{"id":34209,"date":"2017-09-14T14:41:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T04:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=34209"},"modified":"2017-09-14T14:41:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T04:41:53","slug":"australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia and UN peacekeeping at 70: proud history, uncertain future"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Earlier today, the Australian peacekeeping memorial on ANZAC parade in Canberra was formally dedicated by the Governor-General, in a ceremony<\/a> commemorating 70 years of Australian engagement in peacekeeping. The memorial is long overdue: Australian military, police and civilian personnel have served in dozens of peacekeeping missions since military observers first deployed to the Dutch East Indies in 1947. Australia has a long and proud history of supporting peacekeeping, so it\u2019s a welcome move to see that recognised with a dedicated memorial. But it also prompts some questions about the future direction of Australia\u2019s engagement, particularly in UN peacekeeping operations.<\/p>\n

As part of the activities taking place during peacekeeping week here in Australia, the UN Association of Australia will be hosting a national conference<\/a> examining what\u2019s next for Australia\u2019s UN peacekeeping engagement. It\u2019s a critical question. Australia was frequently ranked among the top ten military and police contributors in the early 2000\u2019s during the height of our engagement in Timor-Leste.<\/p>\n

Today those historic levels of engagement are a distant memory for Australian government officials and politicians. At present, Australia falls outside the top 80 countries contributing troops and police to UN peacekeeping, with around 32 personnel deployed to missions in the Middle East and South Sudan. Only three G20 countries currently deploy fewer UN peacekeepers than Australia\u2014Japan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia (which makes no contribution).<\/p>\n

Despite the commitment to the rules-based global order<\/a> in the 2016 Defence White Paper<\/a>, there\u2019s no concerted effort underway within government to consider Australia\u2019s future in UN peacekeeping operations. As I\u2019ve previously noted (here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>), Australia\u2019s ability to influence, understand and retain institutional knowledge about UN peacekeeping is diminishing. That\u2019s a worrying development, considering that Australia may need to support or lead the standing-up of a UN mission in our region again in the near future.<\/p>\n

Take the example of senior leadership positions. Australians have previously held a range of command positions in UN missions, including as force commander of the mission in Cambodia<\/a>, as well as senior posts such as the UN Military Adviser<\/a> in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Yet there are no currently-deployed personnel above the rank of colonel in senior leadership positions in UN peacekeeping missions or at headquarters in New York. That\u2019s a reflection, in part, of Australia\u2019s current low levels of engagement across UN peacekeeping missions. The lower down a country is on the list of major troop and police contributors, the less political sway it has in securing senior leadership posts (unless, of course, it\u2019s a P5 member of the Security Council).<\/p>\n

However, even in cases when Australia is asked to nominate for senior leadership posts, there\u2019s often limited interest in doing so. It can also be a challenge to identify candidates with the requisite experience serving in UN peacekeeping operations, as the pool of ADF personnel who have served in UN missions has declined significantly in the past decade. That means Australia is at a disadvantage compared with other countries when it comes to nominating for and securing the senior leadership posts that provide valuable command experience and insight into the limitations of UN peacekeeping, as well as prestige and influence.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a disconnect between Australia\u2019s policy engagement (\u2018what we say\u2019) and our deployments (\u2018what we do\u2019). On one hand, Australia\u2019s commitment to deploy a military gender adviser to UNMISS<\/a> reflects the government\u2019s high-level engagement<\/a> on women, peace and security. That\u2019s a welcome move, but it\u2019s a vastly different story when it comes to the role of police in peacekeeping. The withdrawal of AFP officers<\/a> from the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in June this year means that, for the first time in 50 years, Australia has no police peacekeepers deployed on UN missions. That\u2019s despite Australia\u2019s role in championing policing<\/a> when on the UN Security Council in 2014, which resulted in the adoption of resolution 2185\u2014the first ever resolution focused<\/a> on policing issues. Regardless, Australia is no longer represented among the nearly 12,000<\/a> police peacekeepers deployed on current UN missions.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Government will host the next annual peacekeeping ministerial<\/a> meeting in Vancouver on 14-15 November. Countries have been invited to consider making \u2018smart pledges<\/a>\u2019 that address new or emerging capability requirements in UN peacekeeping, in partnership with other countries. Partnerships provide Australia with an opportunity to enhance our engagement in peacekeeping, without the overheads of deploying a raft of capabilities. They can also provide a vehicle to enhance and strengthen bilateral relationships. That might include identifying opportunities for ADF personnel to serve as part of larger contingents with key partner countries.<\/p>\n

The growing security relationship with France<\/a> offers enormous potential in this regard. Similarly, partnerships\u2014such as the one that Australia recently had with Japan in South Sudan<\/a>\u2014can further cooperation and develop operational experience with regional partners. UN peacekeeping therefore not only serves Australia\u2019s interests in supporting the rules-based global order, but can also serve to strengthen Australia\u2019s evolving defence relationships.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important that we reflect and commemorate the important sacrifices that have been made by Australians serving on UN peacekeeping operations in the past 70 years. But we should also take the time to consider how we build on that vital legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier today, the Australian peacekeeping memorial on ANZAC parade in Canberra was formally dedicated by the Governor-General, in a ceremony commemorating 70 years of Australian engagement in peacekeeping. The memorial is long overdue: Australian military, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":229,"featured_media":34211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[805,1636,150,1843,92],"class_list":["post-34209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-afp","tag-defence-white-paper-2016","tag-peacekeeping","tag-south-sudan","tag-united-nations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia and UN peacekeeping at 70: proud history, uncertain future | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia and UN peacekeeping at 70: proud history, uncertain future | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Earlier today, the Australian peacekeeping memorial on ANZAC parade in Canberra was formally dedicated by the Governor-General, in a ceremony commemorating 70 years of Australian engagement in peacekeeping. The memorial is long overdue: Australian military, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-14T04:41:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/VK0126-3-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"786\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Sharland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Sharland\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/VK0126-3-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/VK0126-3-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":786,\"caption\":\"VK0126-05 OPERATION TANAGER 07 JULY 00 PIC BY CPL KEVIN PIGGOTT Corporal Julie Doolan, from Moe, Victoria, hops onto a quad bike and heads off on a mail pick-up run at 161 Reconnaissance Squadron base in Suai, East Timor. Julie, whose husband, Ray, is a sergeant in the Army who also served in East Timor with the Australian-led InterFET, is the detachment\u00d5s administrative clerk. She has been in the Army for 15 years and worked for the first 10 as a communications specialist. She decided to change trades as she and her husband wanted to start a family and the shift work would have made it impossible to raise their child. The couple has a 22 month-old youngster and are planning another in the near future. Julie is due to return to Australia in September and hopes to eventually settle on the Sunshine coast in Queensland. She says she has enjoyed her time on operational deployment and takes great delight in meeting the locals, especially the children. \\\"They wave and give us an \u00d4aussie, aussie, aussie\u00d5 and we give them back the \u00d4oy, oy, oy\u00d5,\\\" she said. \\\"It makes you feel really good.\\\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/\",\"name\":\"Australia and UN peacekeeping at 70: proud history, uncertain future | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-14T04:41:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-14T04:41:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/4a389571a6326e0ac3a6a269587a9187\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Australia and UN peacekeeping at 70: proud history, uncertain future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/4a389571a6326e0ac3a6a269587a9187\",\"name\":\"Lisa Sharland\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/252280a7b161ae7dac89429c352e306d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/252280a7b161ae7dac89429c352e306d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lisa Sharland\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/lisa-sharland\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Australia and UN peacekeeping at 70: proud history, uncertain future | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-un-peacekeeping-70-proud-history-uncertain-future\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Australia and UN peacekeeping at 70: proud history, uncertain future | The Strategist","og_description":"Earlier today, the Australian peacekeeping memorial on ANZAC parade in Canberra was formally dedicated by the Governor-General, in a ceremony commemorating 70 years of Australian engagement in peacekeeping. 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