07/13/2004

The United Nations could improve the performance of its peacekeeping operations by taking a more regional approach to efforts to end conflicts, Refugees International concludes in a new report, "Peacekeeping in West Africa: A Regional Report", which focuses on the need to coordinate separate UN operations in Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast. Regional cooperation is particularly important in the design and execution of programs to disarm, demobilize and retrain soldiers, interdict weapons shipments and even halt the cross-border movement of combatants.  The report  recommends that the UN Secretary General establish a high-level commission to study regional peacekeeping opportunities and instruct the UN Department of Peacekeeping operations to pursue regionalization initiatives. In addition, the report recommends a number of other actions, including greater attention to gender issues, to improve the training and performance of UN peacekeepers.

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