IPI’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.

These closed-door discussions enable independent, informed, and open exchanges prior to the convening of formal mandate negotiations. Examining the challenges in specific mission contexts supports member states’ sustained engagement in broader discussions on UN reform, following on from the recommendations of the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) and the secretary-general in 2015. IPI has convened 15 workshops since this project’s inception in 2016. In 2019, with support from the Government of Germany, IPI convened workshops examining the mandates for the UN missions in Mali (MINUSMA), Darfur (UNAMID), the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

In 2020, IPI is planning to focus on the mandate renewals of five missions: the UN missions in South Sudan (UNMISS) in January 2020; Mali (MINUSMA) in May 2020; the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in September 2020; and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in October 2020. The fifth will likely consider the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in July 2020.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as long as in-person convening remains unfeasible, IPI and its partners will plan an alternative approach to informing mandate negotiations. This will include interviews and/or virtual convening with key stakeholders (those who would usually brief the in-person discussions). The interviews and/or online meetings would then be captured in a concise, action-oriented, unattributable summary document that would be circulated to all relevant stakeholders prior to Security Council consultations and negotiations on the mandate.