Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 17 PeaceKeePIng P UN peacekeeping operations from 2013-15, ranking ninth, just ahead of Spain, and slightly behind Russia, paying 2.98 per cent of that $8.27 billion budget. None of the top 10 financial contributors are on the list of top 10 troop and police-contributing member states. So, while Can- ada deploys approximately 100 peacekeepers, its annual appor- tioned financial contribution is USD $246.5 million. contemporary challenges and opportunities There is no sense in debating contributions if we do not know whether Canada's contributions make a difference to global peace and security. In other words, does UN peacekeeping work? More than a decade's worth of evidence concludes that with the majority of missions, peacekeeping operations are effective in maintaining peace. A statistical relationship has been demon- strated showing that, on average, peacekeeping works to reduce the risk of renewed conflict. To be sure, when peacekeeping is de- ployed within the right environment – one that may be hostile to the presence of UN armed forces, yet is permissive to the political peace process and the economic benefits stability typically brings – it is a cheap alternative compared to collective security costs incurred by violent conflict and mass migrations of refugees, and the far-reaching destabilizing effects on economies such situations have on the rest of the world. The positive results of peacekeeping have been substantiated, but what of the negative consequences of missions? UN peace- keepers have been accused of fraud, corruption and, of particular concern, sexual abuse which has included child rape, gang rape and soliciting prostitutes during peacekeeping missions. The UN is focused on working with troop and police-contributing coun- tries to charge their offenders to the full extent of their state laws, to send a strong message to potential perpetrators of such egre- gious human rights violations while serving on UN missions. This, though, is not of geopolitical concern and, rather, is an historic problem systemic within environments of extreme chaos and violent conflict. What is of primary concern is keeping peace so that we avoid further global destabilization, politically, socially and economically. The global context of peace and security has undergone so- cial, political and economic transformation since the inception of peacekeeping in 1956. The 'ways' of peacekeeping that Lester B. Pearson and Dag Hammarskjöld envisioned are less applicable to the challenges posed in a post-Westphalian world where non-state dynamics, new technologies and ungoverned spaces create shaky ground on which to manage conflicts. There has been an ongoing recalibration of power and politics along different lines, and no geopolitical observations have yet accurately assessed our collective future related to defence and security and how Canada will be able to influence global affairs. With the rise of the so-called Islamic State, and other complex non-state dynamics around the world, the political landscape is unsettled, and will remain so for another four decades. Yet, the 'ends' sought through peacekeeping remain the same: local du- rable peace and security for civilians. recommendations The Liberal government's Defence Review was called on 6 April 2016. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's review will determine de- fence capabilities – what the Canadian Armed Forces have and what they need, and how these capabilities will be employed to confront conflict and calamity in the environment of global insta- bility. Defence Reviews are significant benchmarks because they set out guiding principles informed by foreign policy within the emerging social, political and economic context of the day. Historically, such reviews have not aligned with fiscal frame- works to develop fully the grand strategies envisioned in such White Papers. If ends, ways, and means – in other words, the fiscal framework – are not in lock-step, then for the next decade, Canada will be out of step in achieving its defence-related foreign policy aims. The security and defence budget is approximately CAD $20 billion, rising with inflation each year. Canada's UN peacekeep- ing financial contribution does not come out of the security and defence budget, but rather directly from Global Affairs Canada, the department responsible for making all assessed contributions to international organizations, of which UN peacekeeping is one. Defence dollars are spent at home and internationally. There is an irrational fear held by the government that the defence budget is bloated, and there is a move afoot by Canada's new government to carve out a leaner, more agile military from the already gutted reality of the past decade. Putting the ongoing procurement debacle aside, defence re- quires funding specifically aligned with the readiness to deploy. Peacekeeping missions have expanded to include many peace operation activities that have been empirically proven to reduce conflict recidivism, including: deployments into large, expensive and increasingly complex operations; developing and implement- ing transition strategies for operations where stability has been achieved; and equipping communities with capacity for long-term peace and stability, evidenced through economic development. UN peacekeeping remains one of the most powerful tools wielded by the international community to manage peaceful outcomes of con- temporary armed conflicts, yet, like any other capability develop- ment, peacekeeping requires training that is specific to its remit. The tool is only as effective as its contingent troops, police and

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