It calls for a bigger professional military staff at UN headquarters so that troops can deploy rapidly and take action in clear cases of aggression. But several other countries share the view expressed by the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Percival Patterson. Rightful concerns over sovereignty cannot allow us to turn a blind eye to the forces of evil. Broader agenda US President Bill Clinton backed measures to make UN peacekeeping more effective, but went on to widen the debate. He said the UN should follow Washington's example and broaden its definition of what constitutes a security threat to include global killers like Aids.
War kills massively, crosses borders, destabilises whole regions.
Political will The conflicts in Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have put great strain on the UN's resources and raised serious questions about its peacekeeping role. It is not the first time that world leaders have called for UN peacekeeping to be beefed up, but the Western powers are extremely reluctant to commit their forces to operations in Africa.