International organisations and peacekeeping operations in Africa: an exploration of the challenges and way forward.

Abstract

The exigency for global peace and security cannot be overemphasised, especially now that peace is gradually eluding the international system due to incessant conflicts and natural disasters. This study, therefore, examined the encumbrances confronting peacekeeping operations by international organisations in their quest to engender peace and security on the continent of Africa. Data collection for the study was based on secondary sources, including desk reviews of documents from textbooks, articles, journals, etc, while idealism was employed to explain the theoretical basis for the involvement of international organisations in conflict resolution via peacekeeping operations. Findings indicated that peacekeeping operations have witnessed a lot of impediments in the areas of funding, equipment and training of troops, mandates, sexual abuses, human rights violation, weather condition, unfamiliar terrain and battles, and high death rate among missions’ personnel and civilian population. These have contributed to the abysmal performances of some peace operations in African as evident in the continuous conflicts despite their presence. To stem this, peace operations should be properly funded by members of the international organisations for better performance; the United Nations (UN) should take more decisive actions against cases of sexual abuse by troops to serve as deterrence to other, etcetera.