CIAO DATE: 04/2012
October 2011
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Contrary to some predictions of decline in United Nations (UN) involvement in peacekeeping (alongside the increasing role of regional organizations), the last decade has been characterized by a constant increase in personnel deployed in UN peacekeeping operations, demonstrating both the legitimacy of the UN for this type of activity, and its flexibility and adaptability. More precisely, the wide range of instruments at the disposal of the UN in the field of conflict management makes it a permanent option as well as a facilitator of burden sharing among organizations. Learning the lessons of the 1990s operations, the UN has also gone through a process of reform and rationalization that has enhanced its comparative advantage, at a time when other security organizations, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), are facing difficulties in adapting to the new environment. In the meantime, contemporary UN peace operations are faced with obstacles that pertain, inter alia, to their political and operational nature. At the political level, peace operations are dependent on states’ policies and their propensity to provide the type of support required, be it in the Security Council or among Troop and Police Contributing Countries (TCCs/PCCs). At the operational level, UN operations’ success is largely determined by the clarity of their mandates and underlying strategic objectives, the nature and quality of military and civilian capabilities provided, and the ability of the UN Secretariat to plan and run the operations.
Resource link: For a Renewed Consensus on UN Peacekeeping Operations [PDF] - 520K