Utopian MissionPeacekeeping: the Impossible

Canadians have often portrayed Canada as a “peaceable kingdom.”1 Since the Second World War, Canada has been involved as a global peacekeeper on the global stage. Canada’s decision to renounce its nuclear arsenal and its role as nuclear power2 is an indication of Canada’s belief that it should act as an advocate of regional and global peace and security. Since the Suez Crisis, Canada has participated in United Nations’ regional and global peacekeeping. Prime Minister Pearson declared the Canadian government’s stand on stabilizing the regional peace and security between the British-led French-Israeli coalition and Egypt by calling for the creation of the United Nations Emergency Force [UNEF].3 The Canadian involvement in the Suez Crisis triggered the birth of UNEF and UN Peacekeeping Missions.4 Since then, Canadian troops have been deployed to politically or socially unstable nations to secure peace and security, protect civilians from conflicts and wars, and promote Canadian values and its global image as a peacekeeper. Canada has been effectively involved in many challenging postcold war peacekeeping missions in areas like Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Somalia, but Canadian peacekeepers are exposed to potential risk of PTSD, and charters of peacekeeping missions add even more stress on peacekeepers’ shoulder.

Since 1956, Canadian peacekeepers have been deployed to regions in need of stabilization, regional peace, and security. They have experienced praise, frustration, and many horrific events, especially during peacekeeping missions in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Somalia. They have dedicated their passion and time; some have lost their lives serving to preserve the common goal of regional stabilization. While peacekeepers return to Canada at the end of “heroic” missions, many have struggled with traumas that have created difficulties for them to return to their regular life. Canadian peacekeepers experienced high pressure and a sense of helplessness throughout peacekeeping missions in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Somalia. Post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] alongside many other traumas have become significant threats to those peacekeepers who participate in peacekeeping missions. The number of Canadian peacekeepers who suffer from war traumas is considerable, and it seems like the cost of their dedication to peace and security is associated traumas.

UN Peacekeeping Operations are based on three fundamental principles: “consent of the parties,” “impartiality,” and “non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.”5 The uniqueness of UN Peacekeeping Missions fortifies the UN’s belief in sustaining peace and security in the global community. According to Lamerson and Kelloway’s study, there are two main stressors that trigger PTSD among Canadian peacekeepers: combat and context.6 Because of the three fundamental principles of UN Peacekeeping Operations, the rules of engagement are impartial and strict. Marrack Goulding, a former British diplomat, explains the third principle as to apply “force only to the minimum extent necessary and that normally fire should be opened only in self-defence.” The uniqueness of UN Peacekeeping Operations exposes Canadian peacekeepers to war traumas due to the special restraint in UN operations and the phycological isolation from the normality of life.

Based on research on the hypothetical cause and effect relationship between peacekeeping deployment times and the possibility of experiencing war traumas, the statistics show that soldiers who have been deployed for peacekeeping operations have a higher rate of probable PTSD and clinical depression than soldiers never deployed. 10.92% of soldiers who have been deployed once on a peacekeeping mission experience PTSD and 30.25% experience clinical depression. The figures for those never deployed are 3.99% for PTSD and 21.74% for clinical depression. Moreover, the research also indicates that peacekeepers deployed more than once have almost 4% greater chance to experience PTSD and 2% in clinical depression. Canadian peacekeepers who experience PTSD have an almost half health-related quality of life [HRQOL] relationship, and the transition back to their normal life. HRQOL of many former peacekeepers is significantly lower than the average because of the horrific events during deployments abroad. Direct exposure to attack is one of the major problems that triggers PTSD among peacekeepers. Canadian peacekeeping forces have to follow strict rules of engagement which requires them to act only under consent of parties, be impartial, and only use forces when it is to the extent of self-defense. As a result, many witness the death or injury of those they are trying to protect, knowing they are not permitted to interfere. Peacekeepers had been open targets for rivals in unstable areas. Based on statistical data, 50% of participants deployed to former Yugoslavia witnessed civilian or military casualties, and 69% reported they were subject to artillery, rocket, or mortar attacks.11 In many circumstances, Canadian soldiers were restricted from interfering in conflicts or even offering humanitarian assistance due to the special aspect of their particular operations.

Since the Second World War, Canada has been involved as a global peacekeeper on the global stage. Canada’s decision to renounce its nuclear arsenal is an indication of Canada’s belief that it should act as an advocate of regional and global peace and security. Since the Suez Crisis, Canada has participated in United Nations’ regional and global peacekeeping. Prime Minister Pearson declared the Canadian government’s stand on stabilizing the regional peace and security between the British-led French-Israeli coalition and Egypt by calling for the creation of the The Canadian involvement in the Suez Crisis triggered the birth of Since then, Canadian troops have been deployed to politically or socially unstable nations to secure peace and security, protect civilians from conflicts and wars, and promote Canadian values and its global image as a peacekeeper. Canada has been effectively involved in many challenging postcold war peacekeeping missions in areas like Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Somalia, but Canadian peacekeepers are exposed to potential risk of PTSD, and charters of peacekeeping missions add even more stress on peacekeepers’

Since 1956, Canadian peacekeepers have been deployed to regions in need of stabilization, regional peace, and security. They have experienced praise, frustration, and many horrific events, especially during peacekeeping missions in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Somalia. They have dedicated their passion and time; some have lost their lives serving to preserve the common goal of regional stabilization. While peacekeepers return to Canada at the end of “heroic” missions, many have struggled with traumas that have created difficulties for them to return to their regular life. Canadian peacekeepers experienced high pressure and a sense of helplessness throughout peacekeeping missions in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Somalia. Post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] alongside many other traumas have become significant threats to those peacekeepers who participate in peacekeeping missions. The number of Canadian peacekeepers who suffer from war traumas is considerable, and it seems like the cost of

UN Peacekeeping Operations are based on three fundamental principles: “consent of the parties,” “impartiality,” The uniqueness of UN Peacekeeping Missions fortifies the UN’s belief in sustaining peace and security in the global community. According to Lamerson and Kelloway’s study, there are two main stressors that trigger PTSD among Canadian peacekeepers: combat and Because of the three fundamental principles of UN Peacekeeping Operations, the rules of engagement are impartial and strict. Marrack Goulding, a former British diplomat, explains the third principle as to apply “force only to the minimum extent necessary and that normally fire should be opened only in self-defence.”7 The uniqueness of UN Peacekeeping Operations exposes Canadian peacekeepers to war traumas due to the

Photo courtesy of CTV news.

Based on research on the hypothetical cause and effect relationship between peacekeeping deployment times and the possibility of experiencing war traumas, the statistics show that soldiers who have been deployed for peacekeeping operations have a higher rate of probable PTSD and clinical depression than soldiers never deployed. 10.92% of soldiers who have been deployed once on a peacekeeping mission experience PTSD and 30.25% experience clinical depression. The figures for those never deployed are 3.99% for PTSD and 21.74% for clinical depression. Moreover, the research also indicates that peacekeepers deployed more than once have almost 4% greater chance to experience PTSD and 2% in clinical depression.8 In another study that the same researchers have done, it is proven that former elated quality of life [HRQOL]9 that an average Canadian male has.10 Many of them are struggling with psychological illnesses, relationship, and the transition back to their normal life. HRQOL of many former peacekeepers is significantly lower than the average because of the horrific events during deployments abroad. Direct exposure to attack is one of the major problems that triggers PTSD among peacekeepers. Canadian peacekeeping forces have to follow strict rules of engagement which requires them to act only under consent of parties, be impartial, and only use forces when it is to the extent of self-defense. As a result, many witness the death or injury of those they are trying to protect, knowing they are not permitted to interfere. Peacekeepers had been open targets for rivals in unstable areas. Based on statistical data, 50% of participants deployed to former Yugoslavia witnessed civilian or military casualties, In many circumstances, Canadian soldiers were restricted from interfering in conflicts or even offering humanitarian assistance due to

Contextual stressors are also a primary cause of PTSD. Lamerson describes this as a contributor “to individual stress reactions above and beyond the contribution exerted by exposure to traumatic events.”12 The role of peacekeepers during deployments often confuses many peacekeepers, as they often experience a clash between “a stated mission” and “the fundamental need to defend a civilian’s life.”13 It is a struggle for many peacekeepers to maintain impartiality during operations. Peacekeepers are obligated to remain neutral in conflicts even if they refuse to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need.14 Forced to observe and unable to assist those in need challenges soldiers’ morality as peacekeepers and can cause them “moral injury.” As Lamerson and Kelloway stated in 1995, peacekeepers “could not forcibly respond to threat of attack; however, in the absence of a direct order, they could also not withdraw from the situation.”15 There have also been cases in which some peacekeepers question the official purpose and legitimacy of the operation, and they come to find sympathy for the opposition.16 All of this demonstrates that the role of peacekeepers in peacekeeping operations can be complex.

Peacekeepers in Rwanda. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Fair use.

Consider the example of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda [UNAMIR]. According to former Canadian peacekeeper Jean-Yves St-Denis, UNAMIR was not a Peacekeeping Mission, instead it “was an aberration of life, seeing people die or dead.”17 St-Denis described his deployment as a UN peacekeeper in Rwanda as a limited deployment. Canadian peacekeepers had to ensure their own survival, raising the question of how the mission could be carried out efficiently under these circumstances? St-Denis who suffers with PTSD as a result of his deployment contends that peacekeepers felt “helpless” in restoring peace and security in the region.18 The restraint and limitation on engagement rules generated a sense of helplessness for many Canadian peacekeepers, increasing the possibility for peacekeepers to be diagnosed with PTSD.19 UNAMIR was a peacekeeping mission created to ensure the enforcement of the Arusha Accords, but it failed. The death of the Rwandan president in 1994 triggered the extremist Hutu movement toward Tutsis and moderate Hutus.20 The Rwanda genocide was responsible for the slaughter of 800,000 Rwandans in one hundred days.21 The West’s silence in responding to General Roméo Dallaire’s warning of this potential genocide left peacekeepers in a very difficult situation.22 The documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire suggests the lack of support for peacekeepers both before and during their deployment: “they sent [Dallaire] out to [Rwanda] without support, without briefing, without background, without knowledge. They plunked him into the middle of the most incendiary human predicament.”23 Dallaire had to operate the peacekeeping mission with limited resources and peacekeepers, limiting the efficiency of the task, but he as the head of the operation lacked experience, and peacekeepers under his command were disabled to provide humanitarian aids. UNAMIR and its failure exposed Dallaire and the peacekeepers under his command to war traumas as they were unable to provide humanitarian assistance to locals and were powerless to stop, other than witnessing, them being slaughtered.

Similarly, the United Nations Protection Force [UNPROFOR] in former Yugoslavia is another example of the inefficiency of a peacekeeping mission. It was an operation initiated with the purpose of restoring and maintaining peace and security in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Srebrenica, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Under the leadership of Major-General Lewis MacKenzie, UNPROFOR was deployed to the region in 1992 with a force of roughly 14,000 peacekeepers.24 The Security Council denied MajorGender Mackenzie’s request for the deployment of 135,000 peacekeepers that Mackenzie considered necessary to carry out the mission.. Peacekeepers in the operating countries were guided by the rule of the safe-haven. As the solution to the lack of peacekeepers in the area, the Security Council changed the rules of engagement after recognizing the circumstance in the region was becoming out of control due to the lack of peacekeepers from “the UN will defend the safe havens” to “by their presence will the UN deter attacks on the safe havens.”25 In July of 1995, the Bosnian Serb army massacred approximately 8,000 civilians at Srebrenica; UNPROFOR peacekeepers were helpless to stop it.26

What happened in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia has tortured UNAMIR and UNPROFOR peacekeepers physically and mentally. They were witnesses to evil without being able to protect the civilians from that evil. General Dallaire is still experiencing PTSD, and he has attempted to commit suicide. The deployment exposed him to PTSD and created a

sense of separation from his family. Dallaire described his return to his family as being like “a zombie or at least a foreigner.”27 Other Canadian peacekeepers experienced similar feelings. Separation from family is the primary stressor for the majority of peacekeepers. It has become a concern for many who cite “being separated, a lack of contact, worry over the welfare of family members and being unable to deal with problems when they occur back home” as a significant stressor that negatively affects their mental health.28

Ronald Miller’s story reflects many of the challenges faced by Canadian peacekeepers. Miller, a former major, has PTSD. He had been assigned to a number of peacekeeping operations following his deployment to Germany during the Cold War. Unforgettable memories of peacekeeping deployments eventually triggered Miller’s PTSD in 2016. Miller says he was “exposed to the kind of death and destruction that can be rather difficult from a psychological standpoint.”29 Based on Dr. Lanius’s neuroimaging research on what caused Miller’s PTSD, the result was clear that the “moral injury” from the missions was the source. He often experiences the circumstance where he can only obverse innocent civilians dying even though he feels responsible for providing humanitarian aids.30 Because of the chapter mandates of each UN peacekeeping mission, peacekeepers like Miller can experience “moral injury” as a result of their feelings of helplessness. Both St-Denis and Miller dedicated their early years as soldiers to peace securing operations; the impact of these operations and the resulting PTSD has remained with them throughout their lives.

Another issue for Canadian peacekeepers is financial stressors. Long-distance deployments also create financial pressure on peacekeepers, as the authors reveal that soldiers on UN Peacekeeping Operations often experience a financial delay.31 Many Canadian peacekeepers struggled with managing their personal finances while they were on peacekeeping missions.32 The financial uncertainty in addition to separation from family as well as the stress of the mission itself resulted in intense tension for many peacekeepers. These high levels of stress resulted in a high incidence of PTSD among Canadian peacekeepers.

On a global scale, UN peacekeeping missions have had a profound impact on securing regional and international peace and security. “UN Peacekeeping helps countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace. We have unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy troops and police from around the world, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates set by the UN Security Council and General Assembly.”33 Despite the role peacekeeping forces are designed to play in international affairs, misconduct by peacekeepers, especially the sexual abuse of local civilians, has come to light in recent years. Cases of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers have been reported in Haiti, Congo, Liberia, South Sudan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and beyond. This is an urgent issue that has put the UN peacekeepers on the hot spot.34 Professor Defeis from Washington University believes that the social environment in peacekeeping areas is so fragile that “the rule of law is absent,” and the code of conduct for each peacekeeping personnel (UN staff, military observers, police, peacekeepers) is different.35 Defeis also claims that the masculine culture among UN troops is a contributing factor to this abuse of power.36 This behaviour has dishonoured the work of UN peacekeeping missions globally.

In conclusion, Canada has been a proactive player in global peacekeeping missions. Since the Suez Crisis, Canada has indicated its firm stand in participating in regional and global peace and security in the peacekeeping field. This has created the image of Canada as a middle power active in worldwide peacekeeping. Canadian soldiers have actively participated in many UN peacekeeping missions, dedicating themselves to securing regional peace and security. Since the end of the Cold War, many Canadian peacekeepers who have completed their missions have returned to Canada as decorated soldiers. They have earned their war honours.

Sadly, they have also brought home the trauma of their experiences in failed peacekeeping operations. PTSD and clinical depression have become a threat to many Canadian peacekeepers’ wellbeing, complicating their transition from active military service to regular military life or civilian life. The two primary causes of the high incidence of PTSD and

The International Myth of Canada as a clinical depression

Peacekeeping Nation,” The Walrus. Fair use. among post-Cold War peacekeepers is combat and contextual stressors. Both have had negative impacts on peacekeepers’ personal and military lives. Canada needs to invest more resources in preparing soldiers better before they deploy them. They also need to provide proper treatment after deployments to prevent and address PTSD and clinical depression. UN peacekeeping missions have been criticized from time to time for failing to ensure peace and security in the region of their operation. Moreover, there have been reports of sexual abuse and exploitation of locals by peacekeepers. The Canadian military was immersed in a controversial scandal when it came to light that Canadian peacekeepers perpetrated sexual assault, exploitation, and murder in Somalia.37 As dishonouring as this behaviour was to both the Canadian military and the United Nations peacekeeping missions, these actions are not representative of most Canadian peacekeepers, or peacekeepers generally as outlined by Antonio Guterres, current Secretary-General of the UN: “we will not tolerate anyone commuting or condoning a crime, and in particular, crimes of sexual exploitation and abuse.”38 Canadian peacekeepers have served and are still serving in global peacekeeping missions; their service should be valued and remembered as an important contribution to global security.