On January 20th, IPI together with the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN, cohosted a virtual panel discussion on “Reflections and Lessons on UN Support to Local Mediation Efforts.”Track 1 mediation processes involving national political and military leaders have increasingly struggled to deliver comprehensive peace […]
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 challenging environments where many contemporary UN peace operations are deployed can take a toll on the mental health of both uniformed and civilian personnel. This has led to increased attention to questions around mental health in peace operations, and in 2018, the UN made mental health and well-being a system-wide priority. Yet two years […]
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On December 17th, IPI together with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs cohosted a virtual policy forum on “The Accountability System for the Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping.”Protecting civilians from violence is a priority mandate for most current UN peacekeeping operations. The UN has established a robust normative framework to guide and professionalize the […]
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Over the last two decades, UN peacekeeping operations have striven to protect civilians from physical violence. The protection of civilians (POC) is now based on a clear normative and policy framework, and its practical implementation relies on a number of innovative tools, tailored and multidimensional approaches, and the more proactive posture of peacekeepers. On a […]
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Track-1 mediation processes have increasingly struggled to deliver comprehensive peace agreements that address fragmented conflict dynamics and include local communities’ needs. As a result, local mediation has increasingly been a focus for the UN, including for UN peace operations. UN peace operations can play an important role in supporting local mediation initiatives, whether these initiatives […]
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On December 9th, IPI together with the UN Department of Peace Operations cohosted a virtual event on “The Future of UN Peacekeeping.”The panel event was part of a wider process led by the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) to anticipate changes, considered emerging strategic trends and possible future scenarios and their potential implications for […]
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The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in December 2020. This comes as the UN begins to consider the eventual withdrawal of the mission. In October, the mission and the Congolese government submitted a “Joint Strategy on […]
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As the practice of the protection of civilians (POC) has evolved in peacekeeping missions, the UN has increasingly focused on “people-centered” approaches. As a result, community engagement has emerged as a core component of POC efforts. By engaging with communities, missions can build trust, gather information, and build a protective environment, ultimately improving their ability […]
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On November 19th, IPI together with the French Ministry of the Armed Forces cohosted the launch of IPI’s policy paper entitled “UN Reform and Mission Planning: Too Great Expectations?” authored by Marc Jacquand.Since 2017, the UN system has undergone a historic process of reform at several levels and across many entities. Several of these reforms […]
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The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in November 2020. In 2019, the mission’s mandate and strategic engagement in the Central African Republic (CAR) shifted to supporting the implementation of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation signed […]
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