The concept and implementation of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) have evolved as DDR-related activities have increasingly occurred in environments where armed conflict is ongoing, no peace agreement has been signed, and armed groups designated as terrorist organizations (AGDTOs) are operating. In parallel, reintegration has increasingly been discussed in the UN counterterrorism architecture through the […]
Read morePeace Operations & Sustaining Peace
IPI’s Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations (CPO) strives to be a center of expertise for independent research, analysis, and debate on multilateral peace operations. CPO provides timely analysis and actionable recommendations for member states, the UN system, and external partners to help missions better implement their mandates and build the foundation for sustainable peace. While the work of CPO is anchored in UN-led peace operations, it also examines broader critical trends in international peace and security.
- Action for Peacekeeping +In 2018, the UN Secretary-General launched his Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative to strengthen peacekeeping by promoting collective action by all peacekeeping stakeholders. This was accompanied by the Declaration of Shared Commitments, endorsed by more than 150 member states. In 2021, to accelerate progress on implementation of the Shared Commitments, the Secretary-General launched Action for Peacekeeping + (A4P+), which consists of seven priority areas and two cross-cutting themes. Read more
- Prioritization and Sequencing of Security Council MandatesIPI’s “Prioritization and Sequencing of Security Council Mandates” project aims to make UN peace operations more effective by strengthening the linkages between independent conflict analyses and the UN’s political strategies for countries where a peace operation is present. It also supports engagement by member states in the negotiation of realistic, effective, and achievable peace operations mandates. This initiative aims to help member states, UN actors, and independent experts, including from the field, analyze how country-specific peace operations mandates can be adapted to prioritize tasks based on evolving political and security developments. Read more
- Protection of CiviliansIPI’s protection of civilians (POC) program, launched in December 2017, focuses on issues related to the protection of civilians in the context of UN peace operations. Through this program, IPI supports the UN Secretariat in analyzing the challenges facing peace operations mandated to protect civilians and adapting policy and practice to improve the delivery of POC mandates. Since 2021, IPI has been examining protection efforts beyond the Department for Peace Operations (DPO), including the role of special political missions in protection and priorities for the UN Agenda for Protection. Read more
- Peacekeeping ObservatoryThe Peacekeeping Observatory is a multi-year project that has been supported by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces’ Department for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) since 2014. Under this project, IPI has produced a series of research papers and convened roundtable meetings examining emerging issues and challenges in peace operations. The observatory has focused on new technologies for peacekeeping (2015); the challenges of peace operations operating in violent and asymmetric threat environments (2016); field support for peace operations (2017); contemporary challenges to peace operations (2018); non-UN peacekeeping operations (2019); the prevalence of—and UN responses to— post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, and mental health issues affecting the personnel of UN peace operations (2020); independent strategic reviews of UN peace operations (2021); the role of UN peacekeeping operations in addressing issues related to climate and security (2022); and new technologies in peace operations (2023). Read more
- Support to C-34 Committee Annual Field VisitThe UN General Assembly’s Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) comprises 155 member states representing all major stakeholders that support UN peacekeeping operations. To help familiarize member-state delegates with the issues and challenges facing contemporary peacekeeping operations, Canada, in its role as vice-chair of C-34 and chair of the committee’s Working Group of the Whole, has in recent years organized an annual field visit. This visit enables participating delegates to see missions firsthand and to directly engage with peacekeeping leadership, personnel, and other stakeholders. The costs of participating in the annual field visit are borne by participants’ respective governments. IPI is currently working with the Government of Canada to establish a travel fund to increase the participation of delegates from all parts of the world in the field visit. IPI has assisted by selecting delegates for the financial award, managing the travel fund, participating in the annual field visit, and preparing a summary report following its conclusion. As part of this project, IPI will follow the work of the C-34 Committee during its annual substantive session. Read more
Staff
News, Events, Publications
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The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in December 2021. Discussions on MONUSCO’s mandate come at a crucial moment for both the country and the mission. Recent political developments have given new momentum to efforts by the Congolese […]
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To support UN Security Council members in their reconsideration of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) mandate this year, the Global Center on Cooperative Security (Global Center) and the International Peace Institute (IPI) undertook an extensive research and consultation process. This brief outlines findings and recommendations for the upcoming renewal of CTED’s mandate, building on […]
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The UN peacekeeping ministerial process has emerged as one of the flagship vehicles through which the UN can mobilize concrete pledges of uniformed personnel, enablers, financial resources, and capacity building for peacekeeping operations. The 2021 UN peacekeeping ministerial in Seoul—the sixth ministerial since 2014—presents a valuable opportunity for member states to make pledges, focusing on […]
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The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in November 2021. MINUSCA now confronts a more challenging environment compared with the period leading up to last year’s mandate renewal, particularly in the aftermath of the January 2021 armed rebellion that […]
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On November 4th, IPI together with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN, and the French Ministry of the Armies cohosted a virtual policy forum on “Independent Reviews of UN Peace Operations: The Way Forward.”UN peace operations are partnership enterprises requiring complementary efforts by member states, UN officials, national stakeholders, and international partners. Evaluating […]
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Independent reviews are a relatively new but increasingly popular tool. Since the practice was established in 2017, there have been nineteen independent reviews of UN peace operations. These reviews have been intended to rigorously assess the strategic orientation of peace operations while providing more political credibility than UN-led review processes. But given the diverse processes […]
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On September 14th, IPI together with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs cohosted a policy forum on “United Nations Special Political Missions (SPMs) and Protection: A Principled Approach for Research and Policymaking.” The session provided an opportunity to present and discuss IPI’s new policy paper that considers the need for increased analysis and operational roles […]
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United Nations peace operations are increasingly recognizing strategic communications as essential to implementing their mandates and managing expectations about what they can and cannot achieve. This has led them to ramp up their communications capabilities and shift their approach away from the traditional top-down, one-way model of communication. Nonetheless, missions continue to face obstacles in […]
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UN special political missions (SPMs) regularly operate in conflict and post-conflict settings in which local civilian populations face the ongoing threat of violence from armed actors—a trend that is likely to continue if an apparent increased preference for SPMs over peacekeeping operations persists. Despite this trend, understandings of the roles of SPMs in protection have […]
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