A big hat tip to David Isenberg for finding this one. Great little paper and the real value here is all the history between the UN and private military and security companies listed in this thing. Here is a snippet about PAE in Africa which I thought was interesting.
PMSCs in UN humanitarian operations
…..The role played by PAE in MONUC serves as a more recent illustration of how a PMSC has been deployed in a UN peace operation. In June 2004 Congolese students released a wave of violence in central and eastern parts of the DRC in protest at the UN mission’s failure to prevent atrocities in Ituri province. The frustration of the Congolese civil war was directed towards UN associated personnel and facilities. PAE was an integral part of the UN operation. It ran six airfields for the mission and its employees drove UN vehicles and were considered UN workers by locals – and hence were also subject to attacks. The violence in Kisangani included burning the UN headquarters in the city to the ground, UN staff housing was attacked and burned, and over 70 UN vehicles were stoned and set ablaze. As the UN military contingent withdrew, 300 UN staff fled to the local airport where they demanded emergency evacuation from the city, fearing they would be killed by the rioting mobs. PAE workers prepared for and carried out the evacuation of the UN staff, while the PAE teams stayed behind to complete their contract. This example in particular illustrates a fundamental dependency on commercial companies for essential tasks in certain peacekeeping operations, and suggests that at times private contractors may face more risks than UN personnel.
The other thing that I liked about the paper is that it showed the hypocrisy of the UN and their view of this industry. Here they have the UN Working Group on Mercenaries which criticizes everyone for using PMSC’s, and yet in the same breath, the UN had companies like Executive Outcomes on their vender list. Or they use PMSC’s all over the world to help secure operations and protect personnel.
Anyway, here is the paper and definitely check it out. Let me know what you think in the comments section. –Matt
UN Use of Private Military and Security Companies: Practices and Policies, By Åse Gilje Østensen
