Pakistan and world peace

 

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• Hilal The failure of erstwhile League of Nations to prevent outbreak of World War II collapsed the wishful notion of collective security in Europe and elsewhere in the world. In the aftermath of World War II, a more potent international body 'the United Nations (UN)' was established in 1945 to ensure international peace and security. This was a time when the world map was being redrawn and a number of new states were emerging on the globe. It may be seen from the fact that at the time of its establishment, the UN had 50 states on its membership list, which has reached 193 during the year 2014. The statesmen, scholars and strategists consider that the UN has a mixed performance. Its history is full of feats and failures. The world has not witnessed any Great War since the World War II; however, it has undergone countless interstate wars and intrastate conflicts. Inter alia, peacekeeping is one among a range of activities undertaken by the UN to maintain international peace and security. It was felt that to alleviate anguish and sufferings of humanity and ensure human security, bringing back peace and stability in the conflict-ridden regions was imperative. Peacekeeping was one of the effective tools to achieve thisUN Peacekeeping – Brief Overview 6th October 1948 marked the beginning of UN peacekeeping operations with its first ever mission the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) to monitor the Arab-Israeli ceasefire. The UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) was the second mission instituted in 1949 to monitor ceasefire between India and Pakistan along the Ceasefire Line (CFL), now the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. Both are the oldest and the longest Missions still continue to function as the disputes remain unresolved even after 66 years. From 1948 to 2014, there have been 69 UN peacekeeping missions in the world. Some 122 countries have contributed troops to the UN peacekeeping missions since 1948. There have been a total of 3,223 fatalities since then. As of April 30, 2014, there are 16 ongoing peacekeeping mission employing 116,462 military and police personnel.

Peacekeeping was evolved at a time when the Cold War rivalries frequently paralyzed the Security Council proceedings. Peacekeeping was primarily limited to maintaining ceasefires and stabilizing situations on ground, providing crucial support for political efforts to resolve conflict by peaceful means. Those missions consisted of unarmed military observers and lightly armed troops with primarily monitoring, reporting and confidence-building roles.

The first two peacekeeping operations deployed by the UN were UNTSO and UNMOGIP whereas the UN Operation in the Congo (ONUC, French acronym) in 1960s was the first large-scale mission having nearly 20,000 military personnel at its peak. ONUC demonstrated the risks involved in trying to bring stability to war-torn regions – 250 UN personnel died while serving on that mission, including the Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. The Decade of Humanitarian Intervention

The demise of the Cold War saw an upsurge in UN peacekeeping operations due to eruption of numerous intra-state conflicts and insurgencies. With a new consensus and a shared sense of purpose, the Security Council authorized a total of 20 new operations between 1989 and 1994, raising the number of peacekeepers from 11,000 to 75,000. Peace and conflict studies scholars call the 1990s the Decade of Humanitarian Intervention. The post-Cold War era has been a period of evolution, too. The UN peacekeepers were now increasingly asked to undertake a wide variety of complex tasks, from helping build sustainable institutions of governance, to human rights monitoring, security sector reform, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants.

The 21st Century Peacekeeping At the turn of the century, the UN undertook a major exercise to examine the challenges to peacekeeping faced heretofore with a view to reform the existing concept and practices. The aim was to strengthen our capacity to effectively manage and sustain field operations. On the whole, the UN has numerous success stories insofar as peacekeeping is concerned. Pakistan remains to be an imperative and inescapable part of the UN accomplishments across the regions and continents around the globe.

Pakistan and the UN Peacekeeping Pakistan has been a leading partner of international peacekeeping effort in pursuit of peace around the world. As an important member of international community, Pakistan is cognizant of its roles and responsibilities towards preservation of global peace and security. Pakistan's motivation to partake in international peacekeeping missions stems from the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who pronounced that, “We believe in the principle of honesty and fair play in national and international dealings and are prepared to make utmost contribution to the promotion of peace and prosperity among all nations of the world. Pakistan will never be found lacking in extending its material and moral support to the oppressed and suppressed people of the world and in upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter.” Pakistan began its journey of peacekeeping in 1960 with deployment of its first ever contingent in United Nations Operation in Congo (ONUC). The next mission Pakistan participated had been West Irian in 1962. Even though, the Pakistani soldiers and civilians were new to scheme of peacekeeping, yet the spirit of peace prevailed and the novice peacekeepers received recognition and appreciation from various quarters. For instance, towards the end of the West Irian Mission, President Soekarno of Indonesia said, “It was because of Pakistani troops that Indonesia and Pakistan came close together, they were Pakistan's best ambassadors.”

With evolution in the United Nations' system of peacekeeping towards the end of the 20th Century, Pakistan too evolved its peacekeeping practices and participation. Our soldiers, civilians, police personnel and paramilitary forces took part in numerous missions and conducted a host of activities under the banner the UN ranging from humanitarian assistance to hardcore security operations.

Pakistan is the world leader in contribution of soldiers for the UN peacekeeping in the service of international peace. Pakistan has heretofore participated in 41 UN peacekeeping missions in 23 different countries out of the total 69 missions undertaken by the UN. A total of 154,527 Pakistani peacekeepers have served as part of the blue berets in the service of international peace. Due to quantum and sincerity of contribution for this noble cause, Pakistan has one of the highest sacrifices ratio among the troops contributing countries. Some 139 Pakistani soldiers including 22 officers and two persons of Formed Police Units have heretofore scarified their lives in different United Nation Missions, which is virtually 10 percent of the total fatalities endured by the UN. Nearly the same number of peacekeepers have been wounded, some of whom are living disabled. Maximum casualties on a single day occurred during “Operation United Shield” in the UN Mission in Somalia (UNOSOM) on June 5, 1993, in which our 24 brave soldiers sacrificed their lives while ensuring safety of the people of Somalia and UN comrades overwhelmed by the rebels. In the memory of those departed souls, June 5 is commemorated as the Pakistani Peacekeepers Day.

Pakistan has also contributed a total of 42 Formed Police Units in five different countries. The performance of Pakistani police has also remained commendable. To note, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shahzadi Gulfam of Pakistan was awarded “International Female Police Peacekeeper Award” in 2011.

The Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS) Pakistan has an inclusive system of training for peacekeeping, peace-building and stability and support operations. The Peacekeeping Training Wing of the School of Infantry and Tactics (SI&T) is but one example of institutionalized training for the purpose. It is also part of other institutions of Pakistan Armed Forces. However, to move further on the way to important professional and advanced training in keeping with international best practices, the CIPS was established in the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) on March 1, 2013 and inaugurated by the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) His Excellency Ban Ki-moon on August 13, 2014. His Excellency Ban Ki-moon said: “More than 100 countries contribute troops and police for United Nations peacekeeping operations. Pakistan is number one. It is impossible to speak about the history of United Nations peacekeeping without highlighting the contributions of Pakistan. Nearly one out of ten UN peacekeepers around the world hails from Pakistan.”