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United Nations peacekeeping

US paratroopers parachute at the Yavoriv training range in the western Lviv region, Ukraine, on Monday, July 17, 2000.

Winning the peace

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into the history of Ukraine’s fight for independence — through peacekeeping.

Moroccan UN peacekeepers wearing blue helmets patrol a rich soil road Bangassou, Central African Republic, Feb. 14, 2021. 

Externalities of intervention: Part I

Critical State
Two uniformed soldiers stand on top of a UN tank with two soldiers looking on and children in the background

Peacekeeping work: Part II

Critical State
Two caskets covered with UN flags on display near a Turkish airlines plane and military personel standing nearby.

Peacekeeping work: Part I

Critical State
A soldier hands food to a woman.

Lessons from the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, 25 years after the genocide it failed to stop

Behind this tangle of barbed wire in the Place d'Armes in Gonaives, a boy was sexually assaulted by UN peacekeepers, according to a UN investigation.

The UN let off peacekeepers involved in a Haitian boy’s rape

Justice

The UN says it has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to UN peacekeepers and sexual abuse. But when a 14-year-old Haitian boy was abused by Pakistani peacekeepers, the UN did little to bring his case to justice in Haitian courts.

The UN's Fijian guard unit on parade in Iraq.

Fijian peacekeepers in Iraq aren’t just a battalion — they’re a choir

Conflict

Fijian soldiers have been part of UN peacekeeping operations in Iraq since 2004. Five have been killed and others are being held captive by the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. One way the brigade stays committed and strong is to sing. And they believe it keeps them safe, as well.

A United Nations peacekeeper stands guard are Haitians gather to see U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visit the village of Los Palmas.

Haitian moms demand UN help for the babies their peacekeepers left behind

Conflict

Departing peacekeepers in Haiti have left their mark in at least one way — pregnant Haitian women. There’s an effort underway to check paternity, but it’s up to the peacekeeper’s country to decide what to do about it.

A French military sniper readies his rifle in Bangui.

Religion is not the real issue in the Central African Republic’s conflict

Conflict & Justice

French troops, as part of a UN-approved peacekeeping mission, are in the Central African Republic and have just suffered their first casualties. While the violence there seems motivated by religious differences, journalist Eliza Griswold says the deeper issues involve politics, diamonds and gold, and identity.

Congo crisis spotlights UN weaknesses

The crisis in eastern Congo has put the dilemma of humanitarian intervention into sharp relief as UN peacekeeping troops struggle to help civilians.