NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS STUDY ON "PEACEKEEPING IN AFRICA: CAPABILITIES AND CULPABILITIES"

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS STUDY ON ‘PEACEKEEPING IN AFRICA: CAPABILITIES AND CULPABILITIES’

TO BE PRESENTED AT HEADQUARTERS 27 APRIL

Peacekeeping in Africa: Capabilities and Culpabilities, an analysis of the obstacles facing United Nations peacekeeping in Africa by Eric G. Berman and Katie E. Sams, with a preface by Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and an endorsement from Ambassador Herman J. Cohen, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, will be presented in Conference Room 6 at Headquarters from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, 27 April.

Presentations will be made by the authors, as well as Under-Secretary- General Ibrahim Gambari, Special Advisor on Africa, and Assistant Secretary- General Hédi Annabi, Department of Peacekeeping Operations. There will be an opportunity for questions following the presentations.

This joint study of peacekeeping initiatives undertaken on the African continent, carried out by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research and the Institute for Strategic Studies in South Africa, considers a number of factors that underpin any operation, including the political will of Member States, as well as such operational factors as command and control, financing and the attitude of the parties to the conflict.

What has gone right and what has gone wrong with United Nations peacekeeping in Africa? United Nations efforts to help Africa maintain peace and security have met with mixed success. Over the past decade, the United Nations has mounted 16 peacekeeping operations in Africa, three of which are under way at the current time. In addition, there are now United Nations political and peace-building offices in six African countries. The Secretary-General has also undertaken a range of other initiatives, including naming a number of special envoys to deal with specific Africa-related issues.

Following are the 16 United Nations operations in Africa: United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG); United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM) I, II, III; United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA); United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO); United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ); United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) I, II; United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR); United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL); United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR); United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA); United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL); United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL); United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).

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