It almost seemed a parody. On Tuesday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon account posted on X, “Peacekeeper safety and security is paramount, and all actors are reminded of their obligation to respect it. Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of resolution 1701.”
The U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1701 in 2006 to help end the war that had erupted when Hezbollah crossed the U.N.-certified border to kill and kidnap Israeli soldiers. The purpose of 1701 was to upgrade UNIFIL enforcement as Hezbollah had not only built an arsenal of more than 100,000 rockets and missiles under its watch but also used UNIFIL equipment and uniforms to approach Israeli forces during attacks.
Resolution 1701 committed Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory and the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah and all other militias. Israel fulfilled its duties. The UNIFIL did not. Simply put, had the UNIFIL done its job, there would not be war. It was not just a matter of U.N. negligence, however.
A world without UNIFIL would also be more stable because the peacekeepers actively provided cover for Hezbollah’s rearmament. At issue is not one Katyusha or Scud missile getting through a checkpoint, but rather an arsenal larger than that of most states. U.N. pride or a desire for constituent nations to use well-paid peacekeeping billets as a rewards program should be no reason to accept mediocrity, negligence, or worse.
Nor is UNIFIL alone. The 60-year-old United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus may separate Cypriots from Turkish invaders, but it has done nothing to restore peace. Quite the contrary: Turkey has reinforced its military presence, imported tens of thousands of settlers, violated the status quo in Varosha, and even attacked U.N. peacekeepers near Pyla. The cowardliness of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres only encouraged Turks to push further.
Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that the world recognize the Turkish-occupied zone as a separate country. Earlier this year, he openly lamented that Turkey had not annexed all of Cyprus. U.N. peacekeepers have no more brought peace to Cyprus than the forfeit of the Sudetenland brought peace to Czechoslovakia.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may be the worst of the lot. Founded 25 years ago, it has allowed the same Hutu militants who precipitated genocide in Rwanda to transform Congolese refugee camps into terrorist training centers to continue their attacks against both Rwanda and Congolese Tutsis. After MONUSCO planes bombed local groups defending against Hutu aggression, Hutus trained in MONUSCO camps tried to stage a cross-border attack into Rwanda itself.
The Tutsi and Rwandans are not the only ones complaining about MONUSCO’s behavior. In Kinshasa, church leaders complained MONUSCO’s Pakistani contingent was facilitating Islamic State recruitment of local Muslims. While the world reels from war in Europe and the Middle East, MONUSCO’s incompetence may soon precipitate a cross-border war in Africa.
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For decades, U.N. peacekeeping was a mixed bag. Missions in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Côte d’Ivoire worked and disbanded. Many others continue for decades as even those who doubt their effectiveness believe subsidizing missions could not hurt. Increasingly, however, the incompetence of U.N. peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, Cyprus, and the Democratic Republic of Congo shows that poor leadership, immunity, money, and moral confusion create a noxious brew that furthers war rather than prevents it.
With some U.N. peacekeeping missions costing upwards of $1 billion, it is time to reconsider the entire approach. Pouring money into peace may be wise, but investment in UNIFIL, UNFICYP, and MONUSCO is today more likely to lead to war than peace. If Guterres will not clean the U.N.’s house and peacekeeping operations, it behooves the next U.S. administration and Congress to use their bully pulpit and power of the purse to do it for him.
Michael Rubin is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is director of analysis at the Middle East Forum and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.