Originally published on the CGS blog on April 4, 2011.
Last week we talked the growing humanitarian crisis that is occurring in the Ivory Coast. Over the weekend it has gotten worse to the point where the UN has had to relocate 200 civilian staff members. The UN peacekeeping mission in the Ivory Coast known as UNOCI, is 9,000 strong, but is increasingly unable to quell violence. Violence erupted after the November 2010 elections when incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after losing the election to Alassane Outtara. The UN increased its forces in January to 9,000, but this has not been enough.
In January I wrote about need for a United Nations Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS) in the Ivory Coast, and the current situation provides more evidence for the creation of UNEPS. 9,000 UN peacekeepers have not been able to protect civilians; even with the French stepping in. The UN is still not able to adequately protect civilians or UN staff. UNEPS would be a rapid-deployment peacekeeping force that would be able to enter conflict zones and protect civilians. It would be compromised of 15,000 – 18,000 civilian police, military, judicial, and relief professionals, employed by the UN that could deploy within 48 hours of a Security Council authorization. With a force this large, the UN would be to protect civilians in conflict zones and provide humanitarian aid to those in need. Rebel forces would not be able to stand in the way of a highly-skilled UN force.
