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Manifestación en apoyo de los golpistas y contra el Ejército francés, el pasado 2 de septiembre en Niamey, Níger.STRINGER (REUTERS)

El golpe de Estado militar sufrido por el Gobierno constitucional de Níger el pasado 26 de julio a manos del autodenominado Consejo Nacional para la Protección de la Patria (CNSP), plantea complejos problemas sobre la legitimidad y la conveniencia del uso de la fuerza armada para restablecer el sistema democrático de ese país. La Comunidad Económica de Estados de África Occidental (Cedeao), integrada por 15 países, entre ellos la República de Níger, ha exigido reiteradamente el restablecimiento del orden constitucional, la liberación del presidente Mohamed Bazoum y su familia y de los miembros del Gobierno detenidos ilegalmente. La Cedeao, al rechazar los golpistas toda solución pacífica y diplomática, ha amenazado con usar la fuerza armada militar si es necesario.…  Seguir leyendo »

Officers of the National Police of Niger stand guard with Nigerien soldiers during a demonstration outside the Nigerien and French air bases in Niamey on Aug. 27 AFP via Getty Images

On July 26, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani detained Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, and installed himself as the head of the so-called National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, a military junta. Less than a week later, on July 30, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued the junta an ultimatum: Return the former president to power within one week or face the threat of additional sanctions and military force. The region has experienced a wave of coups in recent years, and ECOWAS is rightly concerned about their spread.

That ultimatum has since expired, with Tchiani remaining steadfast, sparking a crisis for ECOWAS.…  Seguir leyendo »

Servicemen attend the "RAPID TRIDENT-2021" military exercise at Ukraine's International Peacekeeping Security Centre near Yavoriv in the Lviv region, Ukraine September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Prior to this week’s NATO summit in Brussels, Poland stirred up discussions of sending an international peacekeeping force to Ukraine. The concept, which Polish officials have emphasised is at a “preliminary” stage, is to deploy a force that could assist with humanitarian operations and would be robust enough to defend itself in combat. The proposal is unlikely to gain traction since, like the idea of a NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine, it raises the risks of direct confrontation with Russia. But peacekeeping operations come in many shapes and sizes, and it is possible that some sort of international presence will eventually be needed to support a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ruge el helicóptero de Naciones Unidas en nuestra posición 7.2. 'Miguel de Cervantes' alza el vuelo, levanta la nieve que cubre la pista, y sus motores resuenan por la base. El mismo helicóptero desde el que, en un vuelo de vigilancia sobre la 'Blue Line', cicatriz que separa Israel y Líbano, admiré el monte Hermón, místico y misterioso pico de casi tres mil metros de altura que separa Siria y Líbano. Cubierto bajo un grueso manto blanco, lo contemplé al ocaso de un rojo casi bermellón, con los últimos rayos de sol refulgiendo en su cima de hielo. Por algo el 'País de los Cedros' se llama Líbano, palabra fenicia que significa blanco: el de la nieve de sus montañas.…  Seguir leyendo »

An Afghan woman walks on the street during a snowfall in Kabul, Afghanistan, 3 January 2022. REUTERS / Ali Khara

The UN Security Council faces hard choices about the future of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The UN’s role in Afghanistan has grown more important following the Taliban victory in August 2021 and the shuttering of many embassies and international organisations. UNAMA, originally launched in 2002 after the U.S. toppled the first Taliban government, has stayed in place, acting as a point of contact for engagement with the new Taliban authorities. The mission also has the potential to serve as the “eyes and ears” on the ground for outside powers and aid donors, monitoring the human rights situation and coordinating the work of UN agencies in responding to the country’s economic and humanitarian crisis.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Risky Role for Russian Peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh

When Russian peacekeepers arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a ceasefire deal between Azerbaijan and Armenian, they found it empty, blanketed in a thick November fog. After 44 days of brutal war, most [people] had fled, not believing the fighting was over. A year later, the region’s main city of Stepanakert is no longer a ghost town. Most of its residents have returned, followed by thousands of Armenians displaced from territories won over by Azerbaijani forces in the conflict. The scars of war are everywhere — damaged buildings, craters caused by missiles, and photos of the dead and missing hung for passers-by — but elders gossip on city stoops while children are playing in the streets once again.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Afghan War Took an Awful Toll. I Would Still Serve Again

Was it worth it?

I don’t mean the wars — it’s nearly impossible to argue the wars were worth it, surely — but what about our service in them? Did it mean anything?

This question haunts many veterans on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Did anything we do in the years that followed matter? Worse, if the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan hurt the United States more than they helped, did our participation in them betray the country we had pledged to serve?

I was already a second lieutenant in the Army in the fall of 2001, and much of my life since then — two combat deployments to Afghanistan, one to Iraq, time back in Afghanistan as a civilian adviser, several years in the Pentagon as a senior defense official — has been shaped by America’s forever wars.…  Seguir leyendo »

Primavera de 2010, atardecer en Qala e Naw, capital de Badghis, noroeste de Afganistán. Después de una intensa jornada de trabajo, recibo la llamada de mi teniente coronel jefe de Batallón, desplegado en la todavía muy precaria base avanzada de operaciones de Sang Atesh, a unos 60 kilómetros de mi cuartel general, y hasta hace unos días dominada por la insurgencia talibán, donde el despliegue de los legionarios españoles, junto a soldados y policías afganos, empieza a llevar la tranquilidad a la zona. Recibo novedades del día. A pesar de las duras condiciones de vida y el clima extremo, la moral de nuestros soldados es elevada.…  Seguir leyendo »

L’inaction aussi a son prix et il est plus que temps d’en sortir car… Rappelons l’enchaînement qui a conduit au chaos qui s’installe aux frontières de l’Europe. En Syrie, malgré la France, Barack Obama n’avait pas voulu faire respecter les lignes rouges qu’il avait lui-même tracées à Bachar Al-Assad. Son successeur s’est ensuite largement retiré du Proche-Orient pendant que l’Europe décidait de ne pas agir seule. La Russie s’est engouffrée dans ce vide pour reprendre pied dans la région aux côtés des régimes de Damas et de Téhéran.

La Russie est redevenue acteur mondial pendant que les démocraties occidentales se repliaient et Vladimir Poutine a alors décidé d’en finir avec le conflit syrien.…  Seguir leyendo »

Soldados y policías chinos sirven en ocho misiones de paz de la ONU en África. Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

China ha ido aumentando su participación en las operaciones de mantenimiento de la paz de las Naciones Unidas (NU) en África desde su primera misión en 1989, cuando la ONU se encargó de la independencia de Namibia de Sudáfrica. Desde entonces, su dotación y personal han ido aumentando.

En 2019, China donó siete mil millones de $ al mantenimiento de la paz de la ONU, que contribuyó en un 15,22% al presupuesto global para el mantenimiento de la paz. Esta cifra creció un 10,28% en 2018, y China se convirtió en el segundo mayor contribuyente financiero después de Estados Unidos. De las 14 misiones actuales para el mantenimiento de la paz, 7 se desarrollan en África, lo que supone dos tercios del presupuesto.…  Seguir leyendo »

‘Te dan unas monedas y te dejan embarazada’: 265 historias de niños haitianos abandonados por sus padres, los Cascos Azules

Marie* tenía 14 años y acudía a una escuela cristiana cuando conoció a Miguel, un soldado brasileño destinado en Haití como Casco Azul de la ONU. Pronto inició una relación con él. Cuando le dijo que estaba embarazada de su hijo, Miguel le aseguró que le ayudaría con el niño, pero volvió a Brasil. Marie trató de comunicarse con él vía Facebook, pero Miguel nunca respondió.

Al enterarse de que estaba embarazada, el padre de Marie la echó de casa y se fue a vivir con su hermana. Actualmente, su hijo tiene cuatro años y Marie continúa a la espera de recibir algún tipo de ayuda por parte del ejército brasileño, alguna ONG, las Naciones Unidas o el estado haitiano.…  Seguir leyendo »

Peacekeeper with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti

An independent United Nations (UN) strategic review has recommended that the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) complete a phased withdrawal by 2022. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Mats Berdal to give his insights into why this is happening and what the implications could be.

Why is the peacekeeping operation coming to an end?

The UN Organisation Mission in the DRC started off as a small observer force in 1999. It was deployed by the UN Security Council to monitor the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement signed in August 1999. At the time the hope was that this would mark the end of the Second Congo War.…  Seguir leyendo »

A soldier on the African Union Mission in Somalia standing guard on a street during a security operation in Mogadishu, Somalia. EPA/Tobin Jones

In an ever more urbanising world, peacekeepers will increasingly operate in cities. In a recent article, we analysed how attacks against the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) affected the peacekeepers’ ability to operate in Mogadishu.

Cities host key logistical and political assets and institutions. They are frequently the object of fierce contestation among warring parties. Cities may also remain divided and insecure long after formal peace agreements are signed, posing significant challenges to peaceful transitions.

Securing strategically important cities and protecting key institutions are thus crucial tasks for peace operations. However, operating in densely populated urban areas brings significant challenges.…  Seguir leyendo »

Vivimos en un mundo cada vez más globalizado e interdependiente donde la comunicación, la economía y las amenazas a nuestra seguridad también son globales. Atrás quedaron los tiempos en los que era fácil pensar que la seguridad de nuestro país y de nuestra ciudadanía podía garantizarse con la mera defensa de nuestras fronteras. Amenazas como el terrorismo internacional, el crimen organizado o el interés por debilitar nuestras instituciones democráticas, son amenazas que no conocen fronteras y por tanto, han de ser abordadas de manera conjunta y coordinada. Precisamente este año se cumple el 30º aniversario de la primera participación de nuestras Fuerzas Armadas en una misión en el exterior en el marco de las operaciones de mantenimiento de la paz de Naciones Unidas (ONU).…  Seguir leyendo »

MASIAKA, SIERRA LEONE: A soldier of the Sierra Leone's army stands next to a direction board in Masiaka, some 100 kilometres east from Freetown 17 may 2000, on the frontline. Sierra Leonan rebel leader Foday Sankoh was arrested early today in Freetown and later handed over to the police by British troops. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) (Photo credit should read JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty Images)

There is one place in the world where Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, is not vilified for his part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a West African country where, less than three years earlier, his government’s intervention helped to end one of the most vicious conflicts in recent history. In Sierra Leone, where he is a hero, the “Blair Doctrine” was a rare case of an overseas military operation not for strategic or commercial interest, but for humanitarian purposes and in the name of an ethical foreign policy. Blair would later write in his autobiography that the episode was one of his proudest moments in office.…  Seguir leyendo »

Women in the town of Mweso, Congo, walk past a convoy from the U.N. peacekeeping mission on April 10. (Alexis Huguet/AFP/Getty Images)

The second Liberian civil war began 20 years ago this month. All told, the conflicts that ravaged Liberia from the beginning of the first civil war in 1989 to the end of the second in 2003 resulted in the deaths of some 250,000 men, women and children, the displacement of more than 1 million civilians and the destruction of much of the country’s infrastructure.

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) deployed in 2003 to help the country rebuild, and stayed until its mandate ended last year. By most accounts UNMIL was a success, shepherding in over a decade of peace and three consecutive democratic elections.…  Seguir leyendo »

When President Trump took questions at his March 19 news conference with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a reporter asked what he thought about possibly using military force to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump’s answer was, “I think of all possibilities. All options are open.” The Trump administration has repeatedly stated the United States will not “rule out” military intervention in Venezuela because “every option is on the table.”

Two months ago, Trump recognized National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself Venezuela’s interim president in January. Increasing numbers of Venezuelans — and foreign governments — have backed Guaidó and rejected the contested presidency of Maduro, but the country remains in a political stalemate.…  Seguir leyendo »

La crisis venezolana no augura tiempos de paz justa. Las razones esgrimidas por los contendientes y sus seguidores, en las que no se quiere incidir, y los apoyos de actores exteriores parecen conducir, si el diálogo y la buena voluntad no lo remedian, a otro conflicto de dimensiones nacionales, regionales e internacionales. Demasiada pasión y demasiados intereses para que se pueda atender a las necesidades del sufrido pueblo de Venezuela. A las gentes que viven en ese país no les queda más remedio que tomar partido, como ocurre en todos los conflictos civiles. Las “pobres gentes” son al final los que sufren y son víctimas inocentes de la violencia.…  Seguir leyendo »

A sign says "Venezuela deserves change" at a rally in support of amnesty for political prisoners. Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to the United Nations Security Council on Jan. 26, called on “every other nation to pick a side” and to “stand with the forces of freedom” in the standoff between President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and Juan Guaidó, the head of the country’s National Assembly, who declared his interim presidency on Jan. 23 and quickly won the support of the United States and many other countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Since Mr. Pompeo’s speech, the United States has put further pressure on the Maduro government, imposing new oil sanctions and reiterating that “all options” — including, presumably, military intervention — “are on the table.”…  Seguir leyendo »

U.N. peacekeeping forces patrol during presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic in December 2015. (Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images)

Congolese rebels killed eight U.N. peacekeepers on Nov. 15. The same rebel group was responsible for the death of 15 peacekeepers in December 2017, the deadliest single assault on the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo in its 25 years of existence.

U.N. peacekeepers also face heavy armed resistance in places such as Mali, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. These serious attacks may obscure another crucial threat to peacekeeping missions: Government forces and rebels obstruct and intimidate peacekeepers to prevent them from fulfilling their civilian protection mandate.

For instance, government forces and the Kamuina Nsapu militia fought in Congo’s Kasai-Central province in March 2017.…  Seguir leyendo »