While keeping the first generation...privatizing the second generation of UN peacekeeping operations

Highlights: Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, proposed using private security companies in UN peacekeeping operations. After 26 years, the world seems more receptive to Annan’s proposal, especially with the increasing presence of “private armies” of security companies on the international scene. Since 2000, Africa has accounted for about 13 peacekeeping missions with a strength of 90,000 employees, representing 80% of United Nations field elements. It consumes most of the $6.1 billion budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

About 26 years ago, Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, proposed using private security companies in UN peacekeeping operations, and it seems that the world has become more receptive to the idea of privatizing peace now.

The idea of using special forces to maintain peace in conflict areas was proposed by Kofi Annan 26 years ago (Associated Press)

On June 26, 1998, Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, delivered a speech before the annual conference of the Ditchley Foundation in the United Kingdom, proposing the use of private security companies to give the international organization the speed of reaction it lacked.

Annan gave an example in his speech about the success of the South African company "Decisive Results" in ending a years-long civil war in Sierra Leone and returning the elected president to office. Annan revealed his intention to use a private company during the Rwandan refugee crisis in Goma to separate fighters from refugees, but the man realized that "the world may not be ready for the privatization of peace."

After 26 years, and after many bloody armed conflicts, the world seems more receptive to Annan’s proposal, especially with the increasing presence of “private armies” of security companies on the international scene, whether supporting regular armies or fighting them.

Since its birth in 1948, the concept of peacekeeping has remained a cornerstone of the international system. With the conclusion of the Cold War, peacekeeping operations once again gained strong momentum, embracing a broader framework of security concepts.

This new approach reflected the ambitions of the United Nations to expand the scope of its work, and then the UN Security Council began issuing resolutions for the so-called “second generation” of peacekeeping operations. While the main goal of the “first generation” was to monitor the ceasefire agreements, the “second generation” is concerned - in addition to monitoring operations - with addressing the causes of conflicts, through what was called “peacebuilding” based on international missions described as “multi-dimensional.” But after decades of work in Africa, these missions failed to achieve many of their goals and even aroused the hatred of the local population.

French soldiers participating in the Barkhane peacekeeping operation and fighting armed groups in Mali (Reuters)

Major failures in peacekeeping operations

Amid the transformations of political geography at the international level, the future of peacebuilding is increasingly affected by developments in Africa, which since 2000 has accounted for about 13 UN peacekeeping missions with a strength of 90,000 employees, representing 80% of the United Nations field elements, of which 4 are the largest operations, which It consumes most of the $6.1 billion budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

During the past 15 years, the continent has witnessed radical changes in the security landscape, including the division in Libya following the fall of the Gaddafi regime, and the subsequent instability that extended throughout the Sahel region, and was reflected in the Global Terrorism Index for the year 2023, which rose in terms of the number of victims in the region by more than 2000% since 2008, in addition to the spread of “jihadist” movements in West and East Africa.

The number of military coups in the western continent and the Sahel region has also increased recently, with the outbreak of wars in Ethiopia and Sudan, and their renewal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

At the same time, the efforts of UN peacekeeping missions were met with violent reactions from some African regimes. In July 2023, Mali asked the United Nations to end its mission in the country, after the ruling military junta in Mali accused the UN forces of exacerbating tensions. The ruling military council also blamed the UN mission for failing to protect civilians. It is expected that the departure of the mission, with its strength of 13,000 soldiers - the largest funded in Africa - will further complicate the peacekeeping scene on the continent.

It is noteworthy that this mission, called (MINUSMA), was established in 2013 following a military coup in 2012 that resulted in the emergence of separatist rebellions in northern Mali. After two more coups in 2021 and 2022 and the withdrawal of forces participating in the French Operation Barkhane and the European Union's Takuba Division, the mission left the country in April 2023, making way for the Russian military company Wagner.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo followed Mali's example, when its President Felix Tshisekedi demanded in September 2023 the urgent withdrawal of the United Nations mission from his country, which is referred to as (MONUSCO).

Peace missions have had some successes, such as in Liberia, but they have witnessed many failures, most notably in Rwanda in 1994 when UN forces failed to prevent genocide against the Tutsis, resulting in the deaths of 800,000 Rwandans.

Facts and figures

Democratic Republic of the Congo

A UN peacekeeping mission has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1999. In 2022, violent protests broke out against the mission, leading to civilian casualties and UN personnel. The demonstrators accused the mission of failing to protect the population from attacks launched by several armed groups in the east of the country. Recently, the United Nations and the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached an agreement under which the mission would withdraw while two regional forces would remain, one under the leadership of the East African Community and the other under the leadership of the Southern Development Community (SADC).

Central African Republic

In 2014, another multidimensional UN mission to achieve stability called (MINUSCA) was established in the Central African Republic with about 17,000 UN personnel. After a period of improvement, the security situation deteriorated again starting in 2017 due to escalating violence and political division.

In 2018, Russia intervened through the Wagner company to support and protect President Faustin Archange Touadera and help him regain lands controlled by rebel groups. Wagner also trains the army in exchange for granting it diamond mining concessions.

At the same time, Rwanda - the main contributor to the UN mission's forces - signed a bilateral agreement with the government of President Faustin to deploy additional forces.

In Mali, violent popular protests took place against the United Nations mission, before the Security Council renewed the mandate of MINUSCA until November 2024.

The Russian Wagner is accused of inciting these protests, with the aim of expelling UN missions from the countries in which the company operates in order to seize their natural resources.

Perhaps this brings to mind Kofi Annan’s call in his speech in 1998 to seek the help of private security companies that operate in accordance with United Nations regulations, not only to save expenses, but to prevent these companies from sabotaging the work of the international organization’s missions.

Alternative security models

Large-scale peacekeeping operations are complex and require significant funding. At the same time, they represent an opportunity for participating countries to obtain financial support, enhance their regional and international influence, and improve their military capabilities.

On the other hand, the increasing size of UN missions results in corruption from time to time, whether in employment or procurement contracts, or through privileged access to natural resources. In 2008, the Democratic Republic of the Congo accused UN forces of trading gold and weapons with rebel groups. Peacekeepers and aid workers in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Central Africa and Congo have also been accused of sexually assaulting and exploiting civilians.

In addition to the challenges posed by the recent wave of coups, the future of peacekeeping operations in Africa is greatly affected by the fragmentation of the international system. The war in Ukraine and the Israeli war of annihilation on the Gaza Strip demonstrated the extent of paralysis and bureaucracy in the Security Council's decision-making process.

At the same time, China has strengthened its role as a major player in several UN agencies. After decades of skepticism, China has become the second largest financial contributor to the United Nations budget and peacekeeping efforts.

In contrast to the Western approach, China focuses on the principles of sovereignty and neutrality in response to the demands of many African countries to call for these countries to lead security efforts on their territories. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his support for this Chinese approach, under which the African Union or the five regional groupings on the continent assume leadership and supervision of peace and stability initiatives.

Doubts and mission failures

The United Nations faces many challenges in light of a Security Council that does not reflect the balance of power in the international system. At the same time, the international organization is under pressure to achieve an ambitious agenda through a bureaucratic structure that has become huge and flabby.

The result is that UN missions failed to provide security solutions in Africa, which led to strong doubts about the future of the international organization’s work. In the Middle East, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was subjected to a physical attack and moral assassination by Israel, supported by the majority of Western countries, in response to Israeli propaganda that the organization supports Hamas, without any evidence.

Perhaps the abstention of 4 permanent members of the Security Council from participating in the organization’s annual meeting last September in New York is a strong indication of the weakness that has befallen the international organization. Moreover, as the costs of running peacekeeping operations increase - especially with regard to civilian staff - States appear less willing to bear the financial burden of these operations.

Accordingly, two main scenes should be considered:

First: multilateral regional agreements

In this scene, multidimensional missions in Africa are gradually being replaced by regional frameworks under the leadership of the African Union or the five regional groupings on the continent, but these projects will remain dependent on international funding, as most countries on the continent are unable or unwilling to pay their costs.
Under this scenario, countries like Rwanda, which have the will and ability to provide security support, would gain additional influence. This landscape - in the long term - is likely to lead to the rise of China in the UN system, and thus fundamental changes in the principles of peacekeeping.

Second: Bilateral agreements with a wide range of security actors, most notably private armies

The second scene includes the multiplicity of active players in Africa's security architecture, including paramilitary groups, private security companies or states operating under bilateral, rather than multilateral, agreements.

This scene leads to research into the development of security companies and their private armies, not to mention revealing how they have succeeded over the past quarter century in obtaining international contracts to carry out operations such as clearing mines and securing the arrival of relief convoys, but without authorization for peace enforcement or peacekeeping operations, which are missions that may occur. on it in the near future.

Source: Al Jazeera