Ri_greater U.s. Role Needed For Un Peacekeeping Operations


 A
POWERFUL
VOICE
FOR
LIFESAVING
ACTION
 
 For
Immediate
Release:

July
29,
2009
 Contact:

Vanessa
Parra,
202‐904‐0319;
 [email protected]
 
 REPORT:
Greater
U.S.
Role
Needed
for
UN
Peacekeeping
Operations
 Download
full
report
 WASHINGTON,
D.C.
‐
The
U.S.
needs
to
reassess
its
relationship
with
UN
 peacekeeping
operations
to
help
develop
an
effective
method
to
protect
civilians
 trapped
in
conflict,
Refugees
International
said
in
a
report
released
today.
The
 report,
Greater
Expectations:
UN
Peacekeeping
&
Civilian
Protection,
recommends
 that
the
U.S.
provide
forces
and
assets,
including
strategic
lift
capacity
and
expert
 personnel,
such
as
engineers,
to
help
UN
missions
deploy
quickly
and
completely.
 The
U.S.
should
also
work
with
the
UN
to
provide
standardized
peacekeeping
 training
and
help
increase
global
peacekeeping
capacity.
 "The
U.S.
routinely
relies
on
peacekeepers
to
stabilize
regions
in
conflict
and
protect
 vulnerable
civilians,"
said
Erin
Weir,
Refugees
International's
Peacekeeping
 Advocate
who
testified
before
the
House
Foreign
Affairs
Committee
today
on
the
 challenges
facing
peacekeeping
forces.
"While
the
Obama
administration
and
 Congress
have
funded
critical
UN
peacekeeping
missions,
more
needs
to
be
done.
It
 is
in
everyone's
best
interest
to
help
peacekeepers
achieve
their
goals."
 Greater
Expectations
assesses
the
challenges
and
successes
of
UN
peacekeeping
at
 present
and
makes
recommendations
to
improve
peacekeeping
operations,
 highlighting
areas
where
the
deployment
of
UN
peacekeepers
is
not
appropriate.
In
 addition,
the
UN
needs
to
be
more
flexible
in
how
it
accepts
forces
so
that
countries
 with
advanced
military
forces
can
contribute
more
troops
and
resources
to
UN
 peacekeeping.
Currently,
the
UN
acquires
forces
in
a
piecemeal
fashion,
with
 different
training
standards
and
combat
capabilities,
making
the
cohesiveness
of
 forces
and
their
effectiveness
difficult.
 "The
U.S.
has
a
unique
ability
to
support
UN
peacekeepers'
efforts
to
protect
people
 in
conflict
zones,"
said
Ms.
Weir.
"The
UN
has
taken
steps
to
improve
the
 effectiveness
of
its
troops,
and
the
U.S.
can
provide
new
forms
of
support
to
bolster
 these
efforts."


Among
the
report's
central
recommendations,
Refugees
International
urges
the
U.S.
 government
to
show
a
stronger
commitment
to
UN
peacekeeping
operations
by
 pledging
more
personnel
and
advanced
support,
such
as
engineers,
heavy
transport
 and
medical
units.
 Refugees
International
is
a
Washington,
D.C.‐based
organization
that
advocates
to
 end
refugee
crises.
To
download
a
copy
of
the
report
or
read
Ms.
Weir's
testimony
to
 the
House
Foreign
Affairs
Committee,
go
to
http://www.refugeesinternational.org.