Casques bleus de l'ONU : Soldats pour la paix - C'est pas sorcier [Intégrale]

Iraq, Sudan, Chechnya, Afghanistan... There's war everywhere. Well, we should ban war. You're right, Jamy. But you know that war is already banned. It's written in black and white in the UN Charter. Does the UN mean anything to you? Of course. The United Nations Organization. The Blue Helmets, the famous soldiers of peace. Where are you, Fred? I'm in Lebanon. It's been years since the Blue Helmets have been here. But something tells me that they have a hard time bringing peace. Come on, join me. I'm in Beirut. Come on, Marcel. Let's go to Lebanon. Welcome to Beirut, Jamy. The capital of Lebanon, with its seaside, its beaches, its palm trees and its luxury residences. But Beirut is also that. Ruined buildings, houses destroyed by successive wars and attacks. It's a little cold in the back. Yeah, and it's even a little scary. Well, Jamy, excuse me, but I have an important meeting in the south of the country. Really? And who are you meeting with? With the Blue Helmets, Jamy. You know, they are also called the soldiers of peace of the UN. There are absolutely everywhere in the south of Lebanon. They are here to maintain peace at the Lebanese-Israeli border. And that's not yesterday. They arrived in 1978. Because, unfortunately, for the past 30 years, Lebanon has lived more often in war than in peace. So, of course, there are periods of calm, during which we take the opportunity to rebuild houses and roads. But there are always new clashes, new bombings. And everything has to be redone. Have you seen the state of the roads and bridges? In my opinion, Jamy, you're going to have a hard time getting through. No problem, Fred. We stay here. And in the meantime, we're going to take a look at the map to see where we stand. Lebanon is here. Where? I don't see anything. You have to say that Lebanon is a very small country, not bigger than a French department. Capital, Beirut, like its neighbors, Syria and Israel. It is on the edge of the Mediterranean, in the so-called Near East region. A region that is often talked about, unfortunately, rarely in the good news section. And that's not today. At the end of the 1970s, Palestinian refugees attacked Israel from the south of Lebanon, soon relayed by Lebanese armed groups. Each time, the Israeli retaliation is even more deadly. And each time, the Blue Helmets fail to avoid war. Beirut under bombs in 1982. Beirut under bombs in 2006. This time, the war is triggered by the Hezbollah, a Lebanese political and religious movement, but also an army militia that is not frankly pacifist. On the one hand, the Hezbollah shoots rockets at Israel. On the other, Israel retaliates with its tanks and planes. Nearly 2,000 people were killed during this new war. And here we are, Jamy, we are in Nakoura, in the south of Lebanon. This is where the Blue Helmets headquarters is located. More precisely, the command post of the AFINUL. It is huge, it extends over almost 2 km long. AFINUL is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Today, it brings together more than 12,000 soldiers. Italians, Spaniards, Ghanaians, Germans, Indians and, of course, French. Hi guys! So let's be clear, the soldiers who are here do not constitute the UN army, since the UN does not have an army. No, in fact, it is the member countries of this international organization who make their military personnel available and their equipment for peacekeeping missions. And what is blue? Blue is the color of the UN flag. And look, blue also allows you to identify these soldiers who are not there to hide and wage war, but on the contrary, to be seen and maintain peace. To understand all this deployment of forces, let's go back to events that have shaken the region over the past 30 years. In the 1980s, to protect themselves from attacks launched from southern Lebanon, Israel decided to occupy this area of ​​southern Lebanon, a strip of land about 15 km wide, despite the UN protests and the presence of the Blue Helmets. In 2000, after fierce negotiations, the Israeli army finally decided to pack up and withdraw beyond a line set up by the UN, the Blue Line, which passes only 2 km from where Fred Nakura is. This blue line is not really a border, it is a demarcation line that separates the two countries. The Blue Helmets remain in place to ensure that no one crosses this line. Alas, despite their presence, the two camps will not respect their commitments and in 2006, one and the other will cross this line. After 34 days of war, the fighting ceases. Since then, the UN has strengthened its presence and, as you can see, expanded its control zone. And you know, Jamy, that on this whole zone, controlled by the Finul, there are many military bases, about fifty. Here I am on the base of Der Kifa. Der Kifa is a small village located in the middle of the mountains and this is where the French Blue Helmets established their headquarters. And of course, this base, like the other bases in the Finul area, is placed under the command of the Nakura headquarters, where I was earlier. But that's not all! The Nakura headquarters is located under the orders of New York. Why New York? Because that's where the UN headquarters is located. Did you understand the little voice? Did you hear me? Two out of five. Well, Jamy, you explain to him. I'm going on patrol on the blue line. Come on, let's go! See you later! That's it, Fred, see you later. I'm sure this background tells you something. These are the buildings of the UN in New York, the Organization of the United Nations, which was founded in 1945, after the Second World War, so that such a tragedy does not happen again. So the UN is made up of three main entities. First, the General Assembly. It brings together 192 countries on the planet, almost all of them, and all are housed at the same headquarters. In concrete terms, to make decisions, resolutions, as they say in jargon, these countries vote, each having only one voice, whatever its size. The problem is that the General Assembly has a little trouble being heard. As far as peacekeeping is concerned, for example, these decisions are rarely followed by facts. Let's continue our visit. This is the General Secretariat, the place where UN officials work, including the Secretary-General. So be careful, he's not the super-boss of the planet. To put it bluntly, he doesn't even have much power. That said, he is very influential. And like the General Assembly, when things go really bad, he can seize the Security Council. This is where power really is. This Security Council is made up of 15 members. Ten are elected by the General Assembly for two years, and five members are permanent. These are China, the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom. These countries were designated in 1945 because they were important, they still are, and also because they had the good idea not to lose the Second World War. So together, the members of the Security Council vote on resolutions. Stop the fire, economic sanctions, send Blue Helmets. And here, we're not kidding with this kind of decision. Hey, Jamy, come and see, there's something I don't understand. If your Security Council is that strong, why doesn't it force everyone to make peace, once and for all? Well, for a resolution to be made, at least nine members must vote yes. The others vote no or abstain, as is the case here. Ten yes, five no. That said, this majority is not always enough. If a permanent country puts its veto, well, the majority of the nine members may be reached, but the sole veto of a permanent member prevents the adoption of the resolution. In other words, for the UN to act, the five permanent members must agree with each other. Not easy, during the Cold War, between Americans and Soviets. In 1956, however, Blue Helmets were deployed for the first time on the ground, in Egypt. But during the same year, the UN closes its eyes when the USSR sends its tanks to Hungary to repress a popular uprising. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the five permanent members are easier to reach. But disagreements still exist, despite the efforts of the Secretary General. Since 2007, it's the South Korean Ban Ki-moon who is at the head of the UN. So it's nice to take resolutions in New York, but they still need to be applied on the ground. And it's precisely the work of the Blue Helmets. Here, in southern Lebanon, the Security Council Resolution 1701 gives them two main missions. To respect ceasefire between the militias of Hezbollah and the Israeli army, and to prevent any violation of this blue line, which is right there, next to us. Hence the importance of these patrols, of surveillance of the Blue Helmets. There are about 250 per day. Well, when I say per day, it's still day and night. Come on, we can't be closer to the blue line. So, Captain, if I understand correctly, this is Lebanon, and just behind, this is Israel. Exactly. Between Lebanon and Israel, two things. The Blue Line and the Technical Fence. Okay, so what is this Technical Fence? The Technical Fence is a fence that was laid by the Israelis to prevent incursions from Lebanon to Israel. Is it an electronic fence? It's a physical fence, and an electronic fence with sensors to see if someone approaches the fence. What is your mission on this line? Well, during our patrol, our mission is to unmask all signs of war activity, on both sides, preparations, provocations, all kinds of things. Did you assist groups or people trying to cross this line? Well, during a patrol, we saw a Lebanese civilian who was arrested by the Israeli army about a meter after the fence. Yes, because the track is right there. The patrols pass right behind us. The tension is really palpable along the Blue Line. This line even cuts a village in two. In other places, it is not materialized. And to add to the confusion, its path does not always correspond to that of the Israeli electronic fence, here in red. The Blue Helmets are trying to appease these quarrels of neighbors that can quickly turn into direct confrontation. Another problem, the weapons of Hezbollah. The issue of disarmament is very sensitive. It is an internal problem. It is up to Lebanon to solve it through dialogue. This was part of the problems discussed during the national meeting. Resolution 1701 has nothing to do with the weapons of Hezbollah. We will not tolerate anyone disarming Hezbollah. The Blue Helmets did not actually receive this mission. Today, Hezbollah is still armed, probably more than before. Here we are in Bint Jbeil, one of the cities most affected by Israeli bombings during the conflict of the summer of 2006. And for good reason, we are in the heart of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is an Islamic militia, but it is also a political party very much appreciated by the inhabitants of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah helps, for example, to pay for the education of children, or to pay for medical care. But that's not all. Did you see these inscriptions? This means that Hezbollah will pay for the reconstruction of these houses. In short, almost everyone here claims to be part of Hezbollah, without taking up arms. But in fact, they consider Israel as the enemy. Israel, by the way, does them good. And in the middle of all this, there are the Blue Helmets, who are neutral only to ensure peace. And you know, Jamy, in my opinion, this situation may last a long time. Oh yes. In Lebanon, the Blue Helmets have the mission to solve problems in a peaceful way. They intervene in the framework of chapter 6 of the UN Charter, which can only be applied in a particular context. Example. Two camps like here are fighting. Following a UN resolution, they accept a ceasefire. The Blue Helmets will deploy at that moment, with the mission to ensure that this ceasefire is respected. Only, it can be long, this chapter 6, like a river novel. Let's take the example of Cyprus, a small Mediterranean island located just below Turkey. Cyprus is an ancient English colony where two communities live, one by the Greek, the other by the Turk. Originally, as you can see, the two communities lived scattered throughout the territory. After the departure of the English in 1960, they unfortunately started to fight. To such an extent that in 1974, the two populations separated. In the south, the Greek-speaking population, in the north, the Turk-speaking population. By virtue of chapter 6 of the UN Charter, the Blue Helmets then deployed between the two, creating a buffer zone. The problem is that since then, the two camps have never managed to agree to make peace. As a result, today, the Blue Helmets are still present in Cyprus and nothing says that the fights would not resume if they left the camp. So we find this type of mission intended for peacekeeping in several regions around the world. In the Western Sahara, in the African Horn, between Eritrea and Ethiopia, in the Eastern Timor, in Kashmir, etc. In any case, you know, Jamy, that here, the population does not fully trust the Blue Helmets. And that can be understood, because the presence of the UN did not prevent the villages from being destroyed. And then, in other countries, there were even massacres under the eyes of the Blue Helmets that could not intervene. Srebrenica, in Bosnia, does that remind you of anything? Yes, and it was in 1995. More than 7,000 men were killed by the Serbian army in Bosnia. Dutch Blue Helmets witnessed this genocide without doing anything. In New York, since the UN seat, no one has given them a clear order to intervene. It is also said that there was a passivity of the Dutch who could have taken the initiative to do something themselves. What we can say is that we have turned a blind eye to what happened and therefore we did not prevent it. It is certain that what happened in Srebrenica remains an important task on the reputation of the Blue Helmets and of the UN. To avoid reproducing the mistakes of the past, the Blue Helmets no longer hesitate to release heavy artillery. Here, for example, in Lebanon, the French came with 13 Charles Clair like this one, to show the Israeli militia and the Israeli army that the UN really has the means to intervene to bring peace. Come on, Jamy, we're going to do a little mission. Okay, it works, boys. For Lebanon, a strategic cell has also been set up at the UN headquarters in New York. On the ground, the military now receive clear orders and can react very quickly. So here we are still in the framework of chapter 6, that is, maintaining peace, but in the jargon we speak of chapter 6 reinforced. In other words, these tanks are a means of dissuasion that the Blue Helmets hope not to have used yet, even if they could, especially to protect civilian populations or to protect themselves in the context of legitimate defense. With chapter 6 reinforced, the Blue Helmets can also use force in the event of a threat to prevent an attack. For example, to fire on a group of men who are about to launch a missile. In any case, the decision to fire is a heavy responsibility for the Blue Helmets. It will be very difficult in practice if, for example, a village is bombed to repost if we are not able to identify very precisely where the shots are coming from or if we have identified this place but it is itself located in a village. We will not make the same mistakes as the people who are doing this attack and we will certainly not shoot blindly in a busy village. Hey Jamy, I'm here! Oh Jamy, I forgot to tell you something! What? Don't tell me you're driving the tank! Come on, don't worry! Wait, I'm getting closer! Well, we talked about chapter 6, but there is also chapter 7, and now it's serious! This is the only case in the eyes of the UN where war is legal. This chapter is currently applied, among others, in Haiti, Liberia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this case, the UN does not intervene to maintain peace, but to make peace. Stop! This is also what happened in 1991, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The Security Council then decided to attack the Iraqi army to free Kuwait. But unlike what is happening in Lebanon or Cyprus, it is not the Blue Helmets who intervened. The UN gave a mandate to a coalition, of which France and many other countries were part, for this coalition to intervene. Okay Jamy, but in 2003 the Americans intervened a second time in Iraq, and they did not have a UN mandate. It's true. France, supported by Russia and China, which considered that this war was not justified, threatened to use its veto. To prevent the vote of the Security Council from being unfavorable to them, the Americans and their allies therefore decided to intervene directly in Iraq without any resolution authorizing them. We can therefore consider that this war is illegal. Okay Jamy, I understand. Now I have another question to ask you. How is it that in some conflicts that make a lot of victims, the UN takes a crazy time to send the Blue Helmets or sometimes does not send them at all? You see, I think of Darfur, Sudan, Tibet, or even Chechnya. Darfur is a province of Sudan, in Africa. The UN took time to intervene because as part of Chapter 6, it had to authorize the Sudanese authorities to send Blue Helmets. However, Sudan opposed it for a long time. As part of Chapter 7, this authorization is not necessary. Only, the green light of the Security Council However, China, which is a permanent member and has interests in the region, opposed such a resolution. For Tibet and Chechnya, it's a bit the same thing. Tibet is a Chinese province. Chechnya is part of Russia. These two countries are permanent members of the Security Council. Therefore, they can block any UN intervention on their territory. Okay, Jamy, but then, we let people get killed. However, in Western countries, some think that if a dictator massacres his own population, he must intervene in this state, even against his will. And even if one of the permanent members of the Security Council opposes it. At home, in European countries, in rich countries, it is seen as a generous principle. We will help suffering populations. We will prevent a dictator from committing the irreparable. But in the South, and not only among dictators, including in large democratic countries like India and Brazil, for example, interference is seen as a way for rich countries, for northern countries, to practice, again, neo-colonialism. Thus, many blame the Americans for intervening in Iraq more for their own interests than to help the population. In short, the debate is endless. Another work of the Blue Helmets here, and it is at high risk, consists of polluting the fields and villages of all the explosives that were used during the war. We are not talking about mining, because it is not a mine, but a sub-ammunition bomb. We are equipped with protection. We must move very slowly and especially observe the field. Let's go. Pay attention to what you are doing. Observe. Do not focus on the colored stones. No problem. Take your time. Look a little more to the right. Just in front of us, Captain, we have a sub-ammunition. How does a sub-ammunition bomb work? The container that is launched either from artillery or from a plane opens, thus releasing sub-ammunitions. They are normally planned to explode when they reach the ground, but it is estimated that between 15 and 25% of them do not work and thus pollute the field. Okay, so that's a real crap, because it does not kill during the war, but it also kills after the war. We may move away a little. We will let the sappers work. Sergeant, did you see anything? It is estimated that Israel dropped 1 million sub-ammunitions on Lebanon during the 2006 war, and there it is almost 40% that would not have exploded immediately. Hezbollah also sent some to Israel. The most dangerous sub-ammunitions are directly destroyed on the spot. 3, 2, 1, go! But it will take decades to depollute everything. After the war, when we traveled through southern Lebanon, we saw sub-ammunitions everywhere, on the ground, hanging from trees in the fields, in the streets of cities, and this prevented the return of people who had fled during the war, who wanted to find their homes, who could not begin to clear since the sub-ammunitions could be hidden under each stone, who could not harvest the fields of olives or tobacco. More than 300 people would have been victims of these sub-ammunitions in Lebanon. When they do not kill, these sub-ammunitions lead to very serious mutilations, just like antipersonnel mines, which are intentionally concealed in the ground. Almost all victims are civilians, including many children. According to Handicap International, in the world, a person is a victim of antipersonnel mines every 30 minutes. So, Jamy, I wonder why antipersonnel mines are prohibited and not sub-ammunitions, because the principle may not be the same, but the consequences are the same. Antipersonnel mines have been prohibited since 1997 by the Treaty of Ottawa. The trouble, you see on this map, is that neither the United States, nor Russia, nor China, nor India, nor Pakistan, and so on, have signed this treaty. As a result, these weapons still risk making many victims. And yet, they have already polluted many regions around the world. They regularly make victims in Cambodia, at the border between India and Pakistan, in Chechnya, in Algeria, in Sudan, in Angola, in Nicaragua, and even in Chile. As for the sub-ammunition bombs, the famous BASM, well, indeed, they are not prohibited. They regularly make victims in Southeast Asia, in Afghanistan, in Chechnya, in the Balkans, in Lebanon, of course, and in many African countries. As for antipersonnel mines, under the pressure of their public opinion, several states demand today the prohibition of sub-ammunitions. In the end, the UN does not allow to avoid all these atrocities and all these wars, but without them, it would probably be worse. And the UN is not a world government. It can only do what the states that make it want. Well, Fred, what are you doing? I am meditating a sentence from the UN Charter, listen a little. We, people of the United Nations, resolve to preserve the future generations from the plague of war. Oh yeah, that's beautiful, on paper. Yes, but you see, I think there is still work to do. You're right. Come on, let's go home.