Opinion
UN peacekeeping works but Canada’s contribution falls to all-time low
By Walter Dorn and Robin Collins May 25, 2020
UN peacekeeping is a good deal, by any relevant measure, especially at a time of crisis like the present. Now is not the time to step back. Missions are needed more than ever.
The UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda—led by Canadian general Roméo Dallaire, pictured Sept. 27, 2018, on the Hill—saved more than 20,000 people during the genocide, despite peacekeeper numbers being reduced to fewer than 300 personnel on the ground. Canada, to its credit, increased its deployment to Rwanda during the genocide, write Walter Dorn and Robin Collins. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Canada’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations has fallen to only 35 personnel among the UN’s 82,000 uniformed peacekeepers currently deployed. This is the lowest point for Canada since the first peacekeeping force was created at the urging of (then) foreign minister Lester Pearson in 1956 to resolve the Suez Crisis.
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