USAF F-16A F-15C F-15E Desert Storm edit2

Peace enforcement is the use of various tactics, most notably

military force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

to compel peace in a conflict, generally against the will of

combatant Combatant is the legal status of a person entitled to directly participate in hostilities during an armed conflict, and may be intentionally targeted by an adverse party for their participation in the armed conflict. Combatants are not afforded i ...

s. Peace enforcement missions permit the use of non-defensive armed force, unlike

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

operations. Only the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, through its Security Council per Chapter VII of its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

, has the ability to authorize peace enforcement missions. Peace enforcement differs from peacekeeping in that peace enforcement activities are generally used to create a peace from a broken ceasefire, or to enforce a peace demanded by the United Nations. Peace enforcement requires more military force than peacekeeping, and is consequently carried out by heavily armed forces. However achieving lasting peace through peace enforcement is limited, as such missions do not address the underlying problems which caused conflict. While peacekeeping missions utilize personnel from several countries, peace enforcement forces often originate from one state or a small coalition of states. Perhaps the two most prominent examples of peace enforcement are the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. In both cases, a country invaded another as part of an illegal war of aggression, only to be repulsed by a UN military coalition.

Peace Enforcement Missions

Notable Peace Enforcement Missions Include: The Korean War took place between 1950-1953, the UN was involved in this peace enforcement mission by enforcing peace through military engagement. Establishing Chapter VII of the UN Charter allows the UN Security Council to authorize military action when peace is threatened. Other examples of peace enforcement missions could include, the Gulf War the primary "peace operation" involved was led by the UN and involved the international community. They sought to enforce Iraqi withdrawal via UN Security Council resolutions and international condemnation. However, these measures failed, leading to the launch of Operation Desert Storm, a military coalition campaign to liberate Kuwait. NATO's intervention in Kosovo in 1999, is seen as an example of peace enforcement despite not being directly sanctioned by the UN Security Council.

Africa

The United Nations and

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

have both executed peace enforcement missions in Africa. The African Union undertakes peace enforcement operations through utilizing the African Standby Force. The United Nations Security Council often proposes peace enforcement mission partnerships to the African Union for authorization, and the African Union must request permission from the Security Council to execute peace enforcement operations. The United Nations has relied on the African Union to counter conflict outbreaks and enforce stability. The United Nations is then tasked with peacetime consolidation. The UN Stabilization Mission to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

was a peace enforcement mission targeting armed rebel groups such as M23.

Middle East and North Africa

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations United Nations Security Council, Security Council United Nations Security Council resolution, resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, 1970 and ...

is a peace enforcement operation executed in Libya during the

2011 Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

Criticisms of Peace Enforcement

Critics of peace enforcement using United Nations peacekeeping forces include infringement on UN peacekeeping ethical standards of impartiality, intervention violating standards to only enforce an existing peace, and the use of non-defensive force. Distinguishing between operations conducted by the United Nations versus those which have been authorized by the United Nations Security Council has been a proposed solution. However, the use of UN peacekeeping forces for peace enforcement missions remains under scrutiny, and critics argue that regional organizations such as the African Union and the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

should be tasked with the execution of enforcement missions. The United Nations has proposed peace enforcement missions as a means to combat intrastate conflicts in countries such as

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, and

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. However, these countries have relied upon internal conflict resolution tactics and have not requested for enforcement operations to be conducted.

References

10. https://academic.oup.com/book/58132 "The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary" 11. "The Crisis in the Central African Republic" by Conciliation Resources https://www.c-r.org/news-and-insight/peace-and-progress-central-african-republic-hinge-securing-space-dialogue

External links