ColumnAfrica

Want to Neuter a U.N. Peacekeeping Mission? Try Sketchy Ballots, Not Bullets

Want to Neuter a U.N. Peacekeeping Mission? Try Sketchy Ballots, Not Bullets
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, left, and his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, at Tshisekedi’s inauguration ceremony in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan. 24, 2019 (AP photo by Jerome Delay).

What is the most effective way to neuter a peacekeeping operation?

Last week, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Mali, known by its French acronym MINUSMA, lost 10 soldiers when jihadis attacked their base. A few days later, a roadside bomb killed two more peacekeepers.

Although this was an especially grim week, guerrilla forces regularly hit U.N. camps and convoys in northern Mali. Since it was deployed in 2013, MINUSMA has lost over 100 personnel to hostile acts. A 2018 study suggested that the mission devotes about 90 percent of its military resources to protecting itself.

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