The European Union and Civil Conflict in Africa

Third, in most of these operations, the second most-frequent contributors are the member-states of the European Union, although collectively they provide very few troops, observers, or civilian police compared to either the Africans or the countries of the Indian sub-continent. The 1200 EU peacekeep...

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Veröffentlicht in:International journal (Toronto) 2005-12, Vol.60 (4), p.919-936
1. Verfasser: Pentland, Charles C.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Third, in most of these operations, the second most-frequent contributors are the member-states of the European Union, although collectively they provide very few troops, observers, or civilian police compared to either the Africans or the countries of the Indian sub-continent. The 1200 EU peacekeepers currently in Africa represent about 25 percent of all EU peacekeepers abroad. For the Europeans, participation in UN operations also flows from a mix of motives. Traditional interests help account for why there are Belgian forces with MONUC in eastern Congo, French both in and alongside ONUCI in Ivory Coast, and British in and alongside UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone (and, in a different way, for why there are no Spanish forces with MINURSO in western Sahara). For the newest EU members, African peacekeeping can provide experience and burnish the credentials of their modernizing armed forces. Altogether 17 of the 25 EU countries provide military or civilian police forces to these seven current UN operations in Africa. As noted, they do so in small numbers: only the French (in Ivory Coast), the Swedes, and the Irish (both in Liberia) have more than 200 troops in any UN African peace force. Apart from 60 Italian troops in UNMEE (Ethiopia-Eritrea), all other European contingents are fewer than 20, most fewer than 10. In part, this reflects the new global reality that peacekeeping is no longer primarily the work of the familiar Cold War cast of Canadians and European middle powers. Such states will often provide little more than a token presence, largely in monitoring or advisory roles. We have little evidence to work with here, since there has so far been only one EU joint military action in Africa, a brief and small-scale one at that. In the summer of 2003, the EU's Operation Artemis saw 1800 troops deployed for three months to the Ituri region of the north-eastern DRC.16 Authorized by the UN security council and set in motion by the EU council's joint action of 5 June 2003, the force undertook a chapter seven operation to support MONUC in stabilizing the area around the town of Bunia, beset by fighting among local ethnic militias in the absence of any effective government. Specifically, it was to protect refugee camps, local civilians, and humanitarian and other international personnel, and to secure the airport. With France designated the "framework" nation, the force drew mostly from EU member-states, with some additional troops from non-EU states such as Canada, B
ISSN:0020-7020
2052-465X
DOI:10.1177/002070200506000403