Commanders Seek “The Multiplying Effect” to Boost Peacekeeping Missions

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Jun 22 2012 (IPS) - UNITED NATIONS, June 21 – Accomplishing U.N. Stabilization Missions in South Sudan, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) requires a “multiplying effect”. There is a need to employ the 120,000 deployed peacekeepers in a more efficient way to multiply the effects of grassroots operations commanders underscored during a press briefing at the U. N. Headquarters in New York.

The military personnel brought diverse knowledge, skills and experiences with them to develop their capacity to provide adequate training for soldiers, civilian protection and clarify their mandates.

 United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) soldiers do not have, “the range of skills or perhaps mental attitude” to help vulnerable civilians in their area of operation because of their limited pre-deployment procedures, training standards and concept operations.

 Lieutenant General Chander Prakash, MONUSCO Force Commander also went on to state that the mandate, “was twofold: protection of civilians and stabilization. Stabilization included multifaceted issues such as security sector reforms and judiciary. Of the total number of boots on the ground, 94 percent we deployed in the eastern DRC”.

 Major General Moses Bisong Obi, Force Commander, United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) stated that his mission started July 9 of last year and had a strong protection mandate and capacity building emphasis because the government of South Sudan is very new.

 Furthermore, the conflict in Tibor (South Sudan) in December 2011 and January 2012 had “made every effort to anticipate and mitigate the retaliatory attacks by involving the government and churches”.

 Casualties during the conflict were estimated to be in the hundreds and it is difficult to confirm the numbers but in the future the uses of technology like “drones would be helpful”.

 Major General Fernando Rodrigues Goulart, Force Commander, United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) remarked that his mission is involved in providing and assuring security and stability, protecting civilians, responding to natural disasters and supporting police.

 He also went on to say that MINUSTAH engineers have built Cholera centres, provided medical support kits and is in the process of building wells and distributing water.