A decade of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon)- A critical approach to the effectiveness and appropriateness of UN-peacekeeping based on the example of UNIFIL

David Federhen

• Publisher: GRIN Verlag
• Year: 2004
• Edition: 0
• eBook ISBN:
  9783638290173
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: A = 1, International University in Germany Bruchsal (Department of Sciences and Liberal Arts), language: English, abstract: This paper discusses the role of UN peacekeeping missions at the case of the UnitedNations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by looking into its first ten years ofoperation. The author comes to the conclusion that UNIFIL failed to achieve what it wasestablished for, but at the same time points out that inefficient or even ineffective UNpeacekeeping missions do nothing to undermine the general idea and justifiability ofpeacekeeping as a measure for inter-state or infra-state conflict resolution. Since its formation in 1945, the United Nations Organization has engaged in numerouspeacekeeping missions around the world, the first of which was installed in 1956 toresolve the Suez-crisis. Some of those missions have been concluded in rather shortperiods of time. Others, as will become apparent throughout this text, have not beenconcluded successfully even after decades. This text will critically discuss on the role andeffectiveness of UN peacekeeping missions by taking a closer look at the United NationsInterim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which was formed and consequently put into actionin 1978 – but has proved to be unable to fulfill its mandate until today. By analyzing thecase of UNIFIL the author will illustrate some of the major problems which impair suchpeacekeeping missions from being concluded successfully, and eventually cause them tolast for decades.For this purpose, the first part of this text will be dedicated to what constitutes an UNpeacekeeping mission. In the second part of this text the author will briefly providebackground information on UNIFIL and major events that took place between 1978 and1988 – a period by itself considered long enough by the author to make a qualifiedjudgment about UNIFIL's effectiveness since it was actually supposed to serve as " 'aninterim measure until the Government of Lebanon assumes its full responsibilities insouthern Lebanon' " (Thakur, 1987, p. 40). [...]