“It has been documented on several occasions: soldiers deployed by the UN end up torturing the civil population they are supposed to protect and help”. This face has been pointed in a research paper written by, Dr. Claus Kold, a senior researcher at the Denmark-based Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY).
He goes on to say, “While it may seem somewhat likely that, soldiers in war operations end up torturing a much hated enemy, it seems profoundly at odds with the basic values and goals of a UN peace operation”.
So, why do soldiers deployed in UN peace operations end up torturing, he asks.
Born in 1959, Dr. Claus Kold, earned his MA in sociology in 1989 at Copenhagen University, “Soldier or Workman – On the Violent Learning Processes in both Institutions during the Middle Ages”. He earned his Doctorate in 2003 at Roskilde University. The title of the dissertation of his PhD was, “An Enemy – to be helped: A Field Study of Military Leadership in the Danish Defence’s Peace Operations in Kosovo.”
In an interview he said, “…..because it was not possible to study peace and conflict research in Denmark I studied sociology, with a focus on peace and conflict research. I also studied in Lund at LUPRI.”
“From 1993 to 1999 I worked in a lot of parallel activities. I worked at the Danish Police School as a development consultant and as a teacher in sociology and conflict resolution. At the same time from 1995 to 1998 I was employed at Roskilde University as a teacher at the Institute for Management and Administration,” he added.
In a paper which will appear in the coming issue of the Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives, Kold extensively examines the military torture by the UN peacekeeping forces. In the concluding remarks he says, “…..military torture in UN peace operations is related to the professionalization of soldiers and to the type of recruitment of soldiers. Thus the reasons and dynamics of torture vary with these factors.”
He further argues that “part of military torture in UN peace operations is related to the identification with the military vertical esprit de corps and in the horizontal social cohesion. This identification process creates a military profession which rest on values, attitudes and identities that finds its ethics and reason for being in war operations. Due to this objective, part of the military identity produces an estrangement towards the enemy, and as a possible bi-product also an estrangement towards the civilian local population.”
“The values, attitudes and identities Abrahamsson (Military Professionalization and Political Power — By Bengt Abrahamsson) presented, seem still to be active, even in peacekeeping operations,” he concluded.
Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives is a bi-monthly magazine which focuses on torture and its related issues globally. The new issue of the magazine will be published soon. Writers interested in having their research on this subject published, may submit their articles to torturemag@ahrc.asia
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