PREFACE

0001
In 1998, Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, wrote, "To stand still while the earth moves forward is to slide helplessly backward. The UN must face challenges which do not fit into a neat peacekeeping package: the volatile so called "grey area" operations. If the organisation fails to do this, as was the case in both Bosnia and Somalia, credibility will be eroded even further, and it will become increasingly difficult to find troop contributors."

When addressing approaches that seem most promising for future UN operations in volatile conflicts, he added: "If consent carries with it certain rewards, and the failure to consent carries certain costs, this obviously affects the decision as to whether consent will be granted ... Let us deal with the coercive aspect, the purpose of which is to intimidate recalcitrants into co-operating. (This was successfully accomplished in the case of UNITAF in Somalia, the Multinational Force in Haiti and, on a more limited scale, Operation Turquoise in Rwanda)."

Annan was clearly promoting a doctrinal approach which utilised a combination of consent promoting inducements and coercion. The approach is reflected in the doctrinal guidance offered in this working draft manual.

0002
The aim of this manual is to develop a doctrine to meet the challenges of what were described above as ‘grey area operations’.

0003
The consequences and conflict arising from the dissolution of the ‘empire’ were first felt in Africa. With the collapse of the Soviet empire and the end of the Cold War, those consequences are now being experienced in the Balkans and elsewhere in South East Europe. Ethnic and tribal conflict, the realignment of national borders and the mass migration and suffering of peoples have become endemic, and traditional peacekeeping doctrine, no matter how far it is stretched or widened, has proven inadequate to meet the challenge.

0004
Operational lessons that were first learned in Africa are now being learned by armies in Europe. This working draft manual is a compilation of those lessons and is a direct consequence of an African workshop held at the SADC Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe from 24-26 August 1999. This is the first step in a process designed to develop a common approach between African national military contingents for the conduct of ‘grey area operations’ or what are now commonly called peace support operations (PSOs). It should also provide the basis of a common doctrine for those donor nations who offer training assistance.

0005
Comments on the contents of this working draft, and suggestions for its improvement, updating and dissemination are most welcome. These can be addressed to: