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	We are going where others do not want to go by Alain Le Roy Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations   The 18 United Nations peacekeeping operations worldwide are carrying out their work under circumstances that are often extremely difficult and in areas where no other major organizations or countries are prepared to be involved, the head of the world body’s missions says.   “We are going where others do not want to go,” Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy says. “Sometimes we are easy scapegoats. But on the contrary, on my field visits I see missions that in the vast majority of cases are being executed well.”   Mr. Le Roy, who took up his post in August, last month visited the Darfur region of western Sudan – now home to the joint UN-African Union mission known as UNAMID – and then this month travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the UN mission known as MONUC is responding to fierce recent fighting that has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.   In the interview he notes the scale of the task facing UN peacekeeping missions, which collectively have about 110,000 personnel and a budget of more than $7 billion.   “That is huge. There has been a very great increase in our engagements in recent years. Some think that we have perhaps reached the limits. Of course, it is the Security Council that decides on the missions and troop levels it gives us.”   Mr. Le Roy says the recent decision by the Security Council to boost MONUC’s numbers by another 3,000 troops and police officers “is clearly very important to help us fulfil our mandate,” especially in North Kivu province, the scene of much of the recent fighting.   But he adds that the mission’s current total of blue helmets – about 17,000 – is comparatively small given the sheer size of the DRC, one of Africa’s largest countries.   In Darfur, the Under-Secretary-General says the administrative problems experienced by UNAMID, which replaced an under-resourced AU-only monitoring mission at the start of the year, are in the process of being resolved. “On the other hand, the logistical aspect remains extremely complicated: the region is 2,500 kilometres from its nearest port and there are very few access roads.”
	As 104 states sign cluster bomb ban, funds for overall UN de-mining languish by United Nations News   December 2008   Dozens of nations sign up to UN-backed treaty banning use of cluster bombs.   Representatives of around 100 countries gathered in Oslo, Norway, today to sign an historic United Nations-sponsored treaty formally renouncing the use of cluster bombs, a weapon that frequently kills innocent civilians and cripples communities for decades after hostilities have ceased.   First used in World War II, cluster munitions contain dozens of smaller explosives designed to disperse over an area the size of several football fields, but often fail to detonate upon impact, creating large de facto minefields.   The failure rate makes these weapons particularly dangerous for civilians, who continue to be maimed or killed for years after conflicts end.   In his message to the signing conference, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged all governments to sign and ratify the Convention without delay, adding that the Convention indicates a significant and fundamental change in the position of many governments.   “The importance of this shift cannot be overemphasized,” Mr. Ban said. “A great number of governments present here today, some with considerable defence and peacekeeping responsibilities, have concluded that their policies were not in full concurrence with their international obligations and could jeopardize recovery and development efforts,” he added.   In addition to claiming casualties, cluster munitions contaminate arable land, kill livestock and destroy shelters, presenting ongoing barriers to economic recovery and development, according to a press release issued by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) today.   In Laos, for example, clearance operations are still ongoing more than 30 years after conflict left 75 million unexploded cluster bomblets across the country.   In Lebanon, cluster munitions were dropped on more than 48 million square metres of land in July and August 2006, killing and injuring over 300 civilians.   The Convention – negotiated by States that represent past and current producers, stockpilers and victims of cluster munitions – establishes important commitments regarding assistance to victims, clearance of contaminated areas and destruction of stockpiles.   Dec 2008   While 104 countries in Oslo signed an historic United Nations-sponsored treaty formally renouncing the use of cluster bombs, the larger effort to rid the world of all ordnance that kill and maim thousands of people years after they are laid is facing a gigantic shortfall, with less than 5 per cent of funding secured so far for 2009.   “Without full donor support many of Mine Action initiatives will have to be cancelled and more civilians will be at risk of losing limbs, lives and livelihood,” Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions Dmitry Titov told a news conference in New York, presenting the $459-million UN Mine Action Service portfolio for next year, with only $22 million raised so far.   “The portfolio of mine action projects is critical in our view to efforts to protect civilian populations and we urge again and again donors, traditional and untraditional ones, to step forward to help us meet this funding shortfall,” he said of the 300 projects to address the problem of land mines and explosive remnants of war in 33 countries and territories.   Of these, 32 deal with cluster munitions, which have gained added prominence with this week’s Oslo meeting. First used in World War II, they contain dozens of smaller explosives designed to disperse over an area the size of several football fields; 15 per cent of them fail to detonate upon impact, creating large de facto minefields. They have claimed over 10,000 lives, 98 per cent of them civilians, and 40 per cent of these children.   The Convention will enter into force after ratifications by 30 states, making its commitments to assist victims, clear contaminated areas and destroy stockpiles binding on its Parties.   Over the past year 72 countries were reported to be affected by landmines or the explosive remnants of war, and there were 5,426 casualties although the actual number may be much higher as there is often a problem with under-reporting. About one quarter of land mine victims worldwide are children and the country with the most casualties last year was Colombia.   Anti-personnel mines are not only used by governments. Last year, usage by non-state groups was reported in Afghanistan, Colombia, Ecuador, Iraq, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Peru and Sri Lanka.   Mr. Titov stressed that Mine Action also helped the safe deployment of peacekeepers in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon and Sudan.   “In Sudan over 25,000 kilometres of roads have been cleared extending the reach of peacekeeping operations and civilians even to areas where no cars or trucks have been seen in 30 years,” he said. “In Afghanistan, under the most difficult conditions, over 1 billion metres of land have been cleared, halving the number of casualties from unexploded ordnance and freeing up vital agricultural land for cultivation.”
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