Anthology Articles - PK75 Anthology

Despatches from Sudan

My name is Bob Chaloux and I served for 35 years as an Army Logistics Officer in Canada and abroad. This included three UN and one NATO tour. On my NATO tour to Bosnia in 2000, I began a tradition of emailing home a periodic summary of my experiences to my friends and family to keep them up to date on my experiences. This would cover a mixture of the work and social aspects, with accompanying photographs to provide visuals. I continued this tradition in 2005 during my UN Mission to Sudan (UNMIS) and I titled the letters the “Sudan Despatches” with the date of their issue. When asked to participate in the PK75 Anthology, I pulled up those emails to remind me of the tour and was awestruck by all the activities and experiences I lived through as a UN Peacekeeper in Africa. Too often, when reading about a mission, we only see the work-related portions explained, totally omitting the social aspect of the experience. Military life is a combination of work and social, which is what makes it a remarkable profession. This section of the anthology is a reproduction of my letters home during my Sudan tour, and it will provide a good overview of what we experienced on an operation.

Peacekeeper’s Daughter

I had two small children and was pregnant with our third when my husband called to tell me that a Boeing 767 had crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. We were still trying to make sense of it when another plane hit the south tower. My children built castles in their sandbox while the world tipped sideways and slipped off its axis. Nearly three thousand people died; six thousand were injured. The president of the United States launched a war on terror.

Peacekeeper’s Lament

Were you there when the flames scorched the heavens
And the screams of mortally wounded curdled blood
Did the crashing of the glass upon the gravel
Halt you heart and tear the tears from your eyes

Assembly of First Nations A Shared History, A Shared Responsibility

Every November, a sea of red poppies decorates the lapels of Canadians, a powerful tribute to the sacrifices made by veterans. However, a different emblem stands out for some—the beaded poppy. These handcrafted symbols offer a vivid connection to history. They represent the bravery and the unique challenges of First Nations veterans, whose contributions to the Canadian military have often been overshadowed.

The Dallaire Institute

Lieutenant-General, The Honourable Roméo Antonius Dallaire, OC, CMM, GOQ, MSC, CD (Retired) was the former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda from 1993 to 1994. Lt. General (retired) Dallaire confronted the unthinkable during the genocide in Rwanda: children recruited and used to commit atrocities. Due to this experience, General Dallaire suffered moral and operational stress injuries which ultimately led to his life-long commitment to destigmatize post-traumatic stress disorders among veterans and end the recruitment and use of children worldwide. The Dallaire Institute was created with the unique premise that preventing violence against children requires a dual lens approach. We are focused on prioritizing the protection of children, as well as understanding the significant operational impacts upon security sector actors. Our research on moral injury as result of these encounters is pivotal to improving operational effectiveness.

What we Teach or How we Think? Reflecting on Peacekeeping and Peace Operations

I have never served on a peacekeeping mission, so why does my reflection on peacekeeping matter? Since 1996, I have served my country in a civilian way, training and educating military learners to contribute to global peace and security in an ever-increasing complex environment of conflict and calamity.

Canadian Participation in Future UN Peace Operations

As a founding member of the UN, Canada has been at the heart of these collective peace efforts. In 1947, Canadians were already on a UN commission supervising an election in Korea. Between 1950 and 1954, Canada provided a brigade group to the UN “police action” that stopped North Korean and Chinese invaders. Lester Pearson proposed the UN Emergency Force in 1956 to deal with the Suez Crisis. Secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld, accepted the plan for the first UN peacekeeping force, using military units to interposition between opposing armies. Canadian General ELM Burns was appointed commander of that UNEF “peacekeeping” force. This was the Golden Age of Canadian Diplomacy where Canada and the UN undertook a new role that has been a prevalent part of its foreign and defence policy ever since.

Canadian Police Peacekeeping and Peace Operations Program

When people think of peacekeepers, they almost always think of the military. But many are not aware that Canada also deploys police officers around the world.

Canada deploys personnel to peace and stabilization missions through the Canadian Police Arrangement (CPA). That is a partnership between the RCMP, Public Safety Canada and Global Affairs Canada. The goal of the CPA is to support the Government of Canada’s commitment to building a more secure world.

Ontario Provincial Police

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has been responsible for policing in the Province of Ontario since 1909 and is the second largest police service in Canada. It currently has over 5,800 uniformed officers supported by 2,600 civilian employees and approximately 600 Auxiliary members. Together they provide policing in 329 municipalities, spanning more than 1 million square kilometres, including over 130,000 kilometres of roadways and 99,000 square kilometers of trails and waterways.

Canadian Missions in Haiti

Canadian interest in Haiti is not new. After the Second World War, French-speaking Canadians became interested in this small Caribbean island that shares its territory to the east with the Dominican Republic. Indeed, a long dictatorship from 1957 to 1986 forced many Haitians to go into exile and to choose Canada, and in particular Québec, as a place to settle. As Haitians speak Creole and French, Canada was an attractive destination for them. Today, more than 160,000 Canadians are of Haitian origin.

The International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres

The International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centers (IAPTC) is a worldwide organization that meets once a year in a different host country. Today it is highly valued by the UN and by many participating countries and organizations. Membership is open to any institution involved in the education and training of military, police, or a wide range of civilians, in order to prepare them for peace or stability operations. It is also open to individuals with an official interest or involvement in such operations. The Association is a voluntary and informal organization with no membership costs — participants in the annual conference pay their own expenses each year.

Peace Support Training Centre (PSTC), Kingston

With training capabilities varying from civil-military cooperation, headquarters and military observation, and psychological operations, the centre is fully oriented towards training for operational deployements. As part of its effort to keep pace with the contemporary operating environment, PSTC stays connected with deployed personnel to obtain first-hand feedback from operational settings. Moreover, it consults with organizations that identify shortcomings in peacekeeping practices and provide evidenced-based recommendations for strategic improvements. PSTC also maintains active relationships with other international training establishments in the fields of Peace Support Operations, Civil-Military Cooperation, and Information Operations. By maintaining currency and relevance, PSTC maintains a formidable intellectual base and delivers the highest quality of training.

Mine Awareness Training Area Named for Sergeant Ivan Stark

Over the years of United Nations landmine clearing, Canada has contributed significantly to missions that involved landmine clearance and landmine awareness training. We were also one of the leaders in an initiative that led to the signing of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. Known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine Ban Treaty, it is a legally binding, international agreement that bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel mines and places obligations on countries to clear affected areas, assist victims, and destroy stockpiles.

East Timor 1999: Tragedy and Triumph

I was fortunate to serve as a UN electoral officer in East Timor in 1999, when that half-island was still “unborn” and in dispute. For twenty-four years, Indonesia had occupied it, after Portugal loosened its three-hundred-year colonial grip in 1974. Then, in May 1999, the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) was created to administer a referendum to allow the Timorese people to determine their future: whether to remain part of Indonesia (under an autonomy agreement) or become an independent nation. The referendum had to be organized within three months!

Canada and UN Peacekeeping: From Leader to Reluctant Spectator

Canada's engagement in UN-authorized peacekeeping missions since the creation of the international organization in 1945 has become part of a national mythology and constitutes a broadly-based and deep-seated belief, held at least amongst 'older generations' of Canadians, that peacekeeping is part of Canada's national identity as a global good citizen. However, since the turn of the millennium, that engagement has become more about our history than our present. This article reflects on the history, while noting the rapid decline since the latter half of the 1990s, and subsequent governments' rejection or reluctance to re-engage with peacekeeping.