"We are all competing for troops," U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan (news - web sites) told a news conference on Thursday, noting that the
United States wanted to expand the military in Iraq (news - web sites).
"They will be going to the same countries I am going to
seek peacekeeping operations for the Congo, Liberia (news - web sites), Sudan and
perhaps Sudan and Burundi," he said.
While the number of U.N. soldiers and police, about 43,500
in 14 missions around the world, is half the 1993 high of
78,700 for operations in the Balkans, Cambodia and Somalia,
money and troops for U.N. ventures have dropped appreciably
since the mid-1990s.
"We will have a crisis if member states don't take some
decisions now," said Jean-Marie Guehenno of France, the
undersecretary-general for peacekeeping in an interview with
Reuters on Wednesday.
"I know this takes time; so it is better to sound the alarm
now to focus the attention of troop contributors on the issue
so they can think it through and be prepared," he said.
Of the 43,500 troops, military observers and police in the
field now, about 30,600 are in Africa alone -- in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Western Sahara and on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
ANOTHER 10,000 troops?
U.N. missions in Sierra Leone and East Timor (news - web sites) are winding
down but Guehenno said this would not compensate for what might
be needed in Africa in 2004.
He would not name a figure but some diplomats estimate
another 10,000 troops, observers and police might be required.
In Liberia, for example, the United Nations is behind
schedule in fielding the 15,000 personnel authorized, with
barely less than half on the ground now.
Guehenno said he understood fully that many NATO (news - web sites) countries
were stretched in the Balkans, in Afghanistan (news - web sites) as well as Iraq.
But he said African conflicts should not be allowed to fester.
"Stabilizing Africa is good for the world, not just
countries directly affected," he said. "There is a benefit that
the world has to recognize and has to make."
In Africa, troops are increasingly provided by African
nations themselves and developing countries in Asia, such as
Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
But Guehenno said developed countries were needed for
specialized tasks only they could provide -- attack
helicopters, engineering units, field hospitals and logistics.
HELP FROM EUROPEANS
"I am not saying Europeans should match the troops number
for number but they need to help, to give a hand," he said.
In the Sudan, the long-running civil war may end shortly
with a power-sharing agreement and a U.N. team is in country
now to assess a future mission.
And in Burundi, the government and the largest rebel group
signed a cease-fire last month after a decade of warfare. The
African Union has sent peacekeepers and asked for U.N. help.
The United States, which pays 27 percent of the cost, is
wary of approving new missions, and has already balked at
sending troops to the Ivory Coast, where France wants to pull
out its forces. But Annan intends to make recommendations to
the Security Council shortly on reinforcing a 38-member team.
However, not only the United States has raised objections.
Japan, the second highest payer, recently expressed grave
concern about the expansion of the U.N. budget.
