Latest news with #UNPeacekeeping
Forbes
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
What Is The Future Of UN Peacekeeping?
Members of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol the road near the border ... More with Israel in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqura on March 19, 2025. UNIFIL, a mission of about 10,000 troops of various nationalities, was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon and to help the Lebanese government restore authority over the border region. (Photo credit: MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images) In May 2025, the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial took place in Berlin, gathering over 130 Member States and international partners to reaffirm their support for UN peacekeeping and to pledge a concrete plan to enhance the effectiveness and adaptability of peace operations. The Ministerial focused on the future of peacekeeping, reflecting the need for innovative approaches to address complex conflicts, leverage emerging technologies, and address threats such as mis- and disinformation. Today, more than 61,000 military and police peacekeepers from 119 countries and more than seven thousand civilian personnel serve across 11 Peacekeeping Missions, including in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, and Kosovo, among others. In the CAR, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has been responding to security, humanitarian, human rights and political crisis in the country and its regional implications. Its other initial tasks included support for the transition process; facilitating humanitarian assistance; promotion and protection of human rights; support for justice and the rule of law; and disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation processes. In the DRC, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has been authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate relating, among other things, to the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts. In Kosovo, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was there to provide an interim administration for Kosovo under which the people of Kosovo could enjoy substantial autonomy. Following the declaration of independence by the Kosovo authorities and the entry into force of a new constitution in June 2008, the Mission was modified to focus primarily on the promotion of security, stability and respect for human rights in Kosovo. While such peacekeeping missions have been doing important work, they have been marred by controversies, including allegations of sexual exploitation, abuse, and serious misconduct. For example, in March 2024, the UN reported that in the previous year, 100 allegations were reported in peacekeeping and special political missions. The UN has been trying to address the issue, with Secretary-General António Guterres repeatedly underlining that the UN has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, stressing that preventing and eliminating it is a top priority. Peacekeeping operations have also been facing mounting challenges, with a record number of global conflicts, the targeting of peacekeepers by drones and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the rising threat from disinformation campaigns. During the Ministerial in Berlin, participants agreed on the need to focus on a total of 74 Member States that made pledges to strengthen the future of UN peacekeeping. Among others: The Ministerial also fed into the UN's broader reform efforts, including an ongoing Review of Peace Operations announced in last year's Pact for the Future, aimed at making peacekeeping and peace enforcement more flexible, cost-effective, and aligned with real-world needs. With a record number of global conflicts, the world faces unimaginable challenges that require comprehensive and joint efforts to address them. Peacekeeping missions can provide some responses to the issues. However, to be able to do so, changes are needed. Changes in relation to the support granted to the peacekeeping operation, but also changes that can help to improve trust in such peacekeeping operations.
Washington Post
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
UN peacekeeping chief warns that conflict in Sudan is spilling into Central African Republic
UNITED NATIONS — The conflict in Sudan is spilling across its southwestern border into Central African Republic , a country already battered by its own conflict with rebels, the United Nations peacekeeping chief warned Thursday. Undersecretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the U.N. Security Council that the attack that killed a U.N. peacekeeper near the country's border with Sudan last Friday was carried out by 'armed Sudanese elements.' His comments were the first identifying Sudanese armed fighters as responsible for the attack on the peacekeepers.
Associated Press
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
UN peacekeeping chief warns that conflict in Sudan is spilling into Central African Republic
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The conflict in Sudan is spilling across its southwestern border into Central African Republic, a country already battered by its own conflict with rebels, the United Nations peacekeeping chief warned Thursday. Undersecretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the U.N. Security Council that the attack that killed a U.N. peacekeeper near the country's border with Sudan last Friday was carried out by 'armed Sudanese elements.' His comments were the first identifying Sudanese armed fighters as responsible for the attack on the peacekeepers. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said in a new report to the Security Council that vehicles suspected of belonging to the Rapid Support Forces — the key actors in Sudan's civil war — were sighted on several occasions in the areas of Am Dafok and Aouk (Vakaga Prefecture) of Central African Republic, where U.N. peacekeepers are present. In the report covering the period from mid-February to mid-June, Guterres said, 'In the northeast (of CAR), armed incursions linked to the conflict in the Sudan continued.' Sudan plunged into civil war when rival generals heading the country's armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces started fighting each other in mid-April 2023. Since then, at least 24,000 people have died, about 13 million Sudanese have fled their homes, famine is setting in and cholera is sweeping across the country. Both sides have been accused of war crimes. Meanwhile, CAR has been battling conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then President François Bozizé from office. It is among the first countries in Africa to welcome Russia-backed forces, with Moscow seeking to help protect authorities and fight armed groups. Lacroix, the U.N. peacekeeping chief, said that while progress is being made with some groups on reintegrating into CAR's peace process, violence by armed groups and militias continues, compromising stability and posing a significant threat to civilians. He said the government continues to collaborate with MINUSCA — the U.N.'s peacekeeping operation in CAR — on extending and enhancing its presence throughout the country and improving security in border areas. 'Despite these efforts, the security situation remains tenuous in border areas in the northeast,' Lacroix said. 'In the border region with Sudan, instability continues to be characterized by the spillover of the Sudanese conflict.' With general elections expected to be held in December, the political situation remains 'punctuated by mistrust and tensions between the majority in power and opposition,' Lacroix said. The elections represent a 'crucial opportunity' to strengthen democratic governance, promote reconciliation and consolidate stability, he added.
Washington Post
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
UN peacekeeping chief in Congo meets M23 leaders in first visit to rebel-held city
GOMA, Congo — The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo met with leaders of the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 on Friday in Goma, in her first visit to the eastern city of Goma since its capture by the insurgents. The meeting included discussions on the mandate of the peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO, especially on the protection of civilians, the mission said on X.
Zawya
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Zawya
United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Peacekeepers conduct lifesaving flooding measures
'Every day is about survival.' This stark message captures the urgency of the dire situation as the heavy rains begin to fall in Bentiu where vast parts of the landscape are already submerged by catastrophic floods that devastated the area five years ago. Lieutenant Colonel Jamal Haroon is one of a team of engineering peacekeepers from Pakistan, serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, who are responsible for maintaining a vast network of dykes protecting 300,000 people from the 4,500 square kilometers of stagnant waters that threaten their lives and livelihoods on a daily basis. 'We are constantly on alert to ensure that the dykes hold as well as working to strengthen them ahead of the rainy season when we know the waters will rise yet again,' he says. His colleague, Major Hilmi Munsif, Chief of Operations for the Pakistani Engineering Contingent, stresses the fragility of the situation. 'Bentiu and its surroundings are a very low-lying area. If we take the example of a bowl, you could consider Bentiu the bottom of the bowl. So, every rainfall that is coming from the Nile River or the south, ends up accumulating in this location.' Every week, the peacekeepers conduct extensive boat patrols to measure the water levels, which helps them with contingency planning. The data collected shows the 'bottom of the bowl' is under increasing threat. The 738mm of accumulated rainfall last year caused water levels to rise more than half a meter. This year, they expect accumulated rainfall will reach 1100mm, an increase of more than 50 percent. This prediction prompted the engineers to further raise the dyke levels by 1.5 meters to prevent a disastrous overflow. While measuring water levels might seem like a mundane activity for peacekeepers, it is the reason that residents in Bentiu, including the thousands of families living in a displacement camp, are safe. 'Life before the floods was better. When displaced families came here, they had the ability to go and collect firewood in the bush and forests. Now, things have changed,' shares camp leader, Solomon Yain. However, turning the threat of the floodwaters into an opportunity, these resilient residents have found new ways to survive, building canoes that allow them to go fishing and reach far into the flooded areas to find firewood to dry and sell at the local market. This can-do attitude is much needed in the dire conditions, as is the support of many partners. 'A collective effort by the State, communities, humanitarian agencies, UNMISS and other partners is vital to dealing with this unexpected and unfortunate situation. Our hope is that we will all continue to work together to mitigate and respond,' says UNMISS' Acting Head of the Bentiu Field Office, Denis Fuh Chenwi. Failure to do so may lead to another tragic escalation of the already urgent situation. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
