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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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5 THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM HUMANITARIAN RELIEF<strong>to</strong> use force, with the organisation moving from being a haplessobserver of atrocities in Rwanda or the Balkans <strong>to</strong> a greater readiness<strong>to</strong> distinguish between victim and aggressor, and <strong>to</strong> defend the former.In the past decade several hundred thousand combatants have takenpart in UN ‘disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration’ (DDR)programmes in 30 countries. 195However, the inability of peacekeepers <strong>to</strong> protect civilians or even inmany instances keep the peace shows how much remains <strong>to</strong> be done.UNpeacekeeping is overstretched because the major military powers, whileproviding valuable cash and equipment, contribute almost no troops; in2006, no G8 country was among the UN’s <strong>to</strong>p ten troop donors. 196Similarly, the trend <strong>to</strong>wards greater reliance on regional peacekeepers –such as the African Union (AU) in Darfur – who lack sufficient resourcesfor training and equipment, without sufficient Northern support and(until <strong>2008</strong>) without being complemented by other troops, looks like anabdication of responsibility, when effective protection requires swiftdeployment with the advanced equipment that only rich countriespossess. Such neglect contrasts sharply with the billions thrown at themuch more amorphous ‘war on terror’.One answer could lie in creating a UN standing military force,something the great powers are reluctant <strong>to</strong> contemplate. Currently,the UN has <strong>to</strong> approach donors for money and personnel each time itis called upon <strong>to</strong> intervene in a conflict. Former Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan likened this <strong>to</strong> a fire brigade that must first buy a fireengine before it can respond <strong>to</strong> a conflagration. It <strong>to</strong>ok more than ayear after peace was agreed in southern Sudan in 2005 for governments<strong>to</strong> offer sufficient soldiers <strong>to</strong> the UN mission. During that time,people in the region faced almost as much violence from banditry asthey had before the peace agreement was signed. Through a standingforce, regional forces, or some other means, the international communitymust invest in peacekeeping capacity if the responsibility <strong>to</strong> protect is<strong>to</strong> be upheld. Perhaps the best hope is for the AU’s proposal for anAfrican Standby Force, provided this is properly supported byNorthern governments. 197Time is usually of the essence: the signing of a peace agreemen<strong>to</strong>pens up a window of opportunity in which <strong>to</strong> build a sustainablepeace by strengthening the fabric and confidence of society. If that395

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