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AWOL Canada’s support for UN peace operations in Question

Ottawa  Canada’s rank among contributors to United Nations Peace Operations reached a record low in March 2016. The UN ranked Canada 74th, with only 76 personnel (49 police and 27 military) in the field.

(Canada’s position improved marginally by April 30, the most recent month for which UN figures are available, when we moved up in rank to 73rd with 79 personnel -- 52 police and 27 military -- on UN missions.)

Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Trudeau have repeatedly indicated that Canada intends to increase this country’s contributions to United Nations Peace Operations. But, over 6 months into the new government’s mandate, Canada’s performance has never been worse.

“It’s disappointing,” says military expert Walter Dorn. “The government’s rhetoric is encouraging. But the figures show a continuing decline.” Dorn is a member of the Advisory Board for the World Federalist Movement  Canada and also a professor at Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Canada’s lamentable performance comes at a time when the UN deployments have reached record highs  almost 130,000 personnel in 16 missions around the world. Furthermore, a fact sheet on Canada and UN Peacekeeping published by the World Federalists demonstrated that a number of UN missions have not been staffed at levels mandated by the UN Security Council.

“The UN’s demand for peacekeepers is at a record high,” says Dorn. “It’s widely recognized at the UN that more governments -- like Canada -- need to do more to help.”

Indeed, U.S. President Obama led a Summit meeting last September to mobilize greater commitments to peace operations. The Summit yielded pledges of another 40,000 troops and police from fifty Member States. The election campaign in Canada meant that this country was not among those committing additional support for UN operations.

Earlier this month a United Nations General Assembly High-level Thematic Debate on the UN, Peace and Security, was held May 10-11 in New York, marking another important opportunity for Canada to signal a renewed commitment to the UN’s efforts to restore peace in many conflict-affected parts of the world. Unfortunately Canada’s Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion declined to attend the ministerial segment of the two-day meeting.