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21. Cybersecurity and UN Peace Operations: Evolving Risks and Opportunities

Author:
Dirk Druet
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
This paper discusses the growing potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities of UN peace operations. Fast-moving changes in the cyber capabilities of state and non-state actors, the changing nature of asymmetric warfare, and the positioning of the UN in relation to global and regional geopolitics are increasingly placing peace operations in the crosshairs of complex cybersecurity threats. In parallel to these external trends, internal trends in missions’ intelligence, surveillance, and data management technologies also make them more vulnerable to cyber threats. At the same time, there are opportunities for missions to leverage cybersecurity infrastructure to support the implementation of their mandates, including in the areas of mediation and political settlements and the protection of civil society actors. The paper provides an overview of the cyber threats facing peace operations and opportunities to leverage cybersecurity tools for mandate implementation. It also documents the operational and policy challenges that have arisen and the Secretariat’s efforts to address them. It concludes with several recommendations for the UN as peace operations seek to operate in an increasingly fraught political and cybersecurity environment: The Secretariat should develop cross-cutting operational concepts and guidance for cyber threat assessments. The Secretariat should articulate its understanding of its duty of care for staff privacy and develop operational guidance and expertise for mitigating threats to privacy. When facilitating political processes, peace operations should consider whether cybersecurity measures will be equally effective in deterring hacking attempts by all parties to ensure they do not exacerbate “information asymmetries.” The UN should explore the boundaries around missions evading or obstructing surveillance or intrusion activities by host states to secure their operations. The Secretariat should mitigate the volume of data exposed to external systems, including by deploying UN-owned and UN-operated intelligence and surveillance devices when possible.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Cybersecurity, Risk, and Asymmetric Warfare
Political Geography:
Global Focus

22. The United Nations Support Office Model: Lessons from Somalia

Author:
Paul D. Williams
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
The UN support office model, developed over the past fifteen years in Somalia, has been a vital tool in enabling African Union (AU) missions to operate effectively. The UN support office in Somalia has performed essential functions, including logistical support, casualty evacuation, airlift, and long-distance resupply for AU forces. It is now being examined with increased interest to determine whether a similar support package might be deployed in other theaters. This report considers the conditions under which such a UN support package might be usefully deployed to assist non–UN-led peace operations and host state security forces in other contexts. First, it provides an overview and analysis of the two UN support offices in Somalia and their main activities. Second, it identifies the major lessons from the Somali case, focusing on the importance of integrated decision making, the scope and scale of the support package, accountability and compliance issues, personnel systems, and the need to prepare for the mission’s transition and eventual exit. Finally, it reflects on how a UN support package might be designed and deployed in other theaters beyond Somalia. The report concludes that the UN support office model is now a viable part of the UN’s conflict management toolbox for supporting non-UN peace operations. However, the overriding lesson from the Somali case is that this model can only work effectively if the principal partners accept shared responsibilities and shared accountabilities. If the principal partners cannot or will not deliver on their shared responsibilities and accountabilities, the support office model will break down. To avoid such a breakdown, the partners must develop a workable process for making collaborative and genuinely joint decisions. Another key issue to address in deploying this model elsewhere will be determining the UN’s role in building national security forces as part of its exit strategy.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Regional Organizations
Political Geography:
Africa and Somalia

23. The Protection and Promotion of Civic Space in UN Peacekeeping Operations

Author:
Lauren McGowan
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
UN peacekeeping operations have a vital role to play in protecting and promoting civic space. Shrinking civic space undermines human rights, generates instability, and impacts the ability of missions to execute their mandates. Supporting civic space is also connected to core areas of missions’ work, including support to political processes, the protection of civilians, and the promotion of human rights. This paper identifies how missions are contributing to the protection and promotion of civic space and the obstacles they face in doing so. It identifies how civic space has been reflected in mission mandates and analyzes whether the inclusion of explicit language on civic space has an impact on the work undertaken by missions. It also explores how missions have sought to protect and promote civic space and examines the challenges they face when engaging in these activities. Despite these challenges, the paper concludes that peacekeeping missions have unique advantages in protecting and promoting civic space, such as their ability to protect civilians and connect civic space initiatives to broader political mandates. Yet their efforts are not always part of a common strategy for promoting and protecting civic space. The paper offers four considerations to help guide future exploration of the topic: Policymakers should consider the utility of adding explicit language on civic space to mission mandates and weigh the risks and benefits. Missions should consider how to connect the dots between their different efforts related to civic space. Missions that have implemented more systematic approaches to monitoring civic space should gather lessons on whether and how this monitoring has impacted their ability to respond to civic space restrictions. The UN should improve reporting on the collective impact of activities related to civic space to illustrate the role missions play and their comparative advantages.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Protection, and Civic Space
Political Geography:
Global Focus

24. Connecting Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment in UN Peace Operations

Author:
Phoebe Donnelly and Evyn Papworth
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Activists and researchers have long called attention to the harm UN peacekeepers can cause to populations where they deploy, including through sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) of civilians in the host community. More recently, researchers have pointed out that some UN peacekeepers also commit sexual harassment (SH) and assault against their peacekeeping colleagues while deployed. Both forms of sexual abuse have similar root causes, including unequal power dynamics and the abuse of power differentials. Nonetheless, SEA and SH fall under different UN policies and mechanisms. This creates confusion for policymakers, UN peacekeepers, and victims or survivors of all backgrounds. It can also undermine prevention efforts, considering that many of the same factors enable both forms of abuse. This issue brief considers why the divide between SEA and SH has come about and whether it is still useful for UN peacekeeping. It maps existing UN mechanisms for addressing SEA and SH and identifies gaps in their application to various groups of victims. It also examines the influence of mission culture and leadership on SEA and SH. While there are important differences between SEA against host communities and SH against peacekeepers, the report argues for shifting toward the more holistic concept of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH). This could allow the UN to better prevent both SEA and SH by addressing the gendered power imbalances that lie at their root. It could also avoid creating false hierarchies of harm and ensure all victims of sexual abuse receive the same level of attention.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation, Women, Peace, and and Security (WPS)
Political Geography:
Global Focus