Peace missions becoming increasingly difficult, more resources needed, UN Security Council hears

The dynamics of peacekeeping have grown to include transnational organised crime, illicit resource exploitation, the impacts of climate change, the spread of cheap weaponised technology and targeted disinformation campaigns.

These additional “challenges” mean that peacekeeping missions carried out under the auspices of the world body will need more resources and more political support, according to Jean-Pierre Lacroix, United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.

In his address to the Security Council (SC) earlier this week, he cited the use of cheap technology such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drones, along with rising geopolitical tensions, as reasons why all UN member states should commit to peacekeeping. “UN operations can only be as strong as the collective support of countries,” he told the 15-member council, currently chaired by Cameroon in the form of Philemon Yang, a seasoned diplomat who also served as prime minister from 2009 to 2019, according to the UN.

Lacroix explained that the more than 70,000 peacekeepers currently deployed worldwide are making a difference every day by protecting civilians, clearing mines and explosive remnants of war, monitoring fragile ceasefires and preventing hostilities from escalating.

To illustrate, he used regional examples, including three in Africa.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s Ituri Province, MONUSCO peacekeepers are “the only ones protecting” more than 100,000 displaced civilians in the Drodro camp. The UN mission in South Sudan – UNMISS – works to promote political solutions by engaging local and national stakeholders and building trust for long-term peace. And in Abyei, the UN Interim Security Force (UNISFA) brokers peace agreements between pastoralists and farmers competing for scarce natural resources, and works with local and international partners to prevent conflict during the cattle migration seasons.

Lacroix pointed to improvements in peacekeeper safety and warned that the growing threat of enemy attacks, including drone attacks, points to the need for better systems against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

He stressed that there are limits to peacekeeping, telling the UN Security Council that “blue helmets can act forcefully to protect civilians, but they do not wage wars”.