Now that is a good point. For instance, the Sinai is actually part of the MFO (Multinational Force and Observers) which the U.S. instigated when the UN decided that UN Forces would no longer be there. That is probably going on in a lot of places now that you mention it. If we were to add up UN missions and MFO missions, I really wonder what the total would be for all countries? It also brings up the point of what they are allowed to do and NOT do - they carry weapons, but mostly just for self-defense. In some cases, they really are just observers.



>Hi tracy,
>
>It got me stumped. I'd like to know what the definition of this list is. Currently (as noted in a dutch article at october the 20th) there are 1.400 - 1.500 dutch troops in uruzgan alone, while your list says a total of 50 of all missions.
>
>The explanation might be that dutch missions are not counted as UN missions, but as international forces. I'd expect something simular for other european countries.
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>Walter,
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>
>
>
>>SNIP
>>>As for other european countries not being involved in military action, I think you might be mistaken. About 90% of peace keeping missions is done by european forces.
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>>Are you sure of your percentages? I read an article for Oct 2006 on the UN's website (they break it down monthly) that stated otherwise:
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>>http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/2006/oct06_1.pdf
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>>Wikipedia has:
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>>Despite the large number of contributors, the greatest burden continues to be borne by a core group of developing countries. The 10 main troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations as of February 2006 were Bangladesh (10,126), Pakistan (9,797), India (9,290), Nepal (3,510), Jordan, Ethiopia, Uruguay, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.[2]
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>>About 4.5% of the troops and civilian police deployed in UN peacekeeping missions come from the European Union and less than one per cent from the United States (USA). The biggest contributor from a western country is Poland with 707 peacekeepers, in 21st place. The USA ranks 31st with 393 peacekeepers, although it pays more than 26 per cent of the costs. The EU combined have 4,421 peacekeepers.
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>>The head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno, has reminded Member States that “the provision of well-equipped, well-trained and disciplined military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping operations is a collective responsibility of Member States. Countries from the South should not and must not be expected to shoulder this burden alone”.
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>>The United States provided 26% of the UN peacekeeping budget in 2006.[3] As of February, 2006, there were 372 US personnel (8 troops, 347 civilian police, and 17 observers)[2] in worldwide UN peace operations, accounting for 0.5% of the total UN peacekeepers. Current deployments include the Balkans, East Timor, and the Sinai Peninsula.
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