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What's your path for a Culture of Peace?
PEACEKEEPING
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"International
crises, by definition, require international solutions. Peacekeeping
is a response to conflict, is a response to situations in
which often it is not the business of any one particular country
to get into. It seems to me, therefore, that the world will
for the foreseeable future need peacekeeping. "
~ Shashi Tharoor
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The mission
of the United Nations is to help create a more peaceful, just
and sustainable world. For many of us, this is a noble ideal we
can hope for while we go about our daily lives, but for countries
torn apart by war, peace is an urgent need. UN Peacekeepers help
countries torn apart by conflict create conditions for peace.
UN Peacekeepers are soldiers, police and civilian personnel from
many countries around the world. They help monitor peace processes,
and help conflicting sides to carry out peace agreements they've
agreed upon. In its over 60 year history, United Nations Peacekeepers
have been involved in 172 peaceful settlements!
In 1988, the
Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations Peace-keeping
Forces. May 29 was designated by the United Nations as the International
Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, to honor the men and women
who have served and who are serving in United Nations peacekeeping
operations, and to pay tribute to those who have lost there lives
helping to bring peace.
It is also a time to remind our governments of the importance
of supporting the United Nations. Some nations, like the United
States have not lived up to their financial obligations to the
UN, making it difficult for the UN to do its important work. Visit
PriceOfPeace.org
to sign the petition to the US Congress to show your support of
UN Peacekeepers.
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Dear
Members of Congress:
War
and hostility are far too prevalent in today's world, exacting
a huge economic, moral, and human cost. In contrast, the price
of peace is a fraction of the cost of war. I strongly support
UN peacekeeping as a fair and effective means of sharing the
burdens for international security and stability. No nation
should have to bear every burden, pay every bill, or take
every risk; I urge you to act now to fully fund our promised
contributions to the UN.
Today,
the UN oversees a record 18 peacekeeping missions around the
world, including in some of the world's most dangerous places,
such as Sudan, Lebanon, Congo, and Haiti, all of which are
critical to our national and international security, and the
U.S. votes to approve.
The
UN's lifesaving peace missions are in jeopardy because donor
countries are not living up to their commitments to support
UN peacekeeping, particularly the U.S. Growing shortfalls
in U.S. contributions, policy restrictions, and long-standing
unpaid bills threaten to put the United States more than $1
billion behind in peacekeeping obligations. Shortchanging
UN peacekeeping has real impacts, forcing the UN to cobble
together the necessary means for deployment and discouraging
other countries from contributing their fair share of resources.
I
urge you to take a leading role in fulfilling U.S. commitments
to UN peacekeeping by increasing funding to the Contributions
to International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA) account by
$500 million in the fiscal year 2008 appropriation process.
The U.S. should also take steps to pay off prior U.S. arrears.
Investing in peace serves our country better than paying for
the soaring costs of war.
PriceOfPeace.org
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Links
UN Hammarskjold
Library Links
United
Nations Peacekeeping
UN
International Day of Peacekeepers
Better
World Campaign's Price Of Peace Campaign
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