UN desperately needs more peacekeeping troops: Annan

With demand for UN peacekeeping outpacing the supply of forces, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a plea to European countries to provide more troops, civilian workers and expertise to the world body's operations.

The UN said that it has around 56,000 troops and military observers deployed on operations at the moment, but it desperately needed another 30,000 more soldiers – as well as more civilians and police.

Despite Europe's economic wealth, less than one-tenth of all UN peacekeepers come from EU countries, while in Africa, that proportion drops to one in 20.

Speaking at the National Forum on Europe meeting in Ireland, Mr Annan said: "The EU is in a position to provide specialized skills that our largest troop contributors may not be able to give us, and to deploy more rapidly than we can."

The Secretary-General credited the French-led Operation Artemis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with saving lives and called it "a model of EU cooperation with the UN".

"In the last nine months, with five new operations either deployed or on the drawing board, the demand on our peacekeeping has jumped by about 50%," he added.

More troops would be needed to tackle the grave humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan, where fighting between government and rebel forces has left 50,000 people dead, and uprooted more than 1.45 million from their homes.

"The humanitarian effort needs more money, and the African Union (AU) needs concrete support - including logistics, equipment and financing, as well as political pressure on the parties. Every country and organization that can help must do so, now," Mr Annan said.

The Secretary-General praised Ireland's contribution to peacekeeping, and called on other European nations to follow that lead.

(gmcg/mb)