This article explores the unintended consequences associated with the protection of civilians (PoC) mandate in United Nations peacekeeping. Drawing primarily on two case studies – the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and South Sudan (UNMISS) – we advance three lines of argument. First, the gravitational pull of PoC can distract missions from other, often interdependent, priorities. Second, the implementation of PoC can distort intended impacts. Third, these distractions and distortions can combine to produce…
Entries by Adam Day
This report looks at cooperation between the military and human rights components of the UN peace operations in South Sudan and Mali. The authors identified cultural differences between military and human rights components and turnover among the military peace keepers as key challenges for both missions, and areas of good practice that can address these challenges, such as information-sharing, joint coordination mechanisms, communications, and advocacy. Recommendations include the need to revisit the frequency of military…
The 2018 Action for Peacekeeping Declaration (A4P) commits UN peace operations to pursue political objectives based on integrated strategies and solutions. This emphasis on political solutions echoes the widely-accepted mantra of the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO), which proposed that peace operations undergo a fundamental shift towards the primacy of politics. While there is broad agreement on the need to place political outcomes at the centre of peacekeeping, there is little consensus on…
This report assesses the extent to which the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is achieving its current strategic objectives and what impact the Mission has had on the political and security situation in South Sudan. The report focuses on the most recent period of UNMISS’ mandate (2014-18), aiming to provide a “snapshot” of the mission’s work across its four main mandate areas: the protection of civilians (PoC), facilitation of humanitarian delivery, promotion of human…