The World's Peacekeeper : Canada
- The Peacekeeping Monument was erected on Confederation
Boulevard in Ottawa. Named “Reconciliation”, the monument honours the
contribution made by Canadian peacekeepers; recognizes Canada’s commitment
to world peacekeeping and tells the story of Canada’s role in world
peacekeeping.
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- Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson hands out Canadian
peacekeeping service medals The 89 Canadian peacekeeping service awards
handed out by the Governor General in September are only the first of many
such awards that will honour Canadians who have taken part in the quest for
world peace.
Over the years, more than 125,000 Canadian military personnel have served on
peacekeeping missions for the United Nations - more than any other country.
Though the term "peacekeeping" didn't become widely used until 1956, the UN
began deploying peacekeepers almost 10 years earlier. And Canadians have
been a part of it since the beginning.
In the 1947 United Nations General Assembly, the UN endorsed a plan that
would separate Palestine, creating the state of Israel and leaving the rest
for the Palestinian Arabs. The plan was not accepted by the Palestinian
Arabs and Arab states, and hostilities broke out in May 1948.
That same month, the UN sent out its first observers to help calm the
situation. Under the name the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization,
UNTSO, their goal was simply to act as an international watchdog,
supervising the truce between the two groups.
UNTSO has become the longest-running UN peacekeeping mission. However, its
goals have changed over the years. After supervising the General Armistice
Agreements of 1949, UNTSO activities spread over territory held by Egypt,
Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syrian Arab Republic. In 1967, following the
Arab-Israeli war, the organization watched over the ceasefire in the Suez
Canal area and the Golan Heights . Now, UNTSO works along with other UN
forces to keep peace in the Middle East.
In 1956, Lester B. Pearson, probably the most important figure in Canadian
peacekeeping history, had an idea about how to solve another international
conflict in the Middle East.
France, Israel and the United Kingdom had been trying to stop Egypt from
taking control of the Suez Canal. Pearson, Canada's secretary of state for
external affairs, proposed an international force under the UN flag be
deployed to ease the conflict.
The first UN peacekeeping force, UNEF 1, supervised the withdrawal of armed
forces from Egyptian territory and served as a buffer between Egypt and
Israel after the withdrawal. Led by Canadian General E. L. M. Burns, who
commanded UNTSO, the mission lasted until May 1967 when Egypt managed to
compel the UN forces to leave. But in 1973, they returned to the Suez Canal
under a second UNEF mission, which lasted for six years.
Pearson's vision won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.
In 1988, the Peace Prize went to the United Nations for 40 years of
promoting peace. But the best was yet to come.
With the end of the Cold War, the world saw a new era of international
cooperation that, among other things, made way for an explosion of UN peace
missions. Of the 53 peacekeeping missions coordinated by the UN since its
inception, 35 began after 1990. Fourteen, including UNTSO, are still ongoing.
In total, more than 750,000 military troops and police - more than 125,000
of whom are Canadian - and thousands of civilians from around the world have
served as peacekeepers.
Considering the volatile conditions peacekeepers are thrown into, only 1,450
have been killed while performing their duties. This includes 107 Canadians.
Canada continues to play an important role in the effort to achieve world
peace.
In 1994, the Canadian government established the Lester B. Pearson Canadian
International Peacekeeping Training Centre on the site of a former military
base in Clementsport, Nova Scotia. The centre provides research, education
and training for peacekeepers from Canada and abroad.
At the 50th annual general assembly of the United Nations in 1995, Canada
presented a study on the UN's rapid reaction capability. The study, Towards
a Rapid Reaction Capability for the United Nations, focused how to improve
the UN's ability to react quickly in times of crisis. So far, 19 of the
report's 26 recommendations have been adopted.
The Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal, CPSM, was created to honour the
country's long history of participation in international peace efforts.
Those honoured include veterans, police officers, civilians and current
members of the armed forces who were deployed on peacekeeping or observer
missions outside of Canada for at least 30 days.
The idea for the award came from the UN winning the Peace Prize in 1988,
which also inspired the construction of Canada's National Peacekeeping
Monument in Ottawa.
Reconciliation, which served as the backdrop for the presentation of the
first CPSMs in September, shows three peacekeepers at the intersection of
two stone-clad walls that represent opposing factions. The monument is
inscribed with the following words, from a most appropriate source:
"We need action not only to end the fighting but to make the peace. My own
government would be glad to recommend Canadian participation in such a
United Nations force, a truly international peace and police force."
- Lester B. Pearson, November 2, 1956
CBC News Last Updated October 30, 2003
de Theodoro da Silva Junior <theojr@terra.com.br>
data 17/04/2008 13:48
assunto Canada: The World's Peacekeeper
VOLTAR