While all UN multidimensional peacekeeping operations are mandated to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), the missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, as well as in the Central African Republic, are also mandated to protect civilians from sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). While SGBV is often used […]
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In his 2020 Call to Action on Human Rights, UN Secretary-General António Guterres committed to developing an “Agenda for Protection.” The agenda provides an opportunity for the UN to reaffirm that the protection of crisis-affected populations is fundamental to its purpose and values. To be effective it should address the lessons learned from previous efforts […]
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The protection of civilians (POC) in armed conflict has become a core strategic objective for the United Nations system and for UN peace operations in particular. The UN, however, is not the sole actor engaged in POC. The European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), among other regional actors, have been developing their […]
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Conventional arms control and disarmament efforts have historically been framed as a humanitarian cause to limit human suffering. However, activities with an arms control component have only featured to a limited extent within the protection of civilians (POC) mandates of United Nations peace operations. Both issues feature on the agenda of the UN Security Council, […]
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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 […]
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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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Since seizing power in a coup on February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military has launched a violent crackdown against anti-coup protesters—a campaign of terror that may amount to crimes against humanity. With violence spreading, there are fears that the country is slipping toward full-scale civil war and state collapse. The international community has appeared almost powerless […]
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The intersection between the protection of civilians (POC) and gender has been addressed in Security Council resolutions on POC and on women, peace, and security (WPS) since the late 1990s. Nonetheless, understanding how POC and gender converge, and translating this convergence into implementable action plans, are challenging tasks for peacekeeping missions.This paper examines how peacekeeping […]
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The UN counterterrorism architecture was written broadly though its application has been largely focused on…
Last week, at least 15 people died in protests demanding UN peacekeepers leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The week before, the military junta ruling Mali halted troop rotations for the UN mission there and ejected the…
Member states agreed to an overall increase in the peacekeeping budget for the first time in…
Looking at green water, the rainwater available to plants, shows that freshwater’s ability to sustain a stable Earth system is even more threatened than…
The UN Security Council does not have the luxury of choosing between normative imperatives associated with preventing…
Despite the instability it faces, Guinea-Bissau—alongside countries like Madagascar, Chad, or the…
There are a number of reasons why it is difficult for…
Without a corresponding political process, UN protection activities are an ineffective bandaid in situations of…
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The International Peace Institute is an independent, international not-for-profit think tank with a staff representing more than 20 nationalities, located in New York across from United Nations headquarters. IPI is dedicated to promoting the prevention and resolution of conflicts between and within states by strengthening international peace and security institutions. To achieve its purpose, IPI employs a mix of policy research, convening, publishing and outreach.
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