From Refugees International:
Saturday May 29th marked the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, a day to recognize the efforts and the sacrifices made by multinational peacekeepers all over the world. The past 15 years have marked both an exponential increase in the number of missions and peacekeepers deployed, and an overwhelming transformation in the very nature of peacekeeping. It has changed from relatively simple monitoring missions to complex, multidimensional efforts to stabilize conflict, support the implementation of peace agreements, re-build governments and – in the meantime – protect civilians from harm.
Any one of these tasks is easier said than done, particularly in the punishing political and geographical spaces that the largest missions have been deployed to.
