Policy Brief January 2011

The Role of the U.S. in UN

Peacekeeping Operations
Problem Recommendations & Actions
In recent years United Recognizing the contribution of UN peacekeeping to the achievement of our strategic objec-
Nations members tives, as outlined in the 2010 National Security Strategy, the U.S. should seek to strengthen
(including the U.S.) the UN’s ability to deploy the large, appropriately-funded peacekeeping operations to
have charged UN address complex conflict situations. The U.S. should continue to show positive leadership
peacekeeping through reliable financial support, the promulgation of necessary UN institutional reforms
operations with and the commitment of key enabling equipment and units. This will allow missions to deploy
increasingly complex quickly and operate effectively. Furthermore, the U.S. should actively use its leadership posi-
and dangerous tasks. tion on the UN Security Council to ensure that peacekeeping is not weakened and discred-
However, heightened ited through irresponsible deployments.
expectations and • Consolidate renewed U.S. commitment to UN peacekeeping by continuing to make
responsibilities have not prompt and full payment of the U.S. share of current UN peacekeeping costs.
been matched with the • Permanently remove the legislative cap on U.S. contributions to UN peacekeeping oper-
increases in financial, ations, allowing the U.S. to fully meet its obligations to the UN and to pay off all arrears
material and political incurred under the cap.
support necessary to • Commit specialized U.S. resources to UN peacekeeping missions in order to ensure that
fulfill these mandates. missions have the necessary means to fulfill their mandates. This can include critical
equipment, lift and sustainment of troops to peacekeeping operations worldwide.
• Provide direct support for higher order officer training for troop-contributing countries
and support for the UN’s effort to develop scenario-based training for peacekeepers,
including the themes of protecting civilians, preventing and responding to sexual vio-
lence by third parties, and preventing sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers.
• Use U.S. leadership on the UN Security Council to ensure that UN peacekeeping mis-
sions are deployed responsibly and judiciously, and that missions receive the high-level
political support needed to resolve crises in areas into which peacekeepers are deployed.
• Take a leading role in the reform of UN institutions needed to reinforce the UN’s ability to
mount credible, sustained peacekeeping operations, during which peacekeepers guilty
of human rights violations are held to account.

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Results
Continued positive engagement in UN peacekeeping operations and reforms
will strengthen and expand the capacity of the UN to effectively and consis-
tently protect civilians, and stabilize weak and failing states. It will also help the
U.S. to share the cost and political burden of stabilizing states and shoring up
potential security vacuums that could present a threat to U.S. security interests.
Background
Nearly 100,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed in 15 mis-
sions on four continents. These operations all originate with
the UN Security Council, which authorizes the missions
through Security Council Resolutions and regularly reviews
their mandates.
UN peacekeeping no longer resembles the “classical”
observer missions of lightly armed troops monitoring cease-
fire agreements. Today’s missions are complex operations
in active conflict zones. Modern peacekeepers are asked to
create stability, protect civilians, demobilize ex-combatants
and guide the development of democratic institutions that
respect human rights and uphold the rule of law. Peace-
keeping today often represents a comprehensive effort to
stabilize and reconstruct failed and failing states.
The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations man-
ages UN civilian, police and military peacekeepers work-
ing to promote values and institutions that are aligned with
U.S. political and strategic interests. Throughout the world,
UN peacekeeping efforts strive to prevent conflict, protect
civilians affected by armed conflict, uphold human rights,
and promote stability and good governance.
Reports of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers threaten
to overshadow their positive contributions that help pre-
vent instability and secure peace. The UN has implemented
significant reforms to curb and address sexual exploitation
and abuse by peacekeepers, including mandatory pre-
deployment trainings and the establishment of a conduct
and discipline units at headquarters and in the field. But the
UN must remain vigilant and continue to strengthen mea-
sures to prevent and respond to allegations of abuse. The
U.S. should press troop-contributing countries to hold their
accused nationals legally accountable and incorporate the
prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse into their stan-
dard military training.
The U.S. should further ensure that peacekeepers receive
scenario-based training on how to protect women from
sexual violence by third parties and how to respond when
faced with survivors of such violence, using examples
from the UN “analytical inventory of peacekeeping prac-
tice addressing conflict-related sexual violence.” The U.S.
should press the UN to include this in peacekeepers’ train-
ing curriculum, and ensure the U.S. Global Peace Opera-
tions Initiative and Africa Contingency Operations Training
and Assistance include this in their curriculum.
In spite of the complexity, sensitivity and danger involved
in conducting modern UN peacekeeping operations, UN
missions are routinely deployed with mandated tasks that
far exceed the equipment, staff, troop numbers and politi-
cal support they receive to get the job done. Also prob-
lematic is the increasing inclination of UN member states
to deploy UN peacekeepers into situations where there is
no peace to keep, creating unreasonable expectations and
damaging the credibility of the UN peacekeeping system
as a whole.
In spite of the enormous challenges faced by modern
peacekeeping, the multilateral UN approach has proved
to be a successful, cost-efficient way to promote interna-
tional peace and security. A 2005 RAND study found that
multinational UN forces are far better suited than unilateral
U.S. forces to perform peacekeeping responsibilities. In
terms of cost-effectiveness, a 2006 Government Account-
ability Office study concluded that UN peacekeeping is
eight times less expensive than funding a U.S. force. Fur-
thermore, the Office of Management and Budget gave the
U.S. contributions to UN peacekeeping (CIPA account) its
highest rating under the OMB Program Assessment Rating
Tool. As part of this assessment, UN peacekeeping efforts
were judged to be consistent with State Department objec-
tives, consistently achieving the stated goals.
A regular assessment process determines the percent-
age of UN peacekeeping costs that each member state
should pay. Since 1994, a congressionally-imposed cap
has limited U.S. contributions to UN peacekeeping to 25
percent of the entire UN peacekeeping budget. While the
U.S. renegotiates assessment rates with the UN every
three years and the U.S. peacekeeping rate has dropped
from 31 percent to 26 percent in the last ten years, the 25
percent congressionally-imposed cap remains. Congress
routinely lifts the cap, but the issue must be revisited each
year. This gives opponents of the UN opportunities to cut
funding for peacekeeping and sends a poor signal to troop-
contributing countries who put their troops on the line in
missions the U.S. votes for in the Security Council but then
may underfund. For example, from 2005-2007, the cap was
not lifted and $175 million in debt for U.S. assessments
for peacekeeping operations accrued. President Obama
supported and Congress included sufficient funding to pay
off cap related arrears in the FY2009 Supplemental Appro-
priations bill. Lifting the cap permanently will further dem-
onstrate U.S. commitment to reengagement and meeting
future international obligations for peacekeeping.
The UN peacekeeping system has made tremendous
progress, particularly with institutional reforms to improve
peacekeepers’ ability to protect civilians in times of armed
conflict. The Obama Administration should continue to use
its leadership position on the Security Council to re-assert
the U.S. as a global leader in the defense of human rights,
the prevention of mass atrocities, and a leader of states by
making a renewed commitment to the development and
responsible use of UN peacekeeping.