As Dangers in UN Peace Operations Increase, What Are the Safety and Security Challenges?

The deployment of United Nations peace operations in recent years to places where there is little peace to keep has resulted in increased casualties among peacekeepers, as spoilers and armed groups intentionally target UN personnel.

This disturbing development framed the backdrop of the IPI policy forum on Monday, October 19th that launched the report, Safety and Security Challenges in United Nations Peace Operations at IPI’s Trygve Lie Center for Peace, Security, and Development.

“Safety and security is a fundamentally important strategic and planning issue—it should not be seen as a technical issue or afterthought,” said Gerard van Bohemen, New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the UN. “It goes to the heart of the effectiveness of UN peace operations.”

The policy forum discussed a number of the most pressing safety and security challenges currently facing UN peace operations—both peacekeeping and special political missions. It highlighted the strategic impact of such challenges and provided recommendations for improving the situation.

“Since 1948, over 3,300 UN personnel have died in the line of duty,” noted Cherif Mahamat Zene, Permanent Representative of Chad to the UN. “Many peacekeeping operations and special political missions are deployed in environments characterized by high intensity conflict.”

The policy forum panelists were Ian Martin, Executive Director of Security Council Report; Peter Drennan, Under-Secretary-General, UN Department of Safety & Security; Col. DG Misra, Military Advisor, Permanent Mission of India to the UN; and Haidi Willmot, the report’s co-author.

Jose Luis Cancela, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, said, “As a contributor to UN peace operations, Uruguay is convinced safety and security is a systemic issue which is linked to several dimensions of peacekeeping activities and can affect the efficiency of the mandate, force generation as well as the relation with the local population in terms of protection of civilians.”

During the discussion, panelists agreed that the Security Council and member states should view safety and security as a key mission enabler. Without it, the missions cannot function effectively. If the goal is effective mandate implementation then the UN needs to be able to deploy personnel safely in risky environments. “The ability to keep UN personnel safe can both dictate the limits and open the horizon of UN peace operations,” said Haidi Willmot.

In the future, “the UN will increasingly be asked to deploy to more complex and dynamic threat environments,” said Mr. Drennan.

Looking ahead, panelists were of the opinion that to ensure safety and security issues are reviewed at the strategic, political, and financial levels will require continued awareness and support. After adding that, the Security Council, the Secretariat and member states will need to reach a place where safety and security issues are reviewed comprehensively throughout the mandate process. As the report concluded, in the future, a group of friends on safety and security will be required to champion these issues after New Zealand and Chad leave the Security Council.

During the policy forum, panelists referred to many aspects of the IPI report, as well in the High-Level Panel Report on UN Peace Operations, the Secretary-General’s follow-up report, and the Declaration of the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping.

The event was co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of New Zealand to the UN, and the Permanent Mission of Chad to the UN.

The policy forum was moderated by Youssef Mahmoud, IPI Senior Adviser.

Watch event: