[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 97 (Friday, June 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION ON INTERNATIONAL UNITED NATIONS 
                            PEACEKEEPING DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 15, 2007

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation 
commemorating the work of United Nations Peacekeepers by recognizing 
May 29 as International United Nations Peacekeeping Day.
  Since 1945, our U.N. Peacekeepers have aided in resolving a wide 
array of very complex regional conflicts across the globe. In many 
cases, these individuals have put themselves at great risk and indeed 
made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of a safer, more secure global 
community. Since its inception, the United Nations has undertaken 61 
field missions and helped implement 172 peaceful settlements. These 
missions have ended regional conflicts and enabled people in more than 
45 countries to take part in free and fair elections. More than 2,355 
individuals from 113 nations, including the United States, have given 
their lives to this cause.
  In the past 3 years alone, U.N. peacekeeping has helped to initiate 
missions in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Haiti, Burundi, Sudan, and East 
Timor, and bolstered the missions in the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo and Lebanon. These missions often come with difficult and complex 
mandates such as containing or preventing the outbreak of conflict and 
its spill-over across borders or helping implement peace agreements. In 
2005 alone, U.N. peacekeepers supported elections in five post-conflict 
countries, including Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq, Liberia, and the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through these efforts, over 56 
million people were allowed to cast votes.
  Currently, the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations has more 
than 100,000 troops and personnel deployed in 18 peacekeeping missions 
and 13 political missions worldwide, all with an annual budget of $6 
billion. This U.N. peacekeeping force has grown five-fold over the last 
10 years, reflecting not only the broad international support for U.N. 
peacekeeping, but also the U.S. support for new and expanded 
peacekeeping missions.
  In 2005, the Human Security Report, a major international study 
funded in part by the Rockefeller Foundation, judged that, perhaps 
contrary to popular belief, civil strife has plummeted 80 percent 
worldwide since the early 90s. It attributed that decline to the rise 
in international activism, in particular the increase in support for 
and deployment of U.N. peacekeeping missions and their growing 
complexity.
  The U.S. Office of Management and Budget recently granted all U.S. 
contributions made to international peacekeeping activities three-
stars, its highest rating. This distinction is reserved for 
expenditures that ``set ambitious goals, achieve results, are well-
managed, and improve efficiency.''
  Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to commend the work and 
courage of our U.N. peacekeepers around the globe and the logistical 
guidance provided by the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations. I 
hope you will join me in supporting this resolution drawing attention 
to these brave men and women and in honoring those who have sacrificed 
their lives in the name of international peace.

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