UN Peacekeeping Principles and Logistics

Introduction 

Conflicts exist in the human environment, and in some situations, they result in rivalry among the parties in question. In this case, the running of activities is negatively affected by these situations. In the quest to normalize the conditions, institutions like the United Nations (UN) facilitate the peacekeeping missions among the member states. During these missions, different principles are applied to enhance the success of the UN mandate in both the short and long-term periods. Given this situation, this report explains these principles and their application in the Sudan crisis, the basic peacekeeping concepts, the need for the rapid deployment, and the contribution of the principles towards the financial adequacy and decreased misappropriation of funds during the missions. 

Principles 

UN missions are based on different principles. The case of Sudan peacekeeping Mission was not an exception, and different principles were put in place to enhance the success of the missions in both the short and long-term basis. During the UN intervention in the Sudan crisis, the principle of responsibility was utilized. Initially, the peace talks were taken over by the African Union, after which they combined forces with the United Nations. During the process, troops were deployed from the member countries such as those in Africa to contain the deteriorating situation in the country. Also, the US contributed towards the contributory Peace Agreement account to enhance the welfare of the citizens in the country ( Baig, n.d) . These contributions were aimed at strengthening collective responsibility on the issues that were being addressed in Sudan. 

Additionally, the UN personnel embraced the foresight principle as embarked on in-depth research about the conditions of the Sudanese and Darfur environment. They established the destruction of the infrastructure in the area. The move was aimed at determining the conditions and favorability of operating in the area to enhance the peacekeeping missions in the regions. They sought to understand the situation at the ground before embarking on the whole exercise ( Neethling, 2017) . By the time they resolved to intervene in the case, they had all the necessary information about the area, which made it easy for them to intervene. 

The principle of flexibility was also enacted during the mission. The UN was prepared to take over the situation in the Sudanese environment. However, the government was not in support of the idea, and as such, the UN faced multiple resistances. The situation prompted them to shift to the alternative of joining forces with the AU as they had a common goal (Baig, n.d) . Even though they never expected the resistance, they had to embrace measures that would lead to the ultimate goal of peacekeeping, which prompted them to join forces with the AU. 

The principle of the economy was embraced during the Sudan peacekeeping mission. When the UN was intervening in the Sudan issue, the AU had already taken roots and were trying all possible ways to ensure that peace was maintained. At some point, they deployed some forces to monitor the compliance of the government and other parties in these regions. The UN never dismissed these forces but instead added their troops to stabilize the situation. Even though they had several soldiers, they never used all of them in an instance. When the need arose, they added more troops to help contain the situation (Neethling, 2017) . Thus, through the combination of the AU and UN forces in the mission, the UN embraced the element of economy. 

In its plan to enhance normalcy in Sudan, the UN embraced simplicity. Rather than developing an elaborate plan, it first learnt about the mechanisms adopted by the AU. The UN never dismissed their endeavors as it sought to improve them by offering them support and feeling the loops that had been left by the AU (Neethling, 2017) . Furthermore, they provided the required resources to enhance the success of the mission in the short and long-run. 

Additionally, cooperation was achieved during the UN Sudan peacekeeping mission. The government was required to cooperate with the UN by complying with the set standards that would enhance peace. When the government showed resistance to the UN, the UN resolved to take an alternative path where they combined forces with the AU. The government was somehow cooperative with the AU standards and having joined forces, they were forced to cooperate with the UN (Baig, n.d) . On the path of the civilians and the internally displaced individuals as a result of the political unrest in the area, the UN ensured that they cooperated to enhance peace among them. Even during the establishment and maintenance of the peace sanctions, their emerged supporting and dissenting groups that had conflicts with each other. In the quest to enhance their cooperation, the UN deployed additional troops to ensure that they all complied with the set standards. Besides, the acceptance of the AU to work with the UN was the highest form of cooperation. If they were against the intervention of the UN in the Sudan issues, then the UN would not be successful in enhancing the peacekeeping mission in the Sudan territory (Neethling, 2017) . Markedly, the principle of cooperation was utilized by the UN. 

The principle of sufficiency was met during the preparation and the process of peacekeeping missions in the region. At no point did the UN report that they lacked the military personnel and equipment. The situation depicts great preparation to face the situation. The fact that the peacekeeping mission lasted for six years, and the UN was able to meet these needs means that it embraced sufficiency. On the principle of accountability, the UN took the record of the number of military personnel, the intervals at which they were deployed, and their contributions during the whole exercise (Baig, n.d) . The actions were directed towards minimizing wastage and tracking the use of the military and other resources used during the entire process. 

The principle of visibility was also applied during the peacekeeping mission. In the entire period, communication was done to the UN headquarters regarding the progress of the task. In cases where more forces were required, the headquarters had the mandate to organize and deploy them to the area. Other assets and resources were treated similarly as those on the ground offered information to keep track of the use and movement of the resources during the period. Equally, different member countries contributed finance to facilitate the whole mission, and in the quest to keep the required track, a proper audit was done to ascertain the credibility and reliability of the entire process (Baig, n.d) . Ultimately, the UN understood the movement of the resources and their contribution to the underlying peacekeeping mission. 

Basic Concepts 

The self-reliance concept is applied in small missions. The countries in question take the initiative to rely on their local economy to enhance peacekeeping logistics. The concept was widely used by the UN during the India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) Peacekeeping mission. On the other hand, the lead member state concept is applied by medium-sized missions. In this case, a lead member takes the responsibility of all the logistics by directing the supply links back to its home country. The concept was utilized during Chad. Large peacekeeping missions utilize The Force Logistic Support Group Concept. Here the contribution of other member states in the success of the mission is prevalent. The concept was applied during peacekeeping in Sudan. As the peacekeeping mission grows, the need to collaborate with the civilians arises. Thus they are contracted to take an active role in the maintenance of peace within the specified territories (Baig, n.d) . The concept is known as the Civilian Contract Support Concept and was applied during the Afghanistan peacekeeping mission. 

Rapid Deployment 

The call to embrace rapid deployment in the peace operations is accentuated by the pressure to respond to complex emergencies. Situations like those in Sudan raised concerns about the promptness of the UN responses. These concerns had been raised after the cold war and the Rwandan genocide in the late 20 th century (Rahman & Hamid, 2019) . Markedly, the element of rapid deployment has existed for long in the UN organization. 

Notably, the rapid deployment process is dynamic, even in the most prepared states. It requires proper planning in the member states. The basics of the entire process entail highly trained and equipped personnel alongside dependable supply chains. The absence of these basics leads to a delay in the process. In the UN environment, rapid deployment is connected to internal and external factors (Erbel & Kinsey, 2018) . The fact that this is an international organization means that, some complicated processes and systems are intertwined, and as a result, it gets challenging to coordinate them to arrive at the required promptness rapidly. 

Currently, the UN lacks its rapid deployment in its system. It only realizes the need to embark on the process when faced by the emergency pressures from the member states. Also, their relationship with the member states determines the ability to rapidly deploy the required resources for the sake of peacekeeping exercise (Rahman & Hamid, 2019) . In cases where the member states are supportive, the rapid deployment is relatively possible and vice versa. 

Even though rapid deployment is a priority in the UN organization, it is a challenging procedure to streamline. The situation is attributed to the numerous tasks that result in increased response times. The organization requires negotiating with the member governments to use their resources and personnel in different missions. The processes are bureaucratic, and as such, they result in extended deployment time. In the quest to meet the rapid deployment element, UN organization fights by all means by putting different initiatives towards the issue. For instance, the proposal of a standby Arrangements system that required the call for the member states to set aside resources that would cater to only emergencies would enhance prompt deployment. Also, formed police unit and standing police capacity would enhance the promptness and availability of the personnel to handle emergencies promptly ( Rahman & Hamid, 2019) . Furthermore, to enhance the promptness, the UN organization embarks in financial incentives for the parties that accelerate the process through their willingness to operate without strict measures. 

Additionally, apart from the financial and personnel availability, the UN organization requires reliability and speedy supply of equipment. The supply of the required equipment should be constant to minimize the protocols required to acquire additional ones for the sake of peacekeeping. The process, when handled in an improper manner, wastes the response time. Equally, the UN embraces the enhanced rapidly deployable capacities from the external sources. Notably, the increase in the reliance of both the internal and external deployment increases the available personnel to handle the required emergencies promptly. The program enhances prior plans and organization of the troops, and as such, during the member state crises and emergencies, they instantly respond to minimize the damage caused by any form of delays on their part.Moreover, the initiation of early mission headquarters contributes to the overall improvement of the UN response. These headquarters serve to plan to reduce the possibility of being caught off-guard and the last-minute rush. These plans contribute to early mission commencement in case of emergencies ( Erbel & Kinsey, 2018) . It contributes to the faster recruitment of the civilian staff to take part in the mission. 

Finally, the organization should involve other parties through partnerships to enhance rapid deployment. For instance, through working together with the European Union and the African Union, the UN can be sure of securing rapid deployments to meet the requirements of the cases in question. The involvement of these parties further enhances the supply of the mission equipment and resources for the smooth running of operations. Besides, the joined forces of these parties result in better results as compared to those done independently. The involvement of the AU is beneficial as it embraces the element of standby groups that enhance overall reliability. Regardless of the time that the crisis occurs, these parties are well prepared, and they swing into motion immediately (Tkach & Phillips, 2020) . Ultimately, this meets the UN rapid deployment requirements in their emergent situations. 

Financing Logistic Support 

The UN financing logistical support is function-based. The supplies are based on the functional department that they belong in. The budgets are done based on the functions that they are attached to (Moore, 2017) . The expenditures are tracked down to the functions that they are attached to, and the parties that are associated with that function are accountable for the finances that are channeled down their way. 

Based on the logistic principles and the procedures, the whole mission is planned. The principles promote the accountability and responsibility of the parties in question as they are answerable to their superiors. Also, the fact that the additional peacekeeping requirements are recorded appropriately and audited, it minimizes the misappropriation of the funds in the missions. The laid down procedures during and after the mission are directed to benefitting the affected parties, and as a result, the individuals responsible for enhancing the peacekeeping mandate are always kept in check ( Tkach & Phillips, 2020) . The knowledge that they are watched by their superiors keeps them alert as they discharge their duties. 

Most importantly, the UN organization has a central headquarter that oversees the plans and processes during the mission in question. All the recommendations, plans, and procedures are thoroughly checked before they are effected (Erbel & Kinsey, 2018) . Therefore, the decisions and expenditures incurred result from informed processes. 

On the issue of adequate funding, the UN includes, among other options, the contribution of the member states. It is the responsibility of these states to contribute to the welfare of the affected parties. The combination of these contributions enhances adequate funding. Also, the organization does not have to purchase all the resources as the member countries contribute some of them. Thus, this reduces the budget of the organization and, in the end, positively affects the adequacy of the available funds. Finally, the organization advocates for the self-sufficiency of some states ( Moore, 2017) . In cases where the affected states do not rely on the UN, it saves on the finances that would be channeled to such emergencies, and this aids in future occasions. 

Conclusion 

The role of the UN in the peacekeeping exercise cannot be underestimated. The fact that it combines many countries in the international environment depicts its commitment to serving humanity. Its principles enhance its preparedness in different missions across different countries. The presence of emergencies requires prompt actions from the UN. In the past, the UN has not achieved the prompt moves, but in the current environment, it has proposed and tried different mechanisms to meet the needs of the member states. The fact that it covers many countries means that it has to undergo various negotiations with their governments in the quest to support emergencies, and this is the main contributor to slow responses. Additionally, the financing logistical support places the required procedures, duties, and responsibilities that enhance adequate financing and reduces the misappropriation of funds. 

References 

Baig, K. (n.d.).  Logistical Support to United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: An Introduction . Retrieved from http://www.ccopab.eb.mil.br/images/stories/cursos_estagios/logistica/2.%20LOG2_EN.120326.pdf 

Erbel, M., & Kinsey, C. (2018). Think again–supplying war: Reappraising military logistics and its centrality to strategy and war. Journal of Strategic Studies , 41(4), 519-544. Erbel and Kinsey (2018) 

Moore, A. (2017). US military logistics outsourcing and the everywhere of war. Territory, Politics, Governance, 5(1), 5-27. Moore (2017) 

Neethling, T. (2017). Regional Agency and Hybridisation in African Peacekeeping: Revisiting Cases of AMIS and UNAMID in Sudan.  Ante Portas–Studia nad Bezpieczeństwem ,  2 , 11-34. 

Rahman, A. R. A., & Hamid, N. R. A. (2019). Achieving Logistics Performance in Military Environmental Dynamism: The Role of Organizational Capabilities. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 8(2), 1004-1017. Rahman and Hamid (2019) 

Tkach, B., & Phillips, J. (2020). UN Organizational and Financial Incentives to Employ Private Military and Security Companies in Peacekeeping Operations. International Peacekeeping, 27(1), 102-123.