One of the defining features of Canada’s role in the world, both for Canadians and the international
community, has been our unflagging support for United Nations peacekeeping. Up until the beginning
of this decade, when the number of intrastate conflicts literally exploded, we boasted a perfect record,
having participated in all UN-sponsored peacekeeping missions.
That was a far simpler world. Actors were clearly identified, the missions were simple, and the rules
understood. The reality we faced in the aftermath of the Cold War
was radically different. Not only was the United Nations overwhelmed by the demands put on it by the
multiplication of conflicts, but it had to face a completely different type of situation — one for which it
was ill-equipped. The UN Secretary General’s An Agenda for Peace, its supplement (Boutros-Ghali
1992, 1995), and the Canadian report entitled Towards a Rapid Reaction Capability for the United
Nations (GOC 1995b) were among the first attempts to come to grips with a new breed of threat to
international security — a threat coming from within states rather than between them. These reports
also reflected a growing international preoccupation with human vulnerability and well-being — socalled
human security.
