I'd like to set the record straight on peacekeeping successes and failures, as I see them. To judge the success of a peacekeeping mission, we need first to define the criteria for success, or, in other words, what we expect these missions to accomplish. Peacekeeping works when peacekeepers can provide the breathing room for peace agreements to take root. Peacekeepers can enable refugees and internally displaced persons to go home. Peacekeepers disarm combatants and reintegrate them into civil society.
Peacekeepers can offer citizens a chance to live without the fear of being caught in a crossfire.
Peacekeepers can bring war criminals to justice and assist national leaders to build democratic institutions. In Mozambique, where the UN mission separated and demobilized combatants, monitored a cease-fire, and oversaw a transition to a democracy that remains in place. In Namibia and Tajikistan, where UN civilians, police, and military officers worked for democratic change. In Macedonia, where the UN mission gave the Macedonians needed time to establish democratic institutions and, eventually, to join the European community. The subsequent peace process may only continue in fits and starts even if a peace agreement is signed and agreed upon by all parties.