Peacekeeping and peace enforcement in Africa: The potential contribution of a UN Emergency Peace Service

This article argues that a United Nations Emergency Peace Service could have helped to overcome some of the practical and political obstacles faced by the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda (1993-1994) and the AU Mission in Sudan and UN support packages in Darfur (2006-2008). From a practical perspective such a service could have provided sufficient numbers of highly trained and well-equipped troops at short notice to supplement these peacekeeping missions, or offered 'first-in, first-out' assistance. From a political perspective, since the personnel of such a service would be at the disposal of the UN, it could have overcome governments' unwillingness to expose their nationals to security threats in countries perceived to be of little economic, political or strategic significance. Filling these gaps might help to alleviate the short-term suffering of the civilian populations until a more robust peacekeeping operation could be deployed and a viable political solution achieved.