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A N CANADA D MISSIONS FOR PEACE CONTRIBUTORS Lloyd Axworthy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada Kenneth D. Bush International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada Gérard Hervouët Department of Political Science, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Canada Robert Miller Parliamentary Centre, Ottawa, Canada Andrés Pérez Department of Political Science, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada Necla Tschirgi International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada Gregory Wirick Parliamentary Centre, Ottawa, Canada CANADA g MISSIONS FOR PEACE Lessons from NICARAGUA, CAMBODIA, and SOMALIA Edited by Gregory Wirick and Robert Miller INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE Ottawa • Cairo • Dakar • Johannesburg • Montevideo • Nairobi • New Delhi • Singapore Published by the International Development Research Centre PO Box 8500, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 3H9 © International Development Research Centre 1998 © Chapter 4: Centre for Conflict Studies, University of New Brunswick 1997 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title : Canada and missions for peace : lessons from Nicaragua, Cambodia, and Somalia Issued also in French under title : Les missions de paix et le Canada. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-88936-867-8 1. Economic assistance, Canadian — Political aspects — Developing countries. 2. Economic assistance, Canadian — Nicaragua. 3. Economic assistance, Canadian — Cambodia. 4. Economic assistance, Canadian — Somalia. 5. Canada — Foreign relations — 1945— 6. Security, International. 7. Peace. I. Wirick, Gregory. II. Miller, Robert, 1941- III. International Development Research Centre (Canada). HC59.72C32 1998 338.91'710124 C98-980300-7 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy- ing, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the International Development Research Centre. Mention of a proprietary name does not constitute endorsement of the product and is given only for information. A microfiche edition is available. IDRC Books endeavours to produce environmentally friendly publications. All paper used is recycled as well as recyclable. All inks and coatings are vegetable-based products. To the memory of Gregory Wirick (1952-1998), a valued Friend, colleague, and leader in the new field of peacebuilding. — Rell This page intentionally left blank CONTENTSC vii Foreword — Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada ix Preface — Robert Miller and Necla Tschirgi xiii Chapter 1 Introduction: Conflict in an era of radical change — Gregory Wirick and Robert Miller 1 The international response: an agenda for peace 5 Defining missions for peace 10 The changing international climate 11 The Canadian response 13 The case studies 18 Chapter 2 Nicaragua: History, social conflict, and missions for peace — Andres Perez 21 Agency and structure in the history of political conflict and political change in Nicaragua 24 The peace process 34 The nature of the peace achieved 41 Did the peace process fail? Lessons for Canada 43 Conclusions 46 Chapter 3 Cambodia: Foreign policy and missions for peace — Gérard Hervouët 49 Canada and Indochina: the historical landmarks 51 A policy of taking position 59 Success by default 68 Recent developments 75 Canada and Missions for Peace Chapter 4 Somalia: When two anarchies meet — Kenneth D. Bush 79 Missions for peace 81 The evolution of crisis in Somalia 84 A bolt from the blue: Canada-Somalia relations before and after UNOSOM 90 When two anarchies meet 93 Learning the right lessons and building on hidden successes 104 viii Chapter 5 Conclusion: Linking peace and development — Gregory Wirick and Robert Miller 111 Nicaragua: historical space and national consensus 113 Cambodia: the role of foreign policy 116 Somalia: anarchies and missions for peace 118 Lessons learned 121 Recommendations for policy 125 Final words 127 Appendix 1 Biographies of contributing authors 129 Appendix 2 Abbreviations and acronyms 131 Bibliography 133 FOREWORD The requirements of peace preservation in the future may not always bf satisfied by skilful improvisation and by the willingness of a few to do their duty. The growing interest in improving peace-keeping methods must be broadly stimulated into advance planning and preparation. Canada. I know, is resolved to draw on its own experience in a way which will give leadership and encouragement in this effort. — Lester B. Pearson (Dag Hammankjold Memorial Lecture, 1964) ne of the defining features of OCanada's role in the world, both for Canadians and the international community, has heen our unflagging support for United Nations peacekeeping. Up until the beginning of this decade, when the number of intrasrate conflicts literally exploded, we boasted a perfect tecord, having participated in all UN-sponsoted peacekeeping missions. That was a far simpler world. Actors were clearly identified, the missions were simple, and the rules understood. The reality ix we faced in the aftermath of the Cold War Canada and Missions for Peace was radically different. Not only was the United Nations overwhelmed by the demands put on it by the multiplication of conflicts, but it had to face a completely different type of situation — one for which it was ill-equipped. The UN Secretary General's An Agenda for Peace, its sup- plement (Boutros-Ghali 1992, 1995), and the Canadian report entitled Towards a Rapid Reaction Capability for the United Nations (GOC 1995b) were among the first attempts to come to grips with a new breed of threat to international security — a threat coming from within states rather than between them. These reports also reflected a growing X international preoccupation with human vulnerability and well-being — so-called human security. The strain caused by the proliferation of intrastate conflict was also acutely felt by the traditional contributors of troops, like Canada. Although Canadians remain attached to our role as peacekeepers, it is not always easy to comprehend fully the new situation faced by Cana- dian soldiers, diplomats, and nongovernmental representatives in the field. Case studies such as those presented in this book serve not only to broaden our understanding of the management of contemporary conflict. They also bring about a better appreciation of the difficulties and complexities facing Canada in its attempts to fulfil its traditional role in this new environment. Nicaragua, Cambodia, and Somalia are perfect examples of the challenges now confronting global efforts to build lasting peace in countries and regions experiencing armed conflict. They also clearly demonstrate the diverse range of actions that the UN Security Council has been called upon to undertake in response to this new type of conflict. Originally charged to monitor truces between warring parties, peacekeeping operations changed radically in the late 1980s, when they were obliged to transform themselves into comprehensive peace- support operations including humanitarian and civilian police operations, as well as efforts in national reconciliation and reconstruction. More than being a simple improvement in peacekeeping methods, an actual mutation in the approach to, and management of, operations has been forced upon the international community. These new conflicts are often deeply rooted in religious, ethnic, and cultural differences and are often unleashed by the weakness or failure of states. To prevent, to manage, and to resolve such conflicts, and — further — to establish a self-sustaining peace, requires a comprehensive and inte- grated approach. Peacekeeping is no longer a stand-alone function but rather an equal and vital partner (along with preventive action, peace- making, and peacebuilding) in what are called peace-support Chapter title operations, whose aims are not only to maintain peace but also to create an environment suitable for the establishment of a lasting peace. Again, the three cases in this book demonstrate concretely the range of intervention and the level of effort required from the contributing states. Achieving and monitoring a cease-fire is only the beginning. Rebuilding state institutions, re-establishing civilian author- ity and the rule of law, organizing free and fair elections, and lifting landmines from the ground are only a few of the tasks involved in sup- porting and building peace. Moreover, as pointed out in this book, such an approach demands close cooperation between all the organizations xi involved: military peacekeepers, UN specialized agencies, nongovernmental orgainzations, churches, and so forth. As demonstrated by the cases selected herein, there is no fixed, definitive model nor sequence of intervention applicable to all situations; however, a clear understanding of the task at hand is emerging. As we have seen recently with the mandate for the mission to be deployed in Sierra Leone, the scope of the equation for security has been greatly broadened. It now ranges from the creation and mainte- nance of a secure environment to the demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration of former combatants; from the reconstruction of civil institutions such as the judiciary to long-term capacity building; from military and police training to deployment of human rights observers. Each one of these "parts of the equation" has a military, civilian, police, and humanitarian dimension of varying size, and they are all interdependent. Another disturbing aspect of this kind of

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