The end of World War II marked an important turning point in Canada’s relations with the world. The outbreak of the war made it loud and clear that Canada cannot remain in isolationism. It proved that it is impossible to be untouched by events in other parts of the world. It meant that for Canada, the danger of being attacked was imminent.
Due to Canada’s abundant natural resources, new military might, size and political stability, Canada was one of the few nations that could help the war-shattered world. Canada’s involvement in numerous conflicts around the world accentuated its identity as a strong, loyal and independent country.
First Slide: New form of maintaining peace/ the UN
It was during World War II where the League of Nations
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This was a defining moment in Canadian history as Canada would soon become involved in several conflicts around the world starting with the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Second Slide: The Suez Crisis
In 1956, a situation arose which could easily have developed into a major war between the superpowers, being the United States and the Soviet Union. Egypt’s president, Abdel Nasser, decided to take over the Suez Canal from British and French Control. This canal was a vital trade route in the east. Ships could easily travel from ocean-to-ocean through the Suez Canal without sailing around Africa.
The Egyptian action of nationalizing the canal greatly alarmed Israel, Britain and France. And so, their response was to attack Egypt. However, the Soviet Union was a menace to these nations as it wanted to send missiles to support Egypt. The U.S warned that it would step in if the Soviet Union interfered. And so, an explosive situation was building.
In the meantime, the United Nations desperately searched for a solution to reduce the
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Although, it has cost millions of dollars over the years, most Canadians accept the role of Canada as a peacekeeper. Peacekeeping is a significant way Canada contributes to international stability.
But, what is peacekeeping?
Literally, peacekeeping means to keep peace. Peacekeeping differs from peacemaking. Peacemaking involves troops directly in armed combat. Its purpose it to bring the warring sides to peace by the use of force.
Peacekeepers are soldiers from different countries that are sent out by the UN to supervise opposing groups after a truce or ceasefire has been worked out. They act as a buffer between two sides and prevent shootings between the sides until an agreement is worked out by politicians. Peacekeepers must be neutral and if they favour one side over the other, they will not be trusted.
Furthermore, Peacekeepers work to protect civilians, guard humanitarian agents, and oversee elections in politically turbulent regions. They are also involved in emergency relief efforts providing security, medical supplies, and humanitarian
First, after declaring war, they sent troops to Europe but they were defeated in France and Belgium. This scared many Canadians, and encouraged them to support the war and enlist. Their army expanded and the First Canadian Army was formed in England under
As Canada’s economy progressed to become one of the largest in the world, their exports grew and by the end of the war they had the fifth largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. A fierce determination grew inside many Canadians after the failure at Dieppe where almost 60% of the men that landed on the beaches were killed, captured or wounded. Canadians believed that Dieppe had been a major disaster, which it was, but many British authorities deemed that “for every man that was killed in [the raid on] Dieppe saved the lives of 10 at Normandy.” Dieppe was a battle that Canadians never forgot, and it produced a determined country. After Normandy and the capture of Dieppe, they gave a parade in the middle of the war to those men who had died almost two years earlier.
The 20th century was a great year for Canada. Canada had great achievements during that century which made its name recognized. Canada’s most significant achievements are the Battle of Vimy Ridge, The On to Ottawa Trek and the D-Day invasion. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a great achievement that recognized Canada into its path of independence. This invasion was the first ever Canadian victory consisting of all Canada’s 4 divisions, each division containing 10,000 to 15,000 troops (“Army Units and Sizes” N.P.).
Britain was the mother of Canada, and it made most of Canada's decisions even though we gained our independence. Canada was prosperous in Vimy, and many other battles because we worked as one (team). There were other problems with Canada still, but the most important got solved. Now, Canada’s economy was low and was not doing well. At least Canada became one nation;
Unless someone/something is a dire threat to the country, peacekeeping was not obligation but an optional concern for Canada to take on. This was one of the reasons why Canada didn 't take the United Nations as seriously as it should have. Canada was always ready to contribute its all to the UN in the past but due to the lack of involvement Canada lowered on the rank.
In 1939, no one thought that women, who weren 't even considered people decades before, would have such a massive impact in the Second World War. Canadian women 's contribution to the war effort, and their role at the home front and overseas had greatly increased since the previous, devastating First World War. The Second World War brought change to Canadian women on an unpredictable scale, though their volunteer work, paid labour force, and their contributions in the armed forces. Surely without the contributions made by the Canadian women, Canada and her allies would not have been as successful as they were. By far, the prime contribution made by Canadian women to the war effort came through their unpaid labour as volunteer work.
During WWII, Canada played a crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic and the air war over Germany. They contributed troops to the allied forces and punched far above their weight for a small nation of then only 11 million people. Because of Canada’s oversized role in the War, it established itself as a middle power. This position helped define Canada in a number of ways, primarily being one of the first non-great powers to help build the United Nations. It earned respect from other countries and with The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Canada is well known for its peacekeeping efforts and contributions through peacekeeping. Yet, few of the population knows of Canada’s transition to peacemaking, and how Canada aims to return to keeping peace instead creating it. Peacekeeping first transitioned to peacemaking after the Cold War. The change caused public opinion to drop, resulting in Canada declining missions, and contributing less to the UN’s peacekeeping efforts. The Canadian government became unhappy with what Canada's Peacekeeping had become, and decided to take on and complete missions in a manner unlike the way that they were completed for years prior, but in a way alike peacekeeping once was.
World War 1 was a historic event which began in 1914 and ended in 1918. This bloody conflict took the lives of more than 17 million people who were fighting for their countries. Being a British colony at the time, Canada was dragged into the war that did not impact the country in any way, yet thousands of Canadians volunteered to devote their lives for their nation. The first World War had the greatest impact on Canadian history during the 20th century, as this event helped Canada gain more independence from Britain, it helped introduce women in the workforce, and also introduced non-white Canadians in the army. For the longest time, Canada had been under British control, however, this changed a bit after World War 1 took place.
As a country Canada’s strengths included, gaining autonomy through persevering and showing just how mature and ready Canadians were to be in charge of their own army; and be recognized as a separate country from Britain. Another one of Canada’s strengths was how calmly autonomy was achieved after the war. Canada did not need to make a fuss about becoming their own country because it was obvious that they were already ready for that. Their proof was presented in how they planned and executed their battles, and fought alongside Britain to successfully defeat
Peacekeepers also called upon to take on humanitarian role such as emergency aid, protecting and promoting human rights as well as monitor areas to ensure the safety of everyone providing a safe ground for opposing parties to settle arguments. One of the countries that partakes with peacekeeping is Canada.
Bayley’s article The Morphing of Peacekeeping: Competing Approaches to Public Safety, focused on how Peacekeeping missions seem to be headed towards using non-state actors to provide security more and national governments less. Bayley is very clear about the bottom line of why peace operations use non-state providers and that is people need to provide security. A peace operation cannot succeed where the civilians are not safe. Failed or failing states are unable to provide security in some cases. In other cases it's the state itself that is the cause of the conflict.
We all know that the necessity of peacekeeping and the importance of sound legal justification for the employment of use of force has been a key issue in international law since the days of Grotius and his “Just War” doctrine. Increasing interdependency of states and the authority the United Nations Charter and Security Council results in a complex system of law where the legality of use of force depends as much on defensibility of the act as it does on the rules of international law governing use of force. Moreover, the right of self-defense, along with the principle of invitation for peacekeeping force’s assistance, which delineates the border between legitimate and illegitimate uses of force. Here before knowing the essence of the use of
Introduction Humanitarian aid is about reaching out to save lives, reduce suffering and support human dignity in times of crisis. Getting help to people in need is usually difficult, always challenging and almost impossible. The four humanitarian principles emerged after the second world war to ensure that people that need help can get the help they need, whoever they are and whatever the challenge that is involved. The need to apply the principle of humanity is what drives organisations to ensure that humanitarian needs are met.
M. Bothe and T. Dorschel argue that “reference to officials in article 105 (2) UN Charter or the Convention on Privileges and Immunities could be construed broadly in line with its object and purpose, namely the ability of the organization to function independently . They contend that this could be extended to encompass UN military contingents given that they form part of a subsidiary organ of the United Nations and on grounds of functional necessity ”. And indeed, despite the SOFAs that confer the power of prosecution to troop-contributing country, the UN Peacekeepers act directly under the orders of United Nations. Therefore, they should be treated as its workers/staff