Peace-making is one of the most complex and dangerous missions in world affairs. And while that won’t come as news to anyone who has followed events in Bosnia or the Sudan, it helps explain why the rigid orders of U.N. peacekeeping forces so often seem to be leave them adrift in these conflicts.
The United Nations is considering rewriting its rulebook, trying to focus its muddled mission with a major overhaul of the organization. While it comes at a time of deep divisions among member states and accusations of corruption, there is a basic agreement that those who wear the blue helmets either need new marching orders or need to be taken off the field of battle.
Guests:
Nick Birnback, External Relations Media Affairs Officer for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
Anthony Arend, Professor and Director of the Institute for Law & Politics at Georgetown University.
Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, Fellow at Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and author of “Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.”