Peacekeeping contribution remains dismal

Canada was once the largest single contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. Today, according to Canadians for Peacekeeping‘s third annual factsheet on Canada and UN peacekeeping, we rank 53rd among contributing countries.

The ranking represents a slight drop in Canada’s position compared to late last year, when we were as high as 49th. Our position is still higher than our all-time low of 63rd, reached in 2007, but it remains far below our ranking in the years prior to the early 1990s, when Canada was frequently the largest contributor of personnel to UN peacekeeping.

There are currently about 100,000 military and police personnel from around the world serving on UN-led peacekeeping missions. As of July 2011, Canada’s contribution had fallen to a paltry 30 military and 142 police personnel, dropping us to 56th position among contributors.

Tags: Canadians for Peacekeeping, Defence policy, UN peacekeeping