International Peacekeeping

Given the commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has increasingly turned to the United Nations and regional organizations to lead interventions to make or keep peace and stabilize failed states threatened by terrorism. However, with more than 100,000 peacekeepers in the field, the United Nations has reached the limits of its capacity to deploy and sustain peacekeeping operations.

• UN peacekeeping operations since 1998 have taken on increasingly ambitious mandates, been located in more challenging environments, and grown in size and scope. The ability to fully deploy any potential new operation would likely face challenges, in view of current UN resource constraints.

  Highlights of GAO-09-142

• The Department of State has taken several steps to help address these limits, such as establishing the Global Peace Operations Initiative—a 5-year program to build worldwide peacekeeping capacity through training foreign security forces and providing equipment.

  Highlights of GAO-08-754

• However, UN agencies identify growing instability in many countries, the demand for peacekeeping interventions is rising, and the need for specialized resources and equipment increases.