UPHOLDING OUR PEACEKEEPING TRADITION
International Day of UN Peacekeepers - MAY 29

Ottawa, May 29 -- On this International Day of the United Nations Peacekeepers, Canada, the cradle of international peacekeeping, has 2300 soldiers in Afghanistan fighting terrorism and insurgency under U.S./ NATO chain of command, and a mere 60 serving with UN Peacekeeping Forces.

 

"At the end of the Cold War, Canada was the only nation to have contributed to every UN peacekeeping operation. Regrettably, we have fallen to 50th in the list of nations contributing to UN missions," says Warren Allmand, former federal cabinet minister and current President of the World Federalist Movement--Canada.

 

"We have allowed ourselves to become a peacekeeping bit player.  Today, as we celebrate the immense contribution of Canadian soldiers to international peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations, Canada cannot continue to shirk its responsibility to the international community. "

According to Peter Langille, a defence analyst at the University of Western Ontario, Canada could make a significant difference in places like Darfur where humanitarian demands are greatest.  Canada was one of the moving forces behind a UN Standby Force known as SHIRBRIG, and one of 15 nations agreeing to support it.  Langille argues that a SHIRBRIG force of some 6,000 troops — with Canada contributing about 600 — could head off a genocide and get food to hundreds of thousands who might otherwise starve.

Prof. Walter Dorn of the Canadian Forces Staff College in Toronto states "Particularly after the parliamentary vote on Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces are in danger of becoming a single mission military with UN peacekeeping as the greatest casualty.  At a time when UN peacekeeping is surging, with 18 missions in the field, Canada is desperately needed to help meet the demand for soldiers.  But we are turning our backs to the UN and the millions of suffering Africans and others in war-torn areas who need our help."

FOR MORE INFORMATION (Canada's peacekeeping policy):
- Prof. Walter Dorn, Canadian Forces College, Toronto, Ontario

FOR MORE INFORMATION (UN peace operations and Canadian foreign policy)
- Prof. Peter Langille,  Global Common Security I3, London Ontario


WFM-C BACKGROUNDER

'We the Peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war......'

                         - Charter of the United Nations, signed June 26 1945

• In 2002, the UN General Assembly designated 29 May as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

• Canada's Lester Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for developing the early concepts of peacekeeping during the 1956 Suez crisis. These missions were characterized by interposition between armed forces, consent of the parties,  impartiality, and minimum use of force. 

• The UN has never had permanent standing peacekeeping forces. The United Nations Standby Arrangement System (UNSAS) comprises a growing list of personnel and resources that numerous governments have offered the UN on a conditional basis.  Canada has also contributed to the development of the Standby High Readiness Brigade  (SHIRBRIG) consisting of about 6,000 well-equipped soldiers provided as a jumpstart force for deployment in 15-30 days.

• Peace operations changed significantly after the Cold War.  There have been many more missions, usually within states rather than between warring nations, and often conducted in co-ordination with regional and intergovernmental organizations.  The tasks have become more complex requiring additional civilian personnel for humanitarian assistance, electoral and human rights monitoring, demining, and institution building.

• According to the Human Security Report,  an unprecedented upsurge of international peace activism in the wake of the Cold War has led to substantial reductions of  war casualties.  Unfortunately not all peace efforts were successful.  Catastrophes like  Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans and Darfur have underscored the UN's inability to protect all civilians from the scourge of war, "ethnic cleansing" and genocide.
  

• Responding to these tragic limitations, a Canadian-commissioned report published in 2001 titled 'Responsibility to Protect  (R2P)' argues that the international community must act when states fail to protect their populations from grave threats involving large scale loss of life.  This responsibility to protect begins with active measures of prevention, sanctions military intervention where unavoidable, and obligates nations to rebuild subsequently.

• As a followup to the Millennium +5 Summit in 2005, the U.N. agreed to create a Peacebuilding Commission responsible for addressing a critical gap within the UN and global system by providing a coordinated and integrated approach to post-conflict situations.
  

• At a time when the UN is revamping its institutional structures for peacekeeping and when demand for peacekeeping operations continues to grow, Canada has seen its contribution to UN Peacekeeping fall dramatically over the last ten years.
  

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Warren Allmand, WFM-C National President, (514) 262-5623 (mobile)

Fergus Watt, WFM-C Executive Director, (613) 232-0647            
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WORLD FEDERALIST MOVEMENT - CANADA 

 Working for global human rights through global laws and institutions

The World Federalist Movement - Canada (WFM-C), founded in 1951, is a branch of the international World Federalist Movement (WFM) which is headquartered in New York City across from the UN, where it is an accredited NGO.

World federalists believe the best guarantee of universal human rights is a global community based on the rule of law and democratically accountable international institutions, and that governments, civil society, and international institutions have a fundamental responsibility  to protect civilians at risk.

During the 1990s, WFM coordinated the vast coalition of NGOs that successfully helped create the International Criminal Court where human rights violators – from soldiers and civilians to generals and heads of state – can be brought to justice.  Today WFM campaigns for the ratification of the ICC by all countries.

In the 2000s, WFM leads a new coalition lobbying for the global adoption of  “The Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) as a new norm for the prevention of crimes against humanity and for multilateral military intervention as a last resort when gross and systematic violations occur.  In September 2005 at the UN's historic Millennium + 5 Summit, WFM successfully pressed for the endorsement of R2P by the General Assembly.

WFM-C is Chair of Peace Operations Working Group of the Canadian Peacebuilding Co-ordinating Committee.

E-mail:  [email protected]

Telephone:   (613) 232-0647   
Fax:               (613) 563-0017

http://www.worldfederalistscanada.org