U.S. And Russian Envoys Meet To Discuss A U.N. Peacekeeping Force For Ukraine

Kurt Volker, the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, last met Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov on October 7 in Belgrade.

RFE: U.S., Russia Envoys To Discuss Peacekeeping Force For Ukraine

The U.S. envoy for efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict, Kurt Volker, is set to meet with Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov on November 13 to explore deploying United Nations peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine.

Volker has said he would meet Surkov in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, for a “discussion of principles” to see if they can agree on what a peacekeeping force might look like.

“We are not in agreement on this yet,” he told reporters in Washington on November 3.

Fighting between Kyiv government forces and Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014. Several cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords -- September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed to resolve the conflict -- have reduced fighting but not stopped it.

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WNU Editor: Aside from these exploratory talks involving U.S. and Russian diplomats on sending a UN peacekeeping force, there is also talk in Canada to send Canadian peacekeepers to Ukraine .... No promises, but lots of talk about Canadian peacekeepers in Ukraine (Toronto Star). What's my take .... absent any agreement with the pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine that would permit these UN peace-keepers to patrol the conflict zone, this deployment will only result in dead peace-keepers. And from what I have been reading, everyone is ignoring  (Moscow included) on what these pro-Ukrainian/Russian militias want.

Angelina Jolie Wants More Women U.N. Peacekeepers

People: Angelina Jolie Pitt Calls for Inclusion of Women in Peacekeeping During Surprise Speech at U.N. Summit

Angelina Jolie Pitt has called for a "new way of conducting peacekeeping" focused on the inclusion of women during a surprise visit to a United Nations summit in London.

In her speech, the actress and UNHCR Special Envoy encouraged countries to sign an agreement pledging to increase the involvement of women throughout the peacekeeping process.

"Peacekeeping forces can only gain and keep the trust of the local populations if they are able to engage with women, as well as men, in that community," Jolie said. "When I met senior commanders a short while ago to discuss the challenges of the security tasks they faced, they were clear that women peacekeepers and police officers are essential to local consent and operational effectiveness."

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Update: Angelina Jolie says UN undermined by sexual abuse by peacekeepers (The Guardian).

WNU Editor: She is right.

The UN's Peacekeeping Air Charter Business Does Not Favor The U.S.

UN's Messy, Billion-Dollar Peacekeeping Air Charter Business Hugely Unfavorable To US -- FOX News

Four years after United Nations auditors declared that the U.N.’s billion-dollar program for moving people and equipment on peacekeeping charter flights was a mess, the world organization still spends too much to rent airplanes and helicopters, still favors a few suppliers of equipment over those who might want to bid for the work, and still doesn’t have the tools to keep track of its sprawling and overpriced system.

Moreover, an examination by Fox News of U.N. procurement records shows that the results of the deeply flawed air charter system are hugely unfavorable to the United States, which pays by far the largest chunk of the U.N.’s peacekeeping budget.

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My Comment: I had the opportunity to work for the UN (ICAO branch in Montreal) for four years .... and even though my contract was a long time ago (1989 -1993) I saw first hand how inept and bureaucratic the procurement system was. I can only imagine what it is today.

Think Again: Peacekeeping in Somalia

African Union peacekeepers are trying to stem the violence in war-torn Darfur (File photo).
(AFP: Isam Al-Haj)

From Foreign Policy Blog:

There is a crisis. People are dying. Sending peacekeepers sounds great -- they come with UN neutrality, a mandate (usually) to use force, and the promise to do something. Who doesn't want to help out in places like the DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and Somalia?

If only it were so easy, writes a U.S. Government Accountability Office in a report released today. Future peacekeeping missions will be plagued by complex logistics, extensive troop needs, daunting political circumstances, and a reluctance from member states to donate troops and resources.

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My Comment: Iraq and Afghanistan have thought us that sending soldiers into troubled spots of the world involves enormous expenditures and loss of life. Peacekeeping in Africa .... there is no peacekeeping. Its open warfare against factions who are not happy to see foreigners involved in their fight.

This is why the UN cannot meet its mandates. Anyone with a brain will know that regions like Somalia, Darfur, South Sudan, the Congo .... there is no peace to oversee .... its open warfare. Who wants to get fully involved in that nightmare?