Peacekeeping and Disaster Relief: Time to Rethink Japan’s International Cooperation from the Basics
CHINO Keiko / Journalist
August 22, 2017
It has been 30 years since Japan first dispatched its Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) team for natural and man-made disasters in the world. It has been 25 years since the International Peace Cooperation Act (the Act on Cooperation with United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Other Operations) was enacted and the Japan Self-Defense Forces started participating in peacekeeping operations. In this double milestone year, Japan’s international cooperation is coming to a turning point.
With the enactment of the International Peace Cooperation Act in 1992, a demarcation line was drawn between UN Peacekeeping Operations for disasters caused by conflicts, and Japan Disaster Relief for other disasters. Further, it was made possible for Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) personnel to join JDR teams as necessary in case of large-scale disasters.
JDR, legislated in 1987, has been responding to growing needs in recent years, given the frequent occurrence of world-scale disasters and the emergence of new types of disasters such as infectious diseases. The Infections Disease Response Team, inaugurated in 2015, was deployed shortly thereafter for the yellow fever outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time of the great earthquake in Nepal in 2015, which claimed nearly 9,000 lives, some 260 personnel were dispatched, including rescue and medical teams and a JSDF medical relief team.
This year, the JDR teams have been dispatched following the collapse of the garbage dump in Sri Lanka and for the forest fire in Chile. Thus JDR has been involved in a variety of activities.
“Discipline, morale and high disaster-response capacity as well as the willingness to act on the same eye level as the local people. These are the reasons why the JDR teams are well received”, says Toshihide Kawasaki, Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who coordinates the dispatching of JDR teams.
Exactly the same assessment applies to the JSDF personnel, whose participation in peacekeeping operations started 25 years ago. Ironically, though, since the withdrawal last May of the JSDF troops from the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), there have been no JSDF troops dispatched for UN peacekeeping operations. This puts Japan considerably behind China, which, like Japan, first participated in the peacekeeping operations in Cambodia, but now deploys 2,500 troops for peacekeeping worldwide.
One reason for this is the broadening evolution of peacekeeping. When Japan first participated in Cambodia, it was “first-generation” peacekeeping. Today, it is already “fourth-generation”, of which peacebuilding is the main component and protection of civilians is of increasing importance. This means that there are in fact fewer and fewer cases of peacekeeping that are compatible with Japan’s self-proclaimed five basic principles setting forth the conditions for participation in the UN Peacekeeping Forces.
However, if we look at the realities of conflicts and disasters in the world, it is clear that there is a heightening need for countries to cooperate and act in concert, despite the tide of assertive self-interest. Emergency Relief Coordinator Kawasaki testifies to the increasing importance of on-site international coordination in international emergency relief. As disasters increase, there arise more and more cases where relief teams arbitrarily enter the site before preparations are made to receive them, or groups and individuals without adequate relief capability rush to descend on the site.
The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are actively working on the standardization and evaluation of systems and capacities, the guidelines for nurturing common perceptions and the introduction of certification systems. Japan, for its part, should spare no effort to study and prepare for these proposals in order to respond to them positively.
Regional meetings are becoming increasingly important. Japan, with more knowledge and expertise on disasters than others, is well placed to exert greater leadership.
At the same time, we need to resolve the problem of zero JSDF troops deployed for peacekeeping. Not that we must rush to send JSDF troops regardless of circumstances. Contribution to peacekeeping is not limited to JSDF troops; Japanese police were dispatched for the peacekeeping operations in Cambodia. But, compared to the time of Cambodia, there is much less animation in the public mood. The lackadaisical approach of “Leave it to the JSDF to decide.” seems to have caused the decline of the people’s sense of ownership on international cooperation through peacekeeping. Can we allow the Five Principles to continue to keep Japan “a lap behind” in the international arena? More fundamentally, to what end does Japan engage in international cooperation?
It is time to rethink these questions on international cooperation from the basics.
Keiko Chino is a freelance journalist, Guest Columnist of the Sankei Shimbun. This has been adapted from the article originally appearing in the Shisen (Perspective) column of Sankei Shimbun of July 31, 2017.)
With the enactment of the International Peace Cooperation Act in 1992, a demarcation line was drawn between UN Peacekeeping Operations for disasters caused by conflicts, and Japan Disaster Relief for other disasters. Further, it was made possible for Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) personnel to join JDR teams as necessary in case of large-scale disasters.
JDR, legislated in 1987, has been responding to growing needs in recent years, given the frequent occurrence of world-scale disasters and the emergence of new types of disasters such as infectious diseases. The Infections Disease Response Team, inaugurated in 2015, was deployed shortly thereafter for the yellow fever outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time of the great earthquake in Nepal in 2015, which claimed nearly 9,000 lives, some 260 personnel were dispatched, including rescue and medical teams and a JSDF medical relief team.
This year, the JDR teams have been dispatched following the collapse of the garbage dump in Sri Lanka and for the forest fire in Chile. Thus JDR has been involved in a variety of activities.
“Discipline, morale and high disaster-response capacity as well as the willingness to act on the same eye level as the local people. These are the reasons why the JDR teams are well received”, says Toshihide Kawasaki, Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who coordinates the dispatching of JDR teams.
Exactly the same assessment applies to the JSDF personnel, whose participation in peacekeeping operations started 25 years ago. Ironically, though, since the withdrawal last May of the JSDF troops from the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), there have been no JSDF troops dispatched for UN peacekeeping operations. This puts Japan considerably behind China, which, like Japan, first participated in the peacekeeping operations in Cambodia, but now deploys 2,500 troops for peacekeeping worldwide.
One reason for this is the broadening evolution of peacekeeping. When Japan first participated in Cambodia, it was “first-generation” peacekeeping. Today, it is already “fourth-generation”, of which peacebuilding is the main component and protection of civilians is of increasing importance. This means that there are in fact fewer and fewer cases of peacekeeping that are compatible with Japan’s self-proclaimed five basic principles setting forth the conditions for participation in the UN Peacekeeping Forces.
However, if we look at the realities of conflicts and disasters in the world, it is clear that there is a heightening need for countries to cooperate and act in concert, despite the tide of assertive self-interest. Emergency Relief Coordinator Kawasaki testifies to the increasing importance of on-site international coordination in international emergency relief. As disasters increase, there arise more and more cases where relief teams arbitrarily enter the site before preparations are made to receive them, or groups and individuals without adequate relief capability rush to descend on the site.
The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are actively working on the standardization and evaluation of systems and capacities, the guidelines for nurturing common perceptions and the introduction of certification systems. Japan, for its part, should spare no effort to study and prepare for these proposals in order to respond to them positively.
Regional meetings are becoming increasingly important. Japan, with more knowledge and expertise on disasters than others, is well placed to exert greater leadership.
At the same time, we need to resolve the problem of zero JSDF troops deployed for peacekeeping. Not that we must rush to send JSDF troops regardless of circumstances. Contribution to peacekeeping is not limited to JSDF troops; Japanese police were dispatched for the peacekeeping operations in Cambodia. But, compared to the time of Cambodia, there is much less animation in the public mood. The lackadaisical approach of “Leave it to the JSDF to decide.” seems to have caused the decline of the people’s sense of ownership on international cooperation through peacekeeping. Can we allow the Five Principles to continue to keep Japan “a lap behind” in the international arena? More fundamentally, to what end does Japan engage in international cooperation?
It is time to rethink these questions on international cooperation from the basics.
Keiko Chino is a freelance journalist, Guest Columnist of the Sankei Shimbun. This has been adapted from the article originally appearing in the Shisen (Perspective) column of Sankei Shimbun of July 31, 2017.)
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
国際協力（PKOとJDR）は原点に立ち戻って考える時
千野境子 / ジャーナリスト
2017年 8月 22日
日本が世界の自然・人的災害に国際緊急援助隊（JDR）を派遣して今年で３０年。また国連平和維持活動（PKO）協力法の成立と自衛隊のPKO参加からも２５年。揃って節目を迎えた国際協力は今、曲がり角に直面している。
両者は１９９２年のPKO協力法の成立により、紛争起因の災害はPKOが、それ以外はJDR、そして大規模災害は自衛隊が必要に応じてJDRチームに入るよう棲み分けされた。
１９８７年に発足したJDRは世界規模での災害の頻発、感染症はじめ新型災害の出現などにより近年はニーズが増大。１昨年発足した感染症対策チームは早速、コンゴにおける黄熱病対応のために派遣されたし、死者９千人近くを出した２０１５年のネパール大地震では救助・医療チーム、自衛隊医療援助隊など約２６０人が派遣された。
今年はすでにスリランカのごみ処分場の堆積物崩落やチリの森林火災にも出動するなど活動分野も多彩だ。
「規律やモラル、そして災害対応能力の高さ。また現地の人と同じ目線で行動することも好評の理由です」とJDRの派遣の調整などに当たる外務省の川崎敏秀国際緊急援助官は語る。
この評価はPKO参加２５周年の自衛隊にもそっくり当てはまる。だが皮肉なことに自衛隊部隊は今年５月に南スーダンの国連派遣団（UNMISS）から撤収したためPKOへの部隊派遣はゼロとなり、日本と同様にカンボジアPKOに初めて参加し、現在２５００人を派遣する中国と比べて大きな差がついてしまった。
理由の一つにはPKO自体の変貌がある。日本が初参加したカンボジアの時代に第1世代だったPKOはすでに第４世代。平和構築が主流となり、文民保護の重要性も増し、日本独自のPKO参加５原則に合うようなPKOがそもそも減ったのだ。
しかし世界の紛争や災害の現状を見れば、自国第一主義の潮流が台頭する中でも、国際協力や国際協調の必要性がむしろ高まっていることは明らかだ。
川崎緊急援助官も国際緊急援助の現場では「国際調整の重要性がますます高まっている」という。災害の増加に伴い、受け入れ体制が整う前に現場に勝手に入ったり、支援能力のない団体・個人が来たりするケースが増えているからだ。
国連人道問題調整事務所（OCHA）や世界保健機関（WHO）は体制・能力の標準化や評価、共通認識醸成のためガイドラインや認証制度導入に力を入れており、日本もこれに対応するため準備や研鑽が欠かせない。
地域会合の重要度も増している。日本はどこの国よりも災害の知見を持つだけに、さらなるリーダーシップを発揮したい。
一方PKOは部隊派遣ゼロの解消が課題だ。しかしそれは「自衛隊派遣ありき」ではない。PKOは自衛隊に限らず、カンボジアでは警察も派遣された。そのカンボジアPKOの時のような熱気が社会に希薄なのは、「自衛隊にお任せ」のような現状がPKOによる国際協力への国民の当事者意識を後退させているからではないか。また〝周回遅れ〟となった５原則はこのままでよいのか。そしてそもそも日本は何のために国際協力をするのか。いま一度国際協力の原点に立ち戻って考える時のように思う。
（筆者はフリーランスジャーナリスト、産経新聞客員論説委員。本稿は産経新聞７月３１日付コラム「視線」に掲載された記事を加筆・修正した。）
両者は１９９２年のPKO協力法の成立により、紛争起因の災害はPKOが、それ以外はJDR、そして大規模災害は自衛隊が必要に応じてJDRチームに入るよう棲み分けされた。
１９８７年に発足したJDRは世界規模での災害の頻発、感染症はじめ新型災害の出現などにより近年はニーズが増大。１昨年発足した感染症対策チームは早速、コンゴにおける黄熱病対応のために派遣されたし、死者９千人近くを出した２０１５年のネパール大地震では救助・医療チーム、自衛隊医療援助隊など約２６０人が派遣された。
今年はすでにスリランカのごみ処分場の堆積物崩落やチリの森林火災にも出動するなど活動分野も多彩だ。
「規律やモラル、そして災害対応能力の高さ。また現地の人と同じ目線で行動することも好評の理由です」とJDRの派遣の調整などに当たる外務省の川崎敏秀国際緊急援助官は語る。
この評価はPKO参加２５周年の自衛隊にもそっくり当てはまる。だが皮肉なことに自衛隊部隊は今年５月に南スーダンの国連派遣団（UNMISS）から撤収したためPKOへの部隊派遣はゼロとなり、日本と同様にカンボジアPKOに初めて参加し、現在２５００人を派遣する中国と比べて大きな差がついてしまった。
理由の一つにはPKO自体の変貌がある。日本が初参加したカンボジアの時代に第1世代だったPKOはすでに第４世代。平和構築が主流となり、文民保護の重要性も増し、日本独自のPKO参加５原則に合うようなPKOがそもそも減ったのだ。
しかし世界の紛争や災害の現状を見れば、自国第一主義の潮流が台頭する中でも、国際協力や国際協調の必要性がむしろ高まっていることは明らかだ。
川崎緊急援助官も国際緊急援助の現場では「国際調整の重要性がますます高まっている」という。災害の増加に伴い、受け入れ体制が整う前に現場に勝手に入ったり、支援能力のない団体・個人が来たりするケースが増えているからだ。
国連人道問題調整事務所（OCHA）や世界保健機関（WHO）は体制・能力の標準化や評価、共通認識醸成のためガイドラインや認証制度導入に力を入れており、日本もこれに対応するため準備や研鑽が欠かせない。
地域会合の重要度も増している。日本はどこの国よりも災害の知見を持つだけに、さらなるリーダーシップを発揮したい。
一方PKOは部隊派遣ゼロの解消が課題だ。しかしそれは「自衛隊派遣ありき」ではない。PKOは自衛隊に限らず、カンボジアでは警察も派遣された。そのカンボジアPKOの時のような熱気が社会に希薄なのは、「自衛隊にお任せ」のような現状がPKOによる国際協力への国民の当事者意識を後退させているからではないか。また〝周回遅れ〟となった５原則はこのままでよいのか。そしてそもそも日本は何のために国際協力をするのか。いま一度国際協力の原点に立ち戻って考える時のように思う。
（筆者はフリーランスジャーナリスト、産経新聞客員論説委員。本稿は産経新聞７月３１日付コラム「視線」に掲載された記事を加筆・修正した。）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟