Appendix 3A. Multilateral peace missions in 2005

Summary

This appendix includes a table listing all multilateral peace missions that started, were active or were concluded in 2005. Data on contributing countries, the number and type of personnel, the cost and the casualties of the missions are given.

The number of multilateral peace missions and their size have grown dramatically, as testified by the 289 500 military and 175 000 civilian personnel deployed in a total of 58 multilateral peace missions in 2005 (including the 184 000 military personnel and civilian police in Iraq). This is in contrast to the 40 missions that were deployed between 1948 and 1989. The sheer number of missions and their increasingly complex nature are arguably putting the UN and other organizations in danger of over-stretching institutional capacities. Regional organizations and UN sanctioned non-standing coalitions of states conducted 37 of the missions, the highest number recorded since the end of the cold war. Since 1997 the engagement of non-UN actors has consistently been more pronounced than that of the UN. However the number of peace missions carried out by coalitions of the willing remained constant over the four-year period 1999–2002 and has been on the decline since 2003. Given the current international political climate, and the enormity of the resource and financial burdens placed on the lead nations, it is unlikely that sizeable peace missions on the scale of the Multinational Force in Iraq will be launched in the foreseeable future.

The year 2005 was a significant one for civilian missions under the EU’s European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)—the six new missions launched was the highest number of missions initiated in a single year by any regional organization. The most notable development in the EU’s peacekeeping efforts is the intensity and geographic diversity of the missions. This represents a new stage in Europe’s involvement in peacekeeping and is testimony to the EU’s deepening commitment to be a global security actor.

Sharon Wiharta (Indonesia) is a Research Associate with the SIPRI Armed Conflict and Conflict Management Programme.