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Download - LSE Theses Online - London School of Economics and ...

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esolutions). 664 A primary example <strong>of</strong> this was the refusal <strong>of</strong> the Gétulio Vargasgovernment in June 1951 to accede to a US request to contribute troops for theKorean War. Similarly, under FHC in 1996, Brazil refused a UN request tocontribute troops to the Multinational Force in Zaïre, following an attenuation <strong>of</strong>the crisis there. 665 By contrast, Brazil acceded to participation in a multinationalintervention force in East Timor in 1999, in support <strong>of</strong> the United NationsTransitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), on the back <strong>of</strong> areferendum which had unequivocally expressed the popular will, <strong>and</strong> with theconsent <strong>of</strong> the Indonesian government. High levels <strong>of</strong> violence after the referendumresulted in the need for a military force to restore peace <strong>and</strong> support the work <strong>of</strong>UNTAET. Brazil contributed only through the despatch <strong>of</strong> its contingent <strong>of</strong> 50military police, which were already in the country as part <strong>of</strong> UNTAET. 666Thus, Brazil’s leadership <strong>of</strong> the MINUSTAH mission is a departure on a number <strong>of</strong>grounds from its traditional stance on foreign deployment <strong>of</strong> Brazilian troops:• Haiti departs from the linguistic affinity <strong>of</strong> past Brazilian engagements, whichtended to take place, if not in Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Angola,Mozambique <strong>and</strong> Timor Leste, then in countries <strong>of</strong> South or Central America.• The Brazilian government, throughout its history <strong>of</strong> participation in externalpeace missions, has sought very explicit terms <strong>of</strong> engagement when deployingtroops abroad. These include: impartiality, the consent <strong>of</strong> the host government,the non-use <strong>of</strong> force (excepting in cases <strong>of</strong> self-defence), <strong>and</strong> a clear m<strong>and</strong>atefrom the United Nations Security Council. Where these conditions have notbeen met, more <strong>of</strong>ten than not, Brazil has declined involvement.• Haiti lacked a clear political settlement by the time MINUSTAH replaced theMultinational Interim Force. In fact, the political uncertainties <strong>of</strong> the caserepresented the ‘original sin’ 667 <strong>of</strong> the Mission.664 Brazil has engaged in two peacekeeping operations outside the ambit <strong>of</strong> the UN,however. The first occasion was the Dominican Republic in 1965-66 <strong>and</strong> the second onthe Peru-Ecuador border from 1995 to 1999. See Fontoura, O Brasil e as Operações deManutenção da Paz, 210.665 Fontoura, O Brasil e as Operações de Manutenção da Paz, 219.666 Ibid., p220-221.667 This term is Hirst’s. Hirst, “South American Intervention in Haiti”.258

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