The Peacekeepers (film)

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The Peacekeepers
The Peacekeepers (2005) Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Paul Cowan
Produced by Adam Symansky, Paul Saadoun
Edited by Hannele Halm
Music by Jean Mallet
Production
companies
Distributed by BFS Entertainment
Release date
  • 2005 (2005)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish, French

The Peacekeepers is a 2005 documentary film directed by Paul Cowan, following the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2002 and 2004. The film portrays the attempts of UN Peacekeepers to avert a crisis similar to Rwanda in 1994. The film mixes footage from the actual conflict with that of UN officials behind the lines, to give a comprehensive portrayal of the conflict. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Synopsis

Paul Cowan presents the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping and their determined, if not desperate efforts to avert a disaster in the Democratic Republic of Congo similar to that of Rwandan. Cowan alternates between activity in the United Nations headquarters in New York, and what was happening in the DRC, on the ground.

Filming

Set 3 years into the start of the Ituri conflict, the film is an in-depth look into the violent conflicts taking place in the region borne out of the Rwandan genocide, where ethnic tensions, a massive influx of arms, and the formation of warlord-led militias plagued the fragile country of the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1999 and 2003. The events of the documentary start 1 year and 1 day after the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Then president George W. Bush, leads the 57th UN General Assembly bringing the Ituri conflict to light. During this time, a contingent of Ugandan and Rwandan troops act as security deterrence for the region. UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, chaired the meeting as he looked to expand on the current UN peacekeeping mission in the region. [5]

The Congo mission by 2002 was non-military and consisting of unarmed military observers reporting on the conflict, but not actively engaging combatants. Since the 1999 to 2002, the United Nations has spent over $6 million USD to keep the peace in the region, but local warlords still continue to use violence as a means of controlling the population, often resulting in entire villages being massacred. It is during this time that troops from Uganda and Rwanda came into Congo as a means to keep some semblance of order. This fragile peace held together from the 2 countries is successful in keeping the conflict at a low level, but links between the troops and local warlords begin to emerge as UN investigators uncover rumours of collusion in the Ituri region. [6]

The province of Bunia becomes sight of the Bogoro Massacre, in which some 200 villagers are killed, many of them hacked to death with machetes traditionally used by local militia. UN investigators are sent to the area to report on the situation, as rumours of Ugandan troops allowing the massacre to happen makes the UN question whether Uganda has ulterior motives in the region. To avoid more bloodshed, the UN sends 700 Uruguayan guard troops to the region to relieve the 5000 strong Ugandan force in the region. The situation becomes more hazardous on the ground, but the UN has a higher level of confidence in the UN peacekeeping force assigned to the area. As the situation intensifies, the UN brings talks of a multi-national force to keep order in the region to avoid another Rwandan genocide. France is asked to lead the mission, but only agrees for a limited amount of time due to having forces spread out in Afghanistan and other African nations. [7]

Before a French force is able to arrive, Bunia erupts into a war zone among the militants in the region, causing a wave of refugees to flee from the countryside to into the city. The Uruguayan force, unable to engage the militias, are stationed at the UN headquarters and airport in Kinshasa. Due to the violence, refugees flood in into both UN compounds to seek refuge from the fighting. A humanitarian disaster is looming over the region, but France sends a battalion sized force to the region bringing back order and some stability to the region. The French force will not be there long however, as the UN decides on how allocate funding and military personnel to the region. Factions within the UN oppose the sending of a larger multinational force to the region citing cost of deployment and man-power being too high, which is estimated to cost $10 million USD per year to operate. Instead, a UN-Ituri force is to be assembled with the help of military advisers. [8]

As the situation on the ground intensifies, UN forces are allowed a chapter 7 mandate, the ability to shoot on site against any forces they deem a threat. French-led military operations in the area stabilizes the Ituri region, declaring Bunia "weapons free" for a period of time. The French are scheduled to leave on September 1, 2003, replacing them is a multinational force of Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi UN troops given their chapter 7 mandate to fight against the local militia. During this time, the first Ituri security brigade is raised from tribes of the local area given the task of defending and stabilizing their home region. UN military advisers are tasked with helping train, assist, and advise the Ituri brigade in order for them to become a self-sufficient force. As combat in the area decreases to a low-level insurgency, the UN was able to assess their mission on the ground level. Many of the military and policy makers become aware of what could have been a second Rwandan style genocide being averted as a result of the mission.

Background

The Democratic Republic of Congo itself was borne out of the First Congo War, after the ousting of Mobutu Sésé Seko by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire(ADFL or ADFLC) in 1997. The instability caused by the First Congo War created the volatile conditions necessary for local warlords vying for control of conflict minerals and as a result, regional power formed from strength of arms and violence. Ethnic tensions between the Lendu and Hema tribes compound an already vulnerable state in Ituri, which started the larger Second Congo War. Much of the conflict can be traced back to conflict minerals that local warlords and militias controlling areas fight over, which are exacerbated by ethnic tensions.

Music

Related Research Articles

Discovered in the 1990s, human remains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been dated to approximately 90,000 years ago. The first real states, such as the Kongo, the Lunda, the Luba and Kuba, appeared south of the equatorial forest on the savannah from the 14th century onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Congo War</span> War in Africa 1998 to 2003

The Second Congo War, also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year after the First Congo War, and involved some of the same issues. The war officially ended in July 2003, when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power. Although a peace agreement was signed in 2002, violence has continued in many regions of the country, especially in the east. Hostilities have continued since the ongoing Lord's Resistance Army insurgency, and the Kivu and Ituri conflicts. Nine African countries and around twenty-five armed groups became involved in the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MONUSCO</span> UN peacekeeping force in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279 (1999) and 1291 (2000) to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict. The mission was known as the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo or MONUC, an acronym of its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République démocratique du Congo, until 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ituri conflict</span> Subconflict of the Second Congo War

The Ituri conflict is an ongoing conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the two groups had fought since as early as 1972, the name 'Ituri conflict' refers to the period of intense violence between 1999 and 2003. Armed conflict continues to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Artemis</span>

Operation Artemis, formally European Union Force Democratic Republic of the Congo (EUFOR), was a short-term European Union-led UN-authorised military mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Ituri conflict. ARTEMIS is considered the first military operation led by the EU, the first autonomous EU operation, the first rapid response mission of the EU, first operation outside Europe, first operation applying the principle of the framework nation and first example of "relay operation", conducted in cooperation between the EU and the United Nations. The deployment of EUFOR troops quickly decreased the conflict's intensity. It marked the first autonomous EU military mission outside Europe and an important milestone in development of the European Security and Defence Policy.

The Union of Congolese Patriots is a political and militia group in Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed towards the end of the Second Congo War. It was founded by Thomas Lubanga in 2001 and was one of six such groups that sprung up in the mineral-rich Ituri region on the border with Uganda in the Ituri conflict. The UPC supported and was primarily composed of the Hema ethnic group.

The United Nations Peacekeeping efforts began in 1948. Its first activity was in the Middle East to observe and maintain the ceasefire during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Since then, United Nations peacekeepers have taken part in a total of 72 missions around the globe, 14 of which continue today. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.

Congolese history in the 2000s has primarily revolved around the Second Congo War (1998–2003) and the empowerment of a transitional government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri</span> Political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri is a Bunia-based armed militia and political party primarily active in the south of the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force</span>

The Bangladesh Armed Forces and the Bangladesh Police have been actively involved in a number of United Nations Peace Support Operations (UNPSO) since 1988. Currently Bangladesh is the largest contributor in the UN peacekeeping missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kivu conflict</span> Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Kivu conflict began in 2004 in the eastern Congo as an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Hutu Power group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has broadly consisted of three phases, the third of which is an ongoing conflict. Prior to March 2009, the main combatant group against the FARDC was the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). Following the cessation of hostilities between these two forces, rebel Tutsi forces, formerly under the command of Laurent Nkunda, became the dominant opposition to the government forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1925</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2010

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1925, adopted unanimously on May 28, 2010, after reaffirming previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) until June 30, 2010, authorised a withdrawal of 2,000 troops and decided that from July 1, 2010, MONUC would be known as the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) with a mandate until June 30, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1445</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2002

United Nations Security Council resolution 1445 was adopted unanimously on 4 December 2002. After recalling all previous resolutions on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the council expanded the military component of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) to a level of 8,700 military personnel–up from 4,250–in two task forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1468</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2003

United Nations Security Council resolution 1468, adopted unanimously on 20 March 2003, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council welcomed an agreement on the establishment of a transitional government and requested an increased presence of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in the Ituri region in the east of the country amid escalating violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1484</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2003

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1484, adopted unanimously on 30 May 2003, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council authorised Operation Artemis in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, amid the deteriorating security situation in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1493</span> 2003 resolution on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

United Nations Security Council resolution 1493, adopted unanimously on 28 July 2003, after recalling all resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) until 30 July 2004 and raised its troop level from 8,700 to 10,800.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Force Intervention Brigade</span> Military unit

The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations Security Council on 28 March 2013 through Resolution 2098. Although it is not the first instance in which the use of force was authorized by the UN, the Force Intervention Brigade is the first UN peacekeeping operation specifically tasked to carry out targeted offensive operations to "neutralize and disarm" groups considered a threat to state authority and civilian security. In this case, the main target was the M23 militia group, as well as other Congolese and foreign rebel groups. While such operations do not require the support of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the Force Intervention Brigade often acts in unison with the FARDC to disarm rebel groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central African Republic conflict (2013–2014)</span>

An internal conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) started essentially on 13 April 2013, when the government of President Michel Djotodia officially took over. The fighting was between the government of the Central African Republic's former Séléka coalition of rebel groups, who are mainly from the Muslim minority, and the mainly Christian anti-balaka coalition. The conflict was part of the ongoing Central African Republic Civil War (2012–present). International organisations, such as the United Nations, had warned of a possible genocide. UNSC resolution 2122 authorised the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) to be deployed to the country, and France to lead operations with additional troops sent to bolster its force in the country. Following a summit of Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), including the attendance of all the country's MPs, Djotodia resigned from the presidency on 10 January 2014. The National Transitional Council chose Bangui mayor Catherine Samba-Panza as interim president on 20 January 2014. A period of lawlessness prevailed during the early days of her presidency with people moving into religiously cleansed neighbourhoods as the UN warned of a genocide. Anti-Balaka attacks continued against Muslim civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MINUSCA</span> United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic

United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic is a UN peacekeeping mission, which started on April 10, 2014, to protect Central African Republic civilians under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. It transformed the 6,000-strong African Union-led peacekeeping force known as MISCA into a UN peacekeeping mission and became operational on September 15, 2014. The UN deployed a transition team to set up MINUSCA and prepare for a seamless transition of authority from MISCA to MINUSCA. As of 30 September 2021, it has more than 15,000 troops, police and civilian personnel on the ground. Its role is to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CODECO</span>

CODECO is a loose association of various Lendu militia groups operating within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name is an abbreviation of the group's lesser-known full name, the Cooperative for Development of the Congo, sometimes also styled the Congo Economic Development Cooperative.

References

  1. ↑ "UNAFF 2006 : Films : The Peacekeepers". Unaff.org. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  2. ↑ "The Peacekeepers (2005) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  3. ↑ Chambers, Thomas F. (17 March 2006). "The Peacekeepers". Canadian Materials. Manitoba Library Association. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Hall, P. "Shake Hands with the Devil". Video Librarian. 21 (4). ISSN   0887-6851.
  5. ↑ Description and consequences of sexual violence in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo
  6. ↑ The massacre of refugees in Congo: a case of UN peacekeeping failure and international law
  7. ↑ "Number of UN peacekeepers in DR of Congo reaches 500". UN News. 6 April 2001.
  8. ↑ Lynch, Colum (29 May 2003). "France to Send Force to Congo To Try to Quell Surge of Violence". Washington Post .
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