GENERAL ASSEMBLY
(GA)
Director: Angela Diaz del Castillo
Moderator: Luis Fernando Aguilar
Secretary: Sofia Cachafeiro
Topic A: Innovating ways to improve the efficiency of peacekeepers
Description of the committee
“Established in 1945, the General Assembly occupies the central position as the
representative organ of the United Nations. All 193 Members of the United Nations are
involved in it; it provides a unique setting of the full view of international issues covered
by the Charter. It plays a significant role in the process of setting standards and the
codification of international law.
The Assembly meets from September to December each year, and after, from January
to August, as established, the Assembly considers current issues of high importance to
the whole world in the form of high-level debates organized by the President of the
General Assembly.
During that period, the Assembly traditionally also conducts informal consultations on a
broad range of substantive topics, including on UN reform-related matters."
(Extracted from the official united nations general assembly page)
http://www.un.org/en/ga/about/background.shtmlº
Functions and Powers of the General Assembly
● Add new members to the united nations
● Make suggestions on the general principles of cooperation to maintain
international peace and security, including disarmament
● Discuss any questions within the range of the Charter or affecting the owners
and functions of any organ of the UN
● Vote for the non-permanent members of the SC
● Examine and approve the United Nations budget and set up the financial
assessments of Member States
● Pass and Approve resolution papers
● Improve relations between countries and states
● They might appoint the Secretary General
According to the November of 1950 “Uniting for Peace” resolution, the General
Assembly may also take action if the Security Council fails to act.
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The search for consensus/agreements
Every member of the General Assembly has one vote. When votes are taken on critical
issues, for example, recommendations for international peace and security and the
election for members of the Security Council, at least two-thirds of the whole Assembly
have to agree or vote in favor.
Main Committees
● First Committee (Disarmament and International Security Committee)
● Second Committee (Economic and Financial Committee)
● Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee)
● Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization Committee)
Introduction to the topic
UN Peacekeepers were used in a different way that they are in recent times. Before the
Cold War, the UN Peacekeepers used lightweight weapons in operations, with the
purpose to only supervise and report developments in tormented sectors. At the time
most of the active missions were not dependent on the use of weapons. At this point in
time the reputation and efficiency of these forces had reached high levels, and as time
went by demand continued to grow for more Peacekeeping Missions. An increasing
number of nations wanted to resolve their internal problems with the help of the
peacekeepers. It was at this time that issues started to surge among the Peacekeeping
Forces.
They were originally trained and commanded to handle conflicts between several
states, through the procedures of evaluation, monitoring, and others, these forces were
now being enforced to go beyond their abilities, to do things they don't know how to do.
The task of Peacekeeping became considerably more challenging on both the UN and
its soldiers. Although overcoming this these forces experienced reasonable success,
which led to an even faster rate of demand for their services.
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This led to more missions being deployed by the Security Council. Some missions were
unsuccessful in the countries of Rwanda and Yugoslavia both of which are known for
the great controversy involving the misbehavior of Peacekeepers and the failure to
accomplish the missions. Leading to the decay of the efficiency and reputation of the
UN and its forces.
Due to many problems, these missions which some are still active today showed the
limitations of the UN Intervention Forces, and the adverse effects of over-ambitious,
overly complicated, not well thought missions. In recent times the UN has desperately
tried, with little success, to bring reform to the entire Peacekeeping concept, and
structure, to in the end improve the image and efficiency of the forces. It became difficult
to pass a legislation form and reform in the UN this proves to be one, among the many
obstacles in obtaining effective change. Leading to modern times in which the UN faced
with a broken armed force system, in current times when the necessity for these forces
has never been higher.
Background information about the topic
Peacekeepers are sent to assist regions where there’s conflict, under the administration
of the DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations)
They are composed of civilian, police and military personnel. The United Nations
primarily seeks to maintain international peace and security. Nevertheless, many
countries are condemning the inability that blue helmets have to keep the peace in
places where it is mostly needed.
During the first years of the United Nations, peacekeeping forces were rarely used, and
the situations that they were involved in were low-risk. However, after peacekeeping
troops were employed in the Cold War, they have been used more frequently and have
been associated with stronger deployments, which places peacekeepers in higher
danger. These operations have had mixed successes.
The United Nations does not count with a military force; it depends on the contributions
of the member states. All member states of the United Nations is obligated to donate
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money for the peacekeepers. The approved budget for UN Peacekeeping operations for
the fiscal year July 2016 to June 2017 is $7.87 billion.
Peacekeeping UN principles
Peacekeepers are ordered to follow a specific guideline of principles:
1. Consent of parties:
Both sides need to be well informed about what is currently ongoing and be
either in favor or against but informed about it.
2. Impartiality:
Peacekeepers cannot take sides in any conflict no matter what the conflict is and
they need to be extremely just.
3. Non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate:
UN peacekeepers may only use force as measure of self-defense and the
mandate
All member states of the United Nations is obligated to donate money for the
peacekeepers. The approved budget for UN Peacekeeping operations for the fiscal year
July 2016 to June 2017 is $7.87 billion.
List of countries and their number of troops
Rank
1
2
3
4
Country
Ethiopia
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Number of
troops
Rank Country
Number of
troops
8,333
11
2,683
7,713
12
7,160
13
6,872
14
Burkina Faso
China
Tanzania
Niger
2,622
2,324
2,156
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Rwanda
Nepal
Senegal
Egypt
Ghana
Indonesia
6,163
15
5,102
16
3,731
17
3,069
18
2,973
19
2,864
20
Nigeria
Togo
Morocco
Chad
South Africa
Brazil
2,042
1,799
1,606
1,486
1,419
1,305
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Major countries Involved:
1. Ethiopia
2. India
3. Pakistan
4. Bangladesh
5. Rwanda
Bottom 5 countries:
The following countries are the countries that have supplied the least amount of troops
for peacekeeping operations
1. Latvia
2. Jamaica
3. FYR Macedonia
4. Guinea-Bissau
5. Mozambique
There are several things that can be used to improve UN peacekeeping:
● Apply obligatory, uniform standards of conduct for civilian and military personnel
involved in U.N. peace operations
● Change the DPKO organizational structure
● Implement a current logistics arrangement and streamlined acquisition
procedures
● Create a database of qualified, trained, military, civilian, and police professionals
● Plan contingency strategies in anticipation of possible arrangements and plans
that are probable to need peace operations
Questions to consider
1. Has your country contributed any troops or police to the UN peacekeepers?
2. How have peacekeepers affected your country?
3. In which position is your country in?
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4. How is your country helping to make peacekeepers more efficient?
5. What are the economic consequences of this topic?
6. Within the international standard, what steps is your government taking to
improve this matter?
7. How can private organizations help to collaborate in this matter?
8. What are your country’s solutions to solve this problem?
A Resolution Paper must contain:
● Heading:
○ The committee name
○ The Sponsors (Sponsors should be at least 5, and they should be wealthy
countries or countries who contributed to many of the solutions.)
● Signatures
● Topic
● The Preambulatory Clauses states all the issues that the Committee wants to
● resolve.
● Operative Clauses State the solutions that the sponsors of the resolution propose
to resolve the issues. The operative clauses should address the issues
specifically mentioned in the pre-ambulatory clauses above it.
Terms and concepts
● Peacekeepers: people that are recruited by the United Nations to assist host
countries and navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.
● DPKO: stands for Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are used by
the state to maintain international peace and security.
● Charter: a document that is by a ." which defines their structural organization.
● Cold War: a state of political and military tension after World War II between
powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others) and
powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its satellite states).
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● Deployments: to activities required to move military personnel and materials
from a home installation to a specified destination.
● Consent: to permit, approve or agree; comply or yield.
● Fiscal year: A fiscal year (FY) is a period that a company or government uses
for accounting purposes and preparing financial statements.
Bibliography
"General Assembly Of The United Nations." Un.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"The Role Of The UN General Assembly." Council on Foreign Relations. N.p., 2016.
Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"Role Of The General Assembly. United Nations Peacekeeping". Un.org. N.p., 2016.
Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"UN General Assembly - Functions And Powers Of The General Assembly." Un.org.
N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"Time For A New United Nations Peacekeeping Organization." The Heritage
Foundation. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"Confronting New Challenges Facing United Nations Peacekeeping Operations." U.S.
Department of State. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"Secretary-General Highlights Three Major Challenges Facing Peacekeeping | United
Nations Radio". Unmultimedia.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"History Of Peacekeeping - The Early Years. United Nations Peacekeeping". Un.org.
N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
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