Peacekeepers or Perpetrators? Analysis of the Side Effects of UN Peacekeeping Missions

Abstract

This article deals with the negative side effects of UN peacekeeping
operations. The work aims to prove the relation between certain factors
and the emergence of the side effects within the missions. For this purpose,
a comparison of four case studies is applied (UNMIBH and trafficking in
human beings, MONUC and sexual abuse, UNAMSIL and diamonds
smuggling, and UNPROFOR and cooperation with warlords). The missions
analysed in the case studies share some common characteristics (type of
mandate, time period, etc.) but differ in the nature of the side effects. The
applied factors are divided into external factors (the presence of the
negative phenomenon before or during the deployment of the mission, the
stage of the conflict, the efficiency of the central government) and internal
factors (the national composition of the mission – the percentual
representation of soldiers from Third World countries, levels of perceived
corruption among the TCC’s) and are considered within the context of each
case study.