Comprehensive Review of Special Politicals Missions and the Future of UN peacekeeping and Peace operations

The Committee

•The United Nations Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly is one of six committees of the United Nations. After the dismantling of the trusteeship system resulting from independence being granted to all the trust territories, and the now-limited number of non-self-governing territories, the jurisdiction was insufficient to keep the committee occupied, consequently, it was merged with the Special Political Committee.The Special Political and Decolonization Committee deals with a variety of subjects which include those related to decolonization, Palestinian refugees and human rights, peacekeeping, mine action, outer space, public information, atomic radiation and University for Peace.

What a Special Political Mission is?•The UN defines SPMs as "civilian missions that are deployed for a limited duration to support Member States in good offices, conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding." SPMs are grouped into three main categories: sanction monitoring groups, special envoys, and field-based missions.

Definition•Sanction monitoring groups: Appointed by the SC, the SMG take measures that range from comprehensive economic and trade sanctions to more targeted measures such as arms embargoes, travel bans, and financial or commodity restrictions.

•Special envoys: A Special Envoy of the Secretary-General is a senior United Nations official appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to deal with a set of specific issues.

•Field-based missions: field-based missions are DPA-led headed by senior representatives of the Secretary-General and provide a forward platform for preventive diplomacy and other activities across a range of disciplines, to help prevent and resolve conflict,support complex political transitions, in coordination with national actors and UN development and humanitarian entities on the ground. Field-based missions include country-specific missions and regional offices.

What are PKOs?•PKOs are defined by the UN as impartial overseeing operations deployed into conflict-affected areas to provide security, while assisting with the transition from conflict to peace.•Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel.

How many SPMs and PKOs are currently active?•There are currently 16 PKOs and 11 SPMs active around the world. SPMs and PKOs are part of a spectrum of overall UN peace operations implemented at different stages of conflict. In some cases, SPMs are replaced with PKOs after a peace negotiation ends with a treaty, or negotiations fail and parties resort back to conflict. In other cases, PKOs will give way to SPMs, which then oversee the process of transparent elections in addition to other country stability measures. Between 1989 and 1994, the UN Security Council (SC) authorized the expansion from 11,000 to 75,000 peacekeepers, creating new missions in Angola, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mozambique, and Namibia, while also increasing peacekeepers in already established regions to deal with the escalating and sustained conflict within these regions.

Where are the SPMs and PKOs located and who manages them?

•The Department of Political Affairs manages political missions engaged in conflict prevention, peacemaking and post-conflict peacebuilding in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.

•Political missions are part of a continuum of UN peace operations working in different stages of the conflict cycle. In some instances, following the signing of peace agreements, political missions overseen by the Department of Political Affairs during the stage of peace negotiations have been replaced by peacekeeping missions. In other instances, U.N. peacekeeping operations have given way to special political missions overseeing longer term peace-building activities.

Peacekeeping operations, who organizes them?

•The Peacekeeping Operations are led by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and currently there are 16 around the world.

Who take part in PKOs?

•Most of these operations are established and implemented by the United Nations itself, with troops serving under UN operational control. In these cases, peacekeepers remain members of their respective armed forces, and do not constitute an independent "UN army," as the UN does not have such a force. In cases where direct UN involvement is not considered appropriate or feasible, the Council authorizes regional organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Economic Community of West African States, or coalitions of willing countries to undertake peacekeeping or peace-enforcement tasks.

•The UN PKOs groups that help in the prevention of conflicts are often called "Blue Helmets".

Blue helmets

Are blue helmets allowed to fight?•Peacekeepers are groups of soldiers, officers or civilians that go to a conflict area and try to keep warring parties apart. They do many things, for example, monitor elections, organize meetings between enemy factions or protect human rights.

•UN peacekeepers are often called Blue Helmets because of their headgear. The United Nations Security Council must approve of peacekeeping missions before soldiers are sent there. Sometimes the UN gives NATO or other military organizations permission to send peacekeepers to conflict areas.

•Peacekeepers are not always soldiers. Although they carry weapons they are only allowed to fight back when attacked. Normally peacekeepers are sent to conflict areas to observe a ceasefire and keep enemies apart. In the meantime diplomats can try to find a political solution in a conflict.

Are peacekeeping missions always successful?•Peacekeeping missions are not always successful . In Somalia UN peacekeepers failed to stop a civil war among the warlords of the country. They also failed in Rwanda where hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

Which countries send troops to PKOs?Under the UN charter all member states are required to supply troops where necessary to help secure peace. However, mostly developing countries send soldiers on UN peacekeeping missions. In the past years Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Egypt have made up most of the Blue Helmet contingent. Since the founding of the United Nations in 1945 about one million soldiers, policeman and civilians have fought for peace in various hotspots all over the world. Peacekeeping costs a lot of money. Especially since the end of the Cold War costs have gone up dramatically . Missions in the Balkans and in Somalia cost the United Nations billions of dollars.

Ireland in Peacekeeping

•Ireland became a member of the United Nations in 1955. Since 1958, the Defence Forces have a continuous presence on peace support operations, mainly in the Middle East. However, in recent years, following the end of the cold war, Defence Forces personnel have also found themselves in many other parts of the globe as peacekeepers.

•Irish Defence Forces personnel have served in countries all over the world, including: Central America, Russia, the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Namibia, Western Sahara, Liberia and East Timor.

•Unfortunately this service has not been without cost. To date 85 members of the Defence Forces have given their lives in the cause of world peace.

•Thanks!