1.1.1. UN Peacekeeping

I.    Listen to the recording and answer the questions:

1. What is the main purpose of the United Nations?
2. What types of operations has the UN undertaken?
3. What are some of the results of the UN efforts for the peace?

II. Read the text about the UN Peacekeeping, study carefully the new words from the Target Vocabulary, and be ready to answer the questions in Activity 1.2. Reading comprehension and to practice the Target Vocabulary terms in Activity 1.3. that follow.

UN Peacekeeping

United Nations Peacekeeping helps countries in conflict to create conditions for lasting peace, supports political processes, protects hundreds of thousands of civilians and helps guarantee cease fires. It is one of the most effective tools to assist host countries transit from conflict to peace. The UN has helped resolve disputes between nations, reduce tensions, prevent conflicts and put an end to fighting.

Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers. As a result, it has played a major role in resolving some of the most protracted conflicts of recent years. Yet peacekeeping faces several challenges such as protracted conflicts, elusive political solutions, increasingly dangerous environments, rising peacekeeping fatalities, and complex mandates.

UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

1.Consent of the parties;
2.Impartiality;
3.Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

Peacekeeping is flexible and over the past two decades has been deployed in many configurations. There are currently 13 UN peacekeeping operations deployed on three continents. Major goals of the United Nations are halting the spread of arms and reducing and eventually eliminating all weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The UN has been an ongoing forum for disarmament negotiations and making recommendations. The UN is also supporting efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the trade in small arms and light weapons — the weapons of choice in 46 of 49 major conflicts since 1990. Today’s multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called upon not only to maintain peace and security, but also to facilitate the political process, protect civilians, assist in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants; support the organization of elections, protect and promote human rights and assist in restoring the rule of law.

The UN does not have an army. United Nations peacekeepers, wearing distinctive UN blue helmets or berets, are dispatched by the Security Council to help implement peace agreements, monitor cease-fires, patrol demilitarized zones, create buffer zones between opposing forces, and put fighting on hold while negotiators seek peaceful solutions to disputes. But ultimately, the success of peacekeeping depends on the consent and cooperation of the opposing parties. UN peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the transition from conflict to peace. For each peacekeeping mission, Member States voluntarily provide troops and equipment, for which they are compensated from a special peacekeeping budget. Lightly armed for self-defence – and often unarmed – peacekeepers’ strongest ‘weapon’ is their impartiality. They rely on persuasion and minimal use of force to defuse tensions and prevent fighting. Over the past 70 years, more than 1 million men and women have served under the UN flag in more than 70 UN peacekeeping operations. It is a dangerous business: since 1948, more than 3 500 personnel have lost their lives serving in UN peace operations, including 943 killed by violence. Since 2013, casualties have spiked, with 195 deaths in violent attacks.

UN Peacekeeping is a unique global partnership. It brings together the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police contributors and the host governments in a combined effort to maintain international peace and security. Its strength lies in the legitimacy of the UN Charter and in the wide range of contributing countries that participate and provide resources.

Source:  https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/

Target vocabulary
      ceasefire /ˈsiːs ˈfaɪr/a temporary stoppage of a war
      resolve /rɪˈzɒlv/1 v. to settle or find a solution to something; 2. n. a strong determination to do something
     legitimacy /ləˈdʒɪtəməsi/ the lawfulness or authenticity of something
     burden /ˈbɜːdən/a heavy load
     deploy /dɪˈplɔɪ/ move (troops or equipment) into position for military action
     protracted /prəˈtræktɪd/ lasting for a long time
    elusive /iˈluːsɪv/ difficult to find or achieve
    consent /kənˈsent/ permission or agreement to do something
    impartiality /ɪmˌpɑːʃiˈæləti/ equal treatment of all; fairness
    mandate /ˈmændeɪt/an official order to do something, the authority to carry out a policy
    spread of arms /spred əf ɑːmz/transfer, proliferation of arms
    weapon of mass destruction (WMD) a weapon that is able to cause widespread devastation and loss of life (AAP-6)
    disarmament /dɪˈsɑːməmənt/ the reduction or withdrawal of military forces and weapons
    eradicate /ɪˈrædɪkeɪt/ to eliminate or destroy completely
    combatant /ˈkɒmbətənt/ a direct participant in an armed conflict
    implement /ˈɪmplɪment/ to put (a decision, plan, agreement, etc.) into effect, to carry out, to accomplish
    demilitarized zone /ˌdiːˈmɪlɪtəraɪzd  zəun/ a defined geographical area, agreed by two or more parties, in which the stationing, or concentrating of military forces, or the retention or establishment of military installations of any description, is prohibited (AAP-6)
    buffer zone /ˈbʌfə zəun/ a neutral area separating conflicting forces
    persuasion /pəˈsweɪʒən/ the action or process of making someone do or believe something
    defuse /ˌdiːˈfjuːz/ to make less harmful or dangerous