertise) are essential to support the head of mission in each context.

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Gender Perspectives in Peacekeeping: More than Deploying More Women

While there have been promising gender mainstreaminginnovations in peace operations in recent years, theGlobal Study on the implementation of UNSCR 1325notes that these remain pilot projects and specialinitiatives rather than the ‘core business’ of operations.Furthermore, recent developments threaten even thisfragile progress. Analysts have sounded alarm bellsthat recent budget cuts have hit gender functions inpeacekeeping missions particularly hard. Canada should ensure that, in addition to deployingmore women, these issues are given equivalent spaceand priority attention. Recent Canadian progress onimplementing the Chief of Defence Staff ’s Directive forIntegrating UNSCR 1325 and using Gender BasedAnalysis Plus (GBA+) provide excellent starting points.DPKO should be encouraged to ensure that genderadvisor positions are sufficiently resourced and havestrong political support.ird, meaningful progress on sexual exploitationand abuse (SEA) by peacekeepers, including military,police and civilians, is essential. One of the majorstains on UN peacekeeping has been the longstandingissue of peacekeepers abusing and committing violenceagainst the very people who they are there to protect.Despite universal outrage, this issue has provedremarkably difficult to address.

Numerous recommendations are on the table. AIDsFree World’s Code Blue Campaign advocates for aspecial court mechanism, arguing that investigationand prosecution must be distanced from internal UNprocesses. ey also recommend the establishment of aVictims’ Bill of Rights. e 2015 High-LevelIndependent Panel on Peacekeeping Operations(HIPPO) recommendations included clarification ofimmunity definitions, improved disclosure ofdisciplinary actions taken by TCCs, and an adequatelyresourced victim assistance program. Otherrecommendations include clarifying and strengtheningthe secretary-general’s discretionary authority (asoutlined in UNSCR 2272), establishing credibledeterrents and strengthening accountability for civilperpetrators. What is clear is that progress isdesperately needed.Finally, Canada can push for non-military solutions.As was noted in the Global Study on the implementationof UNSCR 1325: “the value of the women, peace andsecurity agenda is its potential for transformation,rather than greater representation of women in existingparadigms of military response.” Canada’s newly launchedNational Action Plan on Women, Peace and Securityprovides useful insights to inform and guide Canada’sapproach to conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Beth Woroniuk is the coordinator and co-founder ofthe Women, Peace andSecurity Network-Canada. She has beeninvolved in Canadian women, peace andsecurity coalitions since 2000. Beth iscurrently on the Steering Committee ofNATO's Civil Society Advisory Panel onWPS. With over 25years of experience onwomen's rights and gender equalityissues as both an analyst and activist,Beth has worked with bilateral aidagencies, UN entities, developmentbanks and NGOs. She has particularexpertise in gender dimensions ofhumanitarian assistance and post-conflict recovery. Beth recently joinedThe MATCH International Women's Fundas Policy Lead.

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