UN Peacekeepers Bring In Fresh Water For Haitians

Peacekeepers in Haiti are nothing short of a fountain of good news, this time brought to us by the Sri Lankan contingent. The communications/PsyOps folks of MINUSTAH really outdid themselves, delivering a story on water to celebrate World Water Day:
'It may be a mere drop in the ocean, but for 160 children in a Haitian orphanage it meant much more when United Nations peacekeepers delivered 9,000 litres of clean, fresh water: it meant that they were not alone in the battle against poverty and the diseases brought by contaminated supplies.'

'Peacekeeping in Africa is not for the faint-hearted'

An excellent piece on the challenges and risks of peacekeeping in Africa:
"The first half of 2006 has not been kind to peacekeepers in Africa. The UN force in Cote d'Ivoire was forced to evacuate bases in the face of rioters; the UN force in the Democratic Republic of Congo suffered casualties and soldiers captured in the Ituri district, major attacks by dissident soldiers in North Kivu province and lacked the troops to deal with a Mayi Mayi rebellion in Katanga; the African Union force in Darfur took casualties in clashes with militias and bandits and the UN had to withdraw aid personnel from two bases in Chad after rebel attacks."

Change sought in U.S. reconstruction programs

The opening paragraph of this IHT article provides a tidy summary of a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction:

'The failures of the American-financed reconstruction program in Iraq threaten to be repeated elsewhere unless the gulf between the military and civilian efforts in wartime is bridged by structural changes in the U.S. government, a federal oversight agency said in a report Thursday.'

Iraqi insurgents blow up car with children inside | Iraq | Guardian Unlimited

The Guardian reports that US forces in Iraq were investigating a potentially new tactic on the part of insurgent in Iraq. In a recent incident, a car with children was allowed to pass an American checkpoint, before being detonated with the children still inside. It is thought to be the first incident where children have been used as 'decoys' to facilitate passage of a car bomb. Apparently the adults who would have driven the car fled before the detonation.

Haiti: Peacekeepers Restores Provincial Library

In Haiti, UN peacekeepers have restored a provincial library at a cost of $3,500 US.

'QIPs [Quick Impact Projects] are widely viewed as being among the most effective tools used by UN missions around the world to help local communities at ground level and at low cost, from repairing leaking roofs in schools in Georgia to opening a vocational centre in Liberia to refurbishing sanitation facilities in Burundi.'

All-female unit keeps peace in Liberia | csmonitor.com

This article writes about an all female peacekeeping unit in Liberia. The 103 Indian women are said to be having a 'profound impact', in inspiring Liberian women to join the nascent Liberian police force.

A sub-text of the article is that the deployment of more female peacekeepers will somehow better limit instances of rape and sexual abuse that have plagued the UN. In the past three years, 319 peacekeepers have been investigated for abuse, and 179 repatriated or abused. In the least, this deployment is an overdue effort to address a severe gender imbalance in peacekeeping.

Pakistani peacekeepers renovate school in Liberia as part of ongoing UN project

A press release publicizes a project of Pakistani peacekeepers who renovated a school in Liberia as part of ongoing UN project.

The project is only the beginning of an ambitious education, water and nutrition project that the Pakistani peacekeepers intend to provide:

'Pakistani Commander Brig. Gen. Ahmad Nawaz said peacekeeping is not possible without the active backing of the inhabitants of the area. “Support of the people in an area can only be won by being absolutely impartial, fair, highly upright in one’s conduct and doing things beyond the laid-down mandate aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the people."

He announced that the dedication marks the start of an initiative under which all units and sub-units of the UNMIL Pakistani contingent, wherever they are located, will each adopt a school.'

US troops in Philippines defy old stereotype | csmonitor.com

US troops in Philippines defy old stereotype | csmonitor.com

'In southern islands, the US has helped the Philippine Army for more than five years to stem Muslim insurgency.'

Presented as a 'good news' story, this article provides an overview of US support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in their battle against insurgents. While the initial fears were of the return of permanent American bases in the Philippines, the complexity changed over time.

On the one hand, there has been a certain US success in winning the hearts and minds of local populations with their focus on development projects and humanitarian assistance- while providing counterinsurgency training to the Philippine Army.

Despite being able to publicize their 'benign intentions', some hearts cannot be one over: 'Mr. Muarip says that his brother, a Muslim who favors adoption of sharia Islamic law in Mindanao, is skeptical of US largesse and rejects the deployment in the Philippines. Other critics say that the arrival of US troops, whatever their intentions, stirs anxiety among Muslims.'

Haiti: UN mission helps refurbish high school for 5,000 students

'The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has helped rehabilitate a high school for some 5,000 students in the St. Martin quarter of Port-au-Prince, the capital, after it had been out of commission since 2004 because of insecurity and disrepair.'

An earlier post examined the challenges of maintaining stability in Haiti.

The Fog of Humanitarianism: Collective Action Problems and Learning-Challenged Organizations

The Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding have an timely and insightful article on humanitarian action in their latest issue. The author's conclusions are particularly insightful:

'This essay explores humanitarian action, and by effect post-conflict state-
building, in the so-called new wars of the post-cold war period especially the targeting of civilians, the proliferation of non-state actors, and the perils of war economies. The host of reactions by aid agencies, termed ‘new humanitarianisms’, has called into question traditional operating principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence while the system has experienced dramatic increases in the number of organizations and available funds. Arguing that too little institutional learning has yet occurred, the authors call for changing the culture of aid agencies and investing in information gathering and sharing, policy analysis, and planning. In an era when reflection time is as valuable as reaction time, they stress the need to develop a humanitarian equivalent of military science.'

Nigerian UNMIL peacekeepers donate clinic to local community

A story from Liberia, where the 850 members of the Nigerian contingent donated $10 US each to finance the construction of a clinic for the village of Charlesville, close to Monrovia.

'The gift from the 11th battalion of the Nigerian Contingent - NIBATT 11 - is the latest in the long list humanitarian projects being undertaken by Nigerian peacekeepers in addition to their primary tasks of keeping the peace in war-torn Liberia. "This beautiful building will remind us, long after today, of the generosity, care and concern of all members of NIBAT11," said the Officer in Charge of the UN Mission in Liberia, Mr. Jordan Ryan as he commissioned the clinic.'

The integration of this project into the bigger reconstruction picture is called into question by the battalion commander's appeal for external support at the opening ceremony:
'"Our vision is to see this clinic transform into a full-fledged hospital in the near future, and generally boost the health sector of Liberia." He appealed to other concerned organizations, NGOs, businesses and individuals to help provide the clinic with medical equipment, beddings, drugs, electricity, borehole, and additional structures.'

Shoot-out between UN, Liberian gang

Report on a UN patrol having exchanged fire with a gang of armed men in northern Liberia over the weekend. It was the first such gunfight involving UN peacekeepers in Liberia since the swearing-in of the postwar government of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2006.

Humanitarian-military dialogue- Humanitarian Practice Network

The Humanitarian Practice Network has a forum for online exchange- there is a lively short exchange around the complementarity and limits of the humanitarian-military dialogue and relationship.

The there authors make very good cases from their respective points of view. The editorial is certainly worth a read, as is a later post by Eva von Oelrich, entitled 'Coopted by the UN? Time for NGOs to take up the challenge'

Iraqi Police Commercial

Interesting Iraqi effort to improve the profile of their police.

Sudan- More Darfuris flee, begging for UN troops to help

An article that collects the various perspectives around the deployment of a peacekeeping force in Darfur. Opinions range from the frustration of the conflict's victims, who suggest that the AU force themselves require protection; to the Khartoum government, who downplays the conflict's costs, and accuses western media of having blown the conflict out of proportion.

the Protection Group: Sudan- More Darfuris flee, begging for UN troops to help

Soldiers are no longer the key to winning conflicts

A good article that unpacks the changing nature of the battlefield and the rationale of using force.

The punchline was very much oriented around the importance- and challenge- of creating alliances around legitimate military objectives:

'The Iraq war and Israel's wars with Hamas and Hezbollah show the limits of what military power can achieve, as well as vindicate diplomacy and conflict resolution. When it comes to tackling complex political and cultural conflicts, forging international and regional alliances around a legitimate objective is more important than sheer military capacity.'

Six months since 1706: The international failure to protect Darfur

Comprehensive look at where things stand in Darfur, and compliments the response from Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, refusing to accept an interim U.N. plan to bolster African troops in Darfur, despite an earlier agreement in principle.
Security Management Initiative: Six months since 1706: The international failure to protect Darfur

Human rights group protests IDF battle exercises in West Bank

A unique situation in Israel, where IDF forces used a live assault on a Palestinian village in the West Bank as a training exercise for Reserve forces focusing on routine security operations in the West Bank.

The human rights group Yesh Din intervened with IDF authorities.

Update: AlertNet ran an article on the same subject, with greater detail.

Iraqis Seek Role in Rebuilding Their Nation

'When Rahim al-Daraji looks at the dusty lots just east of Sadr City where scores of bodies have been dumped in the past year, he sees a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, coffee shops and restaurants... “The plan is not only about security,” said Naeem al-Kabbi, Baghdad’s deputy mayor in charge of municipal services. “It’s about security, services and reconstruction.”'

This article brings together the many forces at play in Iraq, as the Iraqis are increasingly using the Coalition's vocabulary of reconstruction. Given that the Iraqi government has pledged $10 billion US for reconstruction in this year's budget, authorities are finding themselves facing crowds of 'volunteers' to help direct their spending...

India's UNIFIL contingent to provide prosthetic limbs

'The Indian contingent of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced a "Jaipur Foot Project" at the headquarters of the contingent in Ibl al-Saki on Monday. The project aims to provide prosthetic limbs to Lebanese soldiers and civilians who have lost a limb to cluster bombs or land mines in the South.'