Brazil’s experience in humanitarian and peacekeeping missions under the United Nations (UN) was the focus of an event that brought together military personnel from the High Command of the Brazilian Navy, the Army, and the Air Force in Rio de Janeiro from
Brazil’s experience in humanitarian and peacekeeping missions under the United Nations (UN) was the focus of an event that brought together military personnel from the High Command of the Brazilian Navy, the Army, and the Air Force in Rio de Janeiro from November 17 to 19.
Officers from the Armed Forces of Member States of the Union of South American Nations (Unasul) also attended the “Seminar on Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Actions,” organized by the Marine Corps’ Doctrine Development Command (CDDCFN).
Ten years after Brazil’s Armed Forces assumed command of the pacification process in Haiti, the country has earned an important place as a global leader in peacekeeping. Brazil is now participating in 9 of the 16 missions led by the UN’s Department for Peacekeeping Operations. In addition, the country’s military is in charge of three of those missions –Haiti, Lebanon and Congo.
The Brazilian military provides its professionalism and resources to these missions, and in return, members of the Armed Forces gain important experience.
“Peace Missions help train marines,” COL Carlos Chagas Viana Braga, second-in-command of the General Command of the Marines, said at the conference. “It is a chance to have a real experience, a real operation where risks and threats are present. And in that way, the soldier and the Armed Forces themselves are constantly becoming better prepared to perform well in other activities. [Peace operations] contribute to preparation provided they are done right.”
Chagas has a great deal of experience in UN peacekeeping missions: he served as the assistant to Army Gen. Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, the first force commander of the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti
(MINUSTAH), in 2004.
UN peacekeeping missions guided by basic principles
Members of the Brazilian Armed Forces are able to rely on their military training when they join UN peacekeeping missions; they are skilled in and get further training in tactical force, intelligence gathering, and crowd control, all useful skills during peacekeeping missions.
Such efforts are undertaken with the consent of the nation where peacekeeping troops are sent. They’re guided by the concepts of impartiality and emphasize avoiding the use of force.
Admiral Júlio Soares de Moura Neto, Brazilian Navy commander, was also present at the seminar. During the event’s opening, he recalled that the Brazilian Navy has been in Haiti since February 28, 2004, even before the official start of MINUSTAH.
“[On that date] an operating group of Brazilian marines (fuzileiros navais) landed at Port-au-Prince with the goal of ensuring the safety of diplomatic facilities in the capital and performing the evacuation of Brazilian civilians,” he said.
During the seminar, member countries of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) also shared their experiences in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. The director of International Bodies for the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations (MRE), ambassador Paulo Roberto Campos Tarrisse de Fontoura, spoke about peace operations and Miguel Adolfo Munõz Barroza, deputy director for risk management at the Chilean Ministry of Interior and Public Safety’s National Emergency Office (ONEMI) spoke about the importance of experience in conducting humanitarian missions.
UN peacekeeping operations led by Brazil
The wide array of topics at the seminar reflected the range of UN peacekeeping efforts the Brazilian Armed Forces are currently leading in different parts of the world:
The Brazilian military leads the MINUSTAH, which includes more than 8,600 military personnel from 19 nations (over 2,000 from Brazil). The current commander is Brazilian Lt. Gen. José Luiz Jaborandy Júnior.
The Armed Forces of Brazil lead the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Brazilian Lt. Gen. Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz heads the peacekeeping force of 20,000 troops, who at times engage in confrontations with rebel groups in the eastern part of the country.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (FTM-UNIFIL) is led by Brazilian Rear Admiral Walter Eduardo Bombarda, who commands a fleet of nine ships from six nations. The objective of this peacekeeping mission is to suppress arms and munitions smuggling entering Lebanese territory via the Mediterranean Sea.
Brazil’s experience in humanitarian and peacekeeping missions under the United Nations (UN) was the focus of an event that brought together military personnel from the High Command of the Brazilian Navy, the Army, and the Air Force in Rio de Janeiro from November 17 to 19.
Officers from the Armed Forces of Member States of the Union of South American Nations (Unasul) also attended the “Seminar on Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Actions,” organized by the Marine Corps’ Doctrine Development Command (CDDCFN).
Ten years after Brazil’s Armed Forces assumed command of the pacification process in Haiti, the country has earned an important place as a global leader in peacekeeping. Brazil is now participating in 9 of the 16 missions led by the UN’s Department for Peacekeeping Operations. In addition, the country’s military is in charge of three of those missions –Haiti, Lebanon and Congo.
The Brazilian military provides its professionalism and resources to these missions, and in return, members of the Armed Forces gain important experience.
“Peace Missions help train marines,” COL Carlos Chagas Viana Braga, second-in-command of the General Command of the Marines, said at the conference. “It is a chance to have a real experience, a real operation where risks and threats are present. And in that way, the soldier and the Armed Forces themselves are constantly becoming better prepared to perform well in other activities. [Peace operations] contribute to preparation provided they are done right.”
Chagas has a great deal of experience in UN peacekeeping missions: he served as the assistant to Army Gen. Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, the first force commander of the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti
(MINUSTAH), in 2004.
UN peacekeeping missions guided by basic principles
Members of the Brazilian Armed Forces are able to rely on their military training when they join UN peacekeeping missions; they are skilled in and get further training in tactical force, intelligence gathering, and crowd control, all useful skills during peacekeeping missions.
Such efforts are undertaken with the consent of the nation where peacekeeping troops are sent. They’re guided by the concepts of impartiality and emphasize avoiding the use of force.
Admiral Júlio Soares de Moura Neto, Brazilian Navy commander, was also present at the seminar. During the event’s opening, he recalled that the Brazilian Navy has been in Haiti since February 28, 2004, even before the official start of MINUSTAH.
“[On that date] an operating group of Brazilian marines (fuzileiros navais) landed at Port-au-Prince with the goal of ensuring the safety of diplomatic facilities in the capital and performing the evacuation of Brazilian civilians,” he said.
During the seminar, member countries of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) also shared their experiences in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. The director of International Bodies for the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations (MRE), ambassador Paulo Roberto Campos Tarrisse de Fontoura, spoke about peace operations and Miguel Adolfo Munõz Barroza, deputy director for risk management at the Chilean Ministry of Interior and Public Safety’s National Emergency Office (ONEMI) spoke about the importance of experience in conducting humanitarian missions.
UN peacekeeping operations led by Brazil
The wide array of topics at the seminar reflected the range of UN peacekeeping efforts the Brazilian Armed Forces are currently leading in different parts of the world:
The Brazilian military leads the MINUSTAH, which includes more than 8,600 military personnel from 19 nations (over 2,000 from Brazil). The current commander is Brazilian Lt. Gen. José Luiz Jaborandy Júnior.
The Armed Forces of Brazil lead the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Brazilian Lt. Gen. Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz heads the peacekeeping force of 20,000 troops, who at times engage in confrontations with rebel groups in the eastern part of the country.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (FTM-UNIFIL) is led by Brazilian Rear Admiral Walter Eduardo Bombarda, who commands a fleet of nine ships from six nations. The objective of this peacekeeping mission is to suppress arms and munitions smuggling entering Lebanese territory via the Mediterranean Sea.
Dear Sir,
In the article, “Seminar discusses participation of Brazilian Armed Forces in UN peacekeeping missions”, there is a mistake. The name of the admiral that currently heads the mission in Lebanon is Rear Admiral Walter Eduardo Bombarda, since February 26, 2014.