Workshop on Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Operations - Background Note¹
After a decade of mandating for the protection of civilians in UN peacekeeping operations, there was a conscious effort throughout 2009 to address the challenges that were preventing the effective implementation of mandates. The common conclusion was that despite ten years of mandating for the protection of civilians, there remained insufficient clarity for military and police peacekeepers tasked to execute a protection mandate and no shared understanding of the criteria for success. During Austria’s Presidency of the UN Security Council in November, Resolution 1894 was adopted calling for the development of an operational concept for the protection of civilians.
Workshop on the implementation of protection of civilians mandates in January 2009²
The participants at the workshop hosted by the Permanent Missions of Australia and Uruguay in January 2009 on the implementation of protection of civilians mandates were in agreement that protection of civilians mandates were not well understood, particularly from a military and police perspective. The workshop provided an opportunity for Member States and the UN Secretariat to engage former force commanders on the difficulties encountered in the implementation of protection of civilians mandates in the field when there was no clear understanding of the mandate requirements.
The prevailing view was that mandates needed to be matched with resources and that there was a requirement to develop and implement appropriate training programs for peacekeepers to implement protection of civilians mandates.
Failure to meet the expectations raised by such mandates early on in a peacekeeping mission damaged the mission’s overall credibility and ultimately its success as the civilian population lost confidence in the peacekeepers’ ability to protect them. There was also agreement that protection of civilians was a ‘whole of mission’ task, not limited to the military or police personnel in the mission, and that early planning and cooperation between all relevant actors would significantly contribute to the success of the mission.
Inclusion of language on protection of civilians in the C-34 report
The frank discussion between Member States at the workshop in January ahead of the 2009 Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) assisted the C-34 to recognise for the first time the importance of protection of civilians as a mandated task in peacekeeping missions³. The C-34 report reflected the shared understanding among the wider UN membership that protection of civilians was a mandated task that fitted within the principles of the UN Charter. It reflected some Member States’ concerns, including the importance of full and effective implementation of mandates, the need for broad consultation with troop and police contributing countries, and the need for adequate training, resources, and concepts of operation. It also enabled the UN Secretariat to examine the issue more closely.
DPKO/OCHA Jointly Commissioned Independent Study
The DPKO/OCHA Jointly Commissioned Independent Study on Protecting Civilians in the Context of UN Peacekeeping Operations: Successes, Setbacks and Remaining Challenges examined the process of mandating for the protection of civilians in UN peacekeeping operations, from the initial consideration of the situation on the Council’s agenda, through to the deployment of troops on the ground. The study found that the whole process was broken and that uniformed actors needed to know who was to be protected from what or whom, and with what means and what backup¤.
The presence of peacekeepers and the blue beret raises expectations in the local community that civilians will be protected. The reality, however, is that peacekeepers cannot protect everyone, everywhere. When the Security Council mandates for peacekeeping missions without specifying its intent, it is much more difficult to manage these expectations. To address this issue, missions need strategic and operational guidance from the UN Secretariat to guide peacekeeping planners on the resources and capabilities necessary to fulfil the mandate, and provide a framework against which mission success can be measured more accurately in the field and learned from. This also requires an open and frank dialogue with the troop and police contributing countries to identify where the gaps are, and to seek their views on how best to implement these mandates.
Partnership and broad consultation
The panellists at the workshop in January agreed that it was important that the Security Council strive for greater inclusiveness between decision makers, including the troop-and-police-contributing countries, to ensure a clear understanding of a protection mandate, and the resources required. This was something also identified in the non-paper A New Partnership Agenda: Charting a New Horizon for UN Peacekeeping, which focused on the need for better partnerships to move peacekeeping forward.
There have been several initiatives by the UN Secretariat and Member States throughout the year to ensure that troop-and-police contributing countries are consulted more widely throughout the mission planning process, and in policy development. These have included the debate hosted by the UN Security Council during the Presidency of Turkey in June 2009, which invited the top troop and police contributing countries to speak on the issue, as well as the work of the Security Council Working Group on Peacekeeping (chaired by Japan) which has been actively engaging troop and police contributing countries to seek their views on peacekeeping issues. As a result of these and other initiatives, the Secretariat and Security Council are consulting troop-and-police contributing countries earlier in the mandate renewal process.
The need for close consultation with the troop and police contributing countries, as well as other relevant actors, was most recently recognised in the adoption of resolution 1894 by the Security Council. The resolution underlines the importance of engaging with troop and police contributing countries when taking into account the protection needs of civilians in situations of armed conflict, and requests the Secretary General to develop an operational concept for protection of civilians in “close consultation with Member States including troop and police contributing countries and other relevant actors”º.
Reaching a shared understanding
In the absence of any specific guidance on how best to implement protection of civilians mandates, peacekeepers have been left to interpret the mandate themselves, and as they see fit. In some missions, like the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), this has led to some very innovative approaches, such as the use of joint protection teams. In other missions, a lack of resources, inadequately trained troops, or poor leadership, have meant that very little priority has been given to developing pro-active mechanisms to protect civilians.
All the actors involved from the Secretariat through to the Council, and including the troop and police contributing countries, need to come to an agreement on the intent of the mission, and whether the troops and police contributed to the mission will have the capability to deliver on that intent.
Conclusion
The implementation of protection mandates is an issue critical to the future of UN peacekeeping. The DPKO/OCHA Jointly Commissioned Independent Study is an important first step towards drawing together lessons learned in the field. The workshop in January 2010 is intended to provide a forum for the peacekeeping community, particularly the troop and police contributing countries, to provide their thoughts on the recommendations in the study, based on their practical experience. We would encourage all attendees to participate actively in the debate.
Notes
¹This background note has been prepared for the purpose of stimulating discussion at the workshop on the protection of civilians in UN peacekeeping operations on 19 January 2010. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian and Uruguayan governments.
²A/63/722 “Letter dated 9 February from the Permanent Representatives of Australia and Uruguay to the United Nations addressed to the President of the General Assembly”.
³A/63/19 “Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and its Working Group, 2009 Substantive Session”, paragraphs 125-128.
¤DPKO/OCHA Jointly Commissioned Independent Study, Protecting Civilians in the Context of UN Peacekeeping Operations: Successes, Setbacks and Remaining Challenges, (Advance Copy – 9 November 2009), p.81
ºS/RES/1984 (2009) Adopted by the Security Council on 11 November 2009, op22