NEW DELHI: Days after the Arab League called for the deployment of UN peacemakers in Gaza and West Bank, the department chief responded saying that the world can’t expect the United Nations to stop wars citing its limitations.
Calling the mission in Israeli occupied Palestinian territories “very, very, very hypothetical,” under secretary-general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told AFP that “peacekeeping has its limits,” and “imposing peace” is not part of the UN’s mandate.
“Imposing peace is… a synonym for waging war. Many states in the Security Council would be opposed to that,” Lacroix said.
Highlighting the limitations of the Blue Helmets, Lacroix stated that all of the key prerequisites to stop the war is missing — a cease-fire, agreement from warring parties to accept UN forces, and authorization from a profoundly split UN Security Council.
France and Russia, members of the UN Security Council, are also exploring a role for UN peacekeepers in Gaza when Israel’s military effort to eradicate the Hamas militant group, AFP reported.
The plan is to send troops through the current UN peacekeeping force for the Middle East, known as UNTSO, which was established in 1948 and still has a tiny, unarmed contingent deployed in Lebanon.
Source Agencies
