What’s UN Peacekeeping Doing in Darfur and Lebanon?

Jane Holl Lute: “Not many people know this, but the United Nations’ peacekeeping force represents the world’s second largest deployed military operational presence in the world.In August, the Security Council voted to create three important and large new peacekeeping missions — in Lebanon, Timor-Leste and Darfur. But these are only the most recent examples of the world’s increasing reliance on UN peacekeeping. During my three years as the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, we have been asked by the Security Council to establish 9 new peacekeeping missions and seen UN forces triple in size.

UN peacekeepers are currently deployed to 18 hotspots around the world, where they act as an impartial presence to help maintain fragile peace agreements and cease-fires.” Read more