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11. A New Vision for Peace Operations

Author:
Eugene Chen
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:
Over the past eight decades, United Nations (UN) peace operations have demonstrated themselves to be valuable tools for prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding. But they have also struggled to meet the expectations of their varied audiences, including the Security Council, host governments, and local populations. Many of these struggles stem from the supply-driven approach to how missions have been planned and deployed, which drives many of the shortcomings that are evident in missions today, such as sprawling mandates that are not focused on the political solutions necessary to resolve conflict, templated approaches to mission design and mandate implementation, and friction with other UN entities and organizations. Although these shortcomings are present throughout the mission lifecycle, they are particularly evident now with ongoing drawdowns and transitions in Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and as countries increasingly turn to alternatives to UN peace operations, such as peace enforcement and counterterrorism operations undertaken by regional organizations and ad hoc coalitions, despite their poor track record at fostering lasting peace. A new approach to peace operations is necessary to overcome these shortcomings, one that acknowledges that UN peace operations always operate in an environment alongside other actors and that no single entity or organization has the capacity and resources to tackle the full range of activities required to help a country towards sustaining peace. In advocating for a shift in the planning, design, and management of UN peace operations, this report provides ideas for how to implement recommendations from A New Agenda for Peace as well as considerations for the upcoming 2025 peacebuilding architecture review (PBAR). Elements of this approach can already be put into practice as part of transition contexts, where the Peacebuilding Commission and the General Assembly can play an important role in considering follow-on arrangements and how to provide countries with tailored packages of support to national prevention strategies. By allowing peace operations to better meet the expectations of key stakeholders such as the host government and Security Council while reducing friction with the UN country team and other actors, this new approach can help overcome the current crisis of confidence in UN peace operations and ensure that the UN can continue to play an important role in the maintenance of international peace and security in a time of increasing geopolitical contestation.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:
Global Focus

12. Unpacking Security Council Resolution 2719 (2023)

Author:
Eugene Chen
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:
The approval of a framework for the financing of African Union (AU) peace support operations (PSOs) by the United Nations (UN) Security Council on December 21, 2023, with the adoption of resolution 2719, represents significant progress in the development of the UN-AU partnership in peace and security as well as a commitment from the Security Council to support the adequate, predictable, and sustainable financing of AU-led PSOs. At the same time, the achievements of the negotiators in reaching this outcome should not obscure the additional work that lies ahead to interpret, implement, and build on the resolution.
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Peacekeeping, UN Security Council, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa

13. Adapting BINUH to Meet Haiti’s Evolving Challenges

Author:
Sophie Rutenbar
Publication Date:
07-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:
The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) is struggling to remain relevant amid major shifts in Haiti’s political, security and humanitarian landscape, including the deployment of a Security Council-mandated multinational security support mission to assist the National Police. The renewal of BINUH’s mandate represents an opportunity to realign its role and resources to better address Haiti’s evolving challenges. By enhancing political engagement, coordination, and thematic expertise, and by mitigating risks associated with the MSS, BINUH can play a more effective and relevant role in supporting Haiti’s path to stability and development. The next few months are critical, and the UN must be agile and responsive to ensure the success of the MSS and the broader international efforts in Haiti.
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

14. Exploiting Evidence, Improving Protection: Weapons Technical Intelligence in UN Peace Operations

Author:
Emile LeBrun and David Lochhead
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
Over the last decade, UN peacekeepers and their beneficiaries have been the targets of threats from hostile actors armed with small arms and light weapons, rockets and mortars, IEDs, and related weapons. Assessing and countering these threats requires peacekeepers to have the capacity to focus on hostile actors’ access to and (mis)use of weapons and the destabilising effects of arms proliferation. Exploiting Evidence, Improving Protection: Weapons Technical Intelligence in UN Peace Operations is a new Briefing Paper from the Small Arms Survey’s Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project. The paper discusses the current and possible future deployment of weapons technical intelligence (WTI) roles and activities in UN—as well as hybrid and non-UN—peacekeeping operations. It also examines the contributions that WTI could make, if leveraged, for situational awareness, force protection, and mandate implementation, including the protection of civilians and human rights investigations.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Weapons, and Protection
Political Geography:
North Africa

15. Repercussions of the end of the war in Ukraine for the United Nations Security System

Author:
Carlos Espaliú Berdud
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:
International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an extraordinarily serious violation of the prohibition on the use of force that was embodied in Article 2.4 of the UN Charter after a long historical process. The fact that it was perpetrated by one of the permanent members of the Security Council implies a breach of the consensus among the Allies in World War II that gave rise to the United Nations and the system of international peacekeeping and security that it brought with it. The final outcome of the war in Ukraine may mean that the blow to the system of collective security envisaged in the Charter may be fatal, should the outcome be favourable to Russian interests, or that, despite being badly damaged, it may continue to exist, should the final outcome of the conflict be favourable to Ukrainian interests.
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Peacekeeping, International Community, UN Security Council, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Global Focus

16. China Maritime Report No. 37: Re-Engaging With the World: China's Military Diplomacy in 2023

Author:
Jie Gao and Kenneth W. Allen
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S. Naval War College
Abstract:
China’s military diplomacy plays a crucial role in advancing the nation's foreign policy objectives and safeguarding its strategic interests. This report highlights a diverse array of activities within military diplomacy, including senior-level meetings, joint military exercises, naval port calls, UN peacekeeping operations, and academic exchanges. Our findings reveal a significant—but incomplete—recovery in China's military diplomacy activities in 2023, following a period of reduced contacts with foreign militaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Southeast Asia and Russia remain primary partners for China, with emerging strategic importance also seen in Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East. Overall, China's military diplomacy underscores its efforts to diversify partnerships and assert its global influence, emphasizing regional stability and international cooperation in pursuit of its diplomatic goals.
Topic:
International Cooperation, United Nations, Peacekeeping, COVID-19, People's Liberation Army (PLA), and Military Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Asia, and Southeast Asia

17. The Role of International Organizations in Promoting Peace and Security in the Middle East

Author:
Mohammad Al-Rawashdeh
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Political Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This study aims to enhance the effectiveness of international organizations in promoting peace and security in the Middle East. It examines current international cooperation and the growing hesitance of states towards these organizations. The research evaluates how international governmental organizations contribute to world peace, the validity of their claims, and the theories explaining their actions. It also explores the role of these organizations in regional security and recommends ways to improve their effectiveness. Using the "shorthand to absurd" method, the study highlights that international actors often face complex situations without clear solutions and cannot rely on force. Instead, it advocates for a peaceful approach by simplifying these complexities. Ultimately, the article emphasizes the need to address peace, security, development, and human rights in the Middle East. The article asserts that the international community must intensify its efforts to secure lasting peace in the region. The United Nations Security Council, along with the League of Nations, the General Assembly, and various international organizations, has been essential in establishing the critical norms that uphold global peace and security, especially in the Middle East.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, NATO, Diplomacy, International Organization, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Peace, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Middle East

18. China’s security relations with Africa in the 21st century

Author:
Monika Magdalena Krukowska
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:
War Studies University
Abstract:
The paper examines China’s increasing security interests in Africa. It seeks to understand the nature and scope of Chinese engagement in peace and security issues on the continent based on its engagement in international and domestic (African) politics. Through literature analysis and logical reasoning, the author intends to define the implications of China’s new role as a security provider. The paper is based on desk research using primary and secondary data and statistical and comparative analysis of official documents, academic research, and media sources. The methods include literature analysis, logical reasoning, statistical research, comparative analysis, and the inductive method to build general theorems. The paper analyses aspects of China’s security engagement on the African continent: its participation in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, small arms exports, and Beijing’s sharing of technology with African partners. China’s engagement in Africa’s security helps to advance its vital economic and political interests, with limited impact on African security. Key lessons for African partners are offered. The last decades have seen an extraordinary increase in China’s economic and political ties with Africa. Security cooperation followed massive Chinese investments and thousands of Chinese nationals working on the continent. China’s security engagement in Africa protects Beijing’s interests regarding access to resources, markets, political influence, and social credibility. It has little to do with a benevolent will to help Africa deal with instability or economic underdevelopment. African partners must make necessary efforts to avoid further dependence on China.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, International Security, Peacekeeping, Cybersecurity, and Cooperation
Political Geography:
Africa, China, and Asia

19. Strengthening a Rights-Based Approach to United Nations Peace Operations

Author:
Charles T. Hunt and Adam Day
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
During a July 2020 open debate the United Nations (UN) Security Council highlighted the crucial roles human rights play in peace operations, including by providing early warning of issues or problems, supporting good offices, improving the protection of civilians, strengthening national rule-of-law capacities, ensuring due diligence/compliance for military operations, leading a range of protection-related activities and supporting efforts to protect political space in fragile settings. Despite this recognition of the important role of human rights, there has been relatively little research into how human rights support the implementation of the mandates of a range of peace operations, leaving the evidence base for understanding the contribution of human rights to peace operations very thin. The purpose of this policy brief is to chart out key complexities linked to operationalising a rights-based approach to peace operations. It identifies and introduces critical challenges to mandate implementation through specific themes, including the contribution of human rights to the protection of civilians, stabilisation mandates, smaller-footprint field offices, the political work of special envoys and mission transitions. The paper examines both theoretical and operational aspects of human rights in peace operations. In line with the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations report (2015), it discusses human rights considerations in relation to a range of UN peace operations, including peacekeeping and special political missions, regional prevention offices, and special envoys. The first section locates human rights components and concerns across a spectrum of UN peace operations, comparing how human rights contribute to a wide range of peace and security engagements. The second section highlights several challenges to realising human rights aims and objectives in field missions. The final section proposes a series of questions that warrant further discussion to elucidate and support a rights-based approach to peace operations that could help to respond to the call in the New Agenda for Peace for a reflection on the limits and future of UN peacekeeping and other ongoing policymaking within the UN system. The paper illustrates that in order to support the UN’s recommitment to its core principles and human rights pillar, there is a need for greater attention to the ways that human rights can support the analysis and strategic positioning of UN peace operations.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. UN Support to African Union–Led Peace Support Operations: What Next for Resolution 2719?

Author:
Bitania Tadesse and Jenna Russo
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
UN Security Council Resolution 2719, passed in December 2023, represents a significant milestone in providing predictable and sustainable financing for African Union (AU)–led peace support operations (PSOs). The resolution allows AU missions to receive up to 75 percent of their budget from UN assessed contributions, regularizing a process that had previously been granted on a case-by-case basis. This resolution strengthens the UN-AU partnership and aims to streamline joint planning and mission authorization processes between the UN Security Council and AU Peace and Security Council. Yet gaps remain when it comes to the interpretation of the resolution, and the two organizations need to do significant work to operationalize the joint efforts it outlines. This policy report considers what comes next for implementing Resolution 2719, including areas of the resolution that require further clarification. It also explores the types of coordination mechanisms and decision-making frameworks needed to effectively operationalize the resolution. Finally, it analyzes potential test cases for implementing Resolution 2719, including Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Sudan. The paper recommends several steps to strengthen the implementation of Resolution 2719, including finalizing joint planning guidelines, addressing the financing gap, and building the capacity of AU departments responsible for peace support operations. Both the UN and AU should also focus on creating a more efficient joint budgeting process and ensuring that the regulations align with AU-led missions’ needs. These efforts will help ensure that Resolution 2719 becomes a functional and reliable framework for future peace operations in Africa.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, UN Security Council, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa