United Nations, New York

Since 2004, the rule of law has gained solid attention in the UN community. This year, on September 24th, there is an opportunity to mark a milestone in enhancing its role in the global effort to rebuild societies after conflict, support transitions
and economic growth, and strengthen state institutions. For the first time, the United Nations General Assembly will devote its opening high-level event to the topic.

Over the course of the last twenty years, attention around the rule of law has increased in many different contexts and fora. While its precise definition remains elusive, a sizable “industry” on the rule of law has developed, with its agencies, programs, and scholars. Different views on the precise notion and scope of the rule of law, however, are emerging as we approach the high-level event, making the attempt to adopt a consensual political declaration a painful exercise. A breakthrough is still possible, if additional political e ort is made in the final steps.

To view this publication, please follow this link. 

While peacebuilding is a long-term and complex endeavor, a cacophony of actors and agendas, together with a persistent tendency to focus on short-term needs at the expense of long-term priorities, stymie efforts to build lasting peace. Complex problems call for innovative and integrated interventions. The staples of post-conflict peacebuilding — including, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), security sector reform (SSR), rule of law initiatives, and transitional justice mechanisms ranging from prosecutions to truth commissions — are meant to serve overlapping constituencies and common purposes. In practice, however, such initiatives have often operated on separate tracks, leading to redundancy, avoidable tensions, and lost opportunities. This article focuses on the special challenges that arise out of the need to develop more integrated approaches to DDR and transitional justice and argues that the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) must play a stronger role in bringing together this and other pieces of the post-conflict puzzle. Even though the possibility of tension between transitional justice mechanisms and DDR programs cannot be eliminated, careful attention to areas of overlap should be part of innovative and integrated approaches to post-conflict peacebuilding going forward in order to advance common goals. The gains of such an approach would be modest, but worthwhile.

To view this article, please follow this link.

This report reflects on what broadening the base of UN troop- and police-contributing countries will entail in practice, and it provides a framework for thinking about why UN member states do, or do not, provide peacekeepers to UN-led missions. The report identifies recent trends in troop contributions to UN and non-UN missions, summarizes states’ rationales for providing peacekeepers to UN operations, examines the factors that inhibit such contributions, identifies potential major contributors of uniformed personnel for the future, and notes some of the most significant challenges facing the UN. These challenges include the global financial crisis, political controversy over the future direction and nature of peacekeeping mandates, issues of discipline and ill health, and the unique problems associated with finding police personnel for UN missions.

The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which the UN might begin to improve its ability to expand the pool of peacekeeping capabilities. It recommends providing incentives to encourage larger and better contributions of uniformed personnel, enhancing public diplomacy related to peacekeeping, improving the way in which the UN Secretariat makes its requests to member states for peacekeepers and relevant specialist capabilities, and strengthening analysis of contributing countries as a precursor to developing a strategic plan on force generation.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

Even in the current context of financial constraints and challenging Member State dynamics at the UN, the next 12 months should be be seized as an important time for realizing pragmatic improvement in how the international community assists countries emerging from conflict. The Civilian Capacity (CIVCAP) initiative represents areal opportunity to drive concrete change on issues long recognized as deficient. CIVCAP is an important chance to depart from tired and often ineffective approaches to
providing technical support in fragile settings. There are practical steps policy-makers can take to support a strategic
shift in how peacebuilding and post-conflict assistance is provided.

Since March 2011, CIVCAP has remained a prominent agenda item at the United Nations. The key findings and main recommendations of the CIVCAP report were strongly supported by the UN Secretary-General and in May 2012 the CIVCAP process was officially recognized by the 193 Member States of the General Assembly. Since that time, the UN and partners have engaged in intensive policy consultations and have sought to identify solutions both in the field and for systemic challenges.

This policy brief presents developments in 2012 and it spotlights the CAPMATCH consultation with the Training and Rostering Community held in June 2012, which was supported by NUPI and co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Indonesia and Canada to the United Nations. The coming General Assembly session will be important for maintaining momentum for the CIVCAP agenda.

This policy brief identifies three broad opportunities for policy makers to help deliver short-term results for CIVCAP and to set the stage for further reform:

1. At the upcoming 67thGeneral Assembly session;
2. In support of select field programmes; and
3. In support of the CAPMATCH launch in mid-September 2012

The timely deployment of suitably qualified civilian personnel is a challenge that none of the organizations that deploy peacekeepers has yet addressed. This challenge has floundered on the periphery of the peacekeeping debate for many years, but a 2010–11 UN civilian capacity review provides a unique opportunity to focus attention on the problem. This article proposes the formation of a global civilian capacity partnership that brings together the training and roster community, the UN Secretariat and a grouping of interested states, with the aim of significantly improving the UN Secretariat’s ability to identify, recruit and deploy suitably qualified civilian personnel in a reasonable time, and without adverse side effects for the local community or the mission mandate.

This report analyses the coherence and coordination dilemma in peacebuilding systems, with special reference to the UN integrated missions concept. It argues that all peacebuilding agents are interdependent in that they cannot individually achieve the goal of the overall peacebuilding system. Pursuing coherence helps to manage the interdependencies that bind the peacebuilding system together, and coordination is the means through which individual peacebuilding agents can ensure that they are connected to the overall strategic framework process that binds the peacebuilding system together. The report is focussed on two areas where the lack of coherence holds the most promise for improving peacebuilding coherence. The first is the need to generate a clearly articulated overall peacebuilding strategy. The second is the need to operationalise the principle of local ownership. The report argues that without meaningfully addressing these shortcomings peacebuilding systems will
continue to suffer from poor rates of sustainability and success.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

The purpose of the first International Expert Forum, “Conflict Prevention and Preventive Diplomacy: What Works and What Doesn’t?,” was to explore the theory and practice of preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention. Launched at the International Peace Institute (IPI) in New York on December 15, 2011, the forum is a joint collaboration of the Folke Bernadotte Academy, the SecDev Group, IPI, and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). The first forum was divided into three sessions: insights from research; insights from the field; and a stock-taking session focusing on the implications of research and analysis for policy and practice.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

This report provides an overview of recent trends in the use of police in UN peacekeeping missions, assesses chronic challenges, and lays out a series of proposals aimed at improving UN capacity to support post-conflict policing and the rule of law. It concludes that the UN's historically ad hoc approach-driven in large part by resource constraints, but also by a lack of vision that has only recently begun to be corrected-is no longer acceptable, if it ever was. It therefore recommends new approaches for more systematic planning, recruiting, and rapid deployment of larger numbers of quality UN police (UNPOL) and other rule of law personnel for integrated peace operations. These include a standing UN Rule of Law Capacity, a complementary ready reserve of police and other criminal justice personnel, and a Senior Reserve Roster of experienced, retired police officers, judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers. The study provides a description of these proposed reforms, including detailed cost estimates, and concludes that the implementation of such initiatives would dramatically improve the UN's ability to carry out its mandates to support post-conflict policing and rule of law.

This report is one of five FOPO studies on essential aspects of improving rule of law in post-conflict states. Other studies focus on improving border control and border security, fighting corruption in war-torn states, increasing accountability for non-military personnel in peace operations, and using UN Panels of Experts more effectively to combat spoilers and monitor targeted sanctions.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

As peacekeepers have deployed at unprecedented levels worldwide, the demand for police to serve in such missions has swelled.The United Nations (UN), for example, has increased the use of police from two percent of its peacekeeping forces in 1995 to more than twelve percent today. The mandates for UN missions have also expanded dramatically, with greater attention devoted to police and rule of law activities. This trend reflects a recognition of the need to establish public security, combat lawlessness, and support the rule of law and governance in post-conflict societies.

Over 40 percent of the police deployed in UN missions today are in Africa, with officers working to support and build more effective and accountable rule of law institutions in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberia. African countries are also substantial contributors of police to UN missions, with more than a quarter of those deployed coming from the continent.

This Issue Brief explores the current demand for UN police, looks at recent and ongoing reforms undertaken at the United Nations and in the field, and considers additional ways to address shortcomings in the use of police and rule of law teams in peace operations.

This Issue Brief is one of six produced as part of Stimson’s workshop series, A Better Partnership for African Peace Operations, made possible by a generous grant from the United States Institute of Peace. The series examined progress, challenges, and potential steps forward in expanding national, regional, and international capacity to lead and participate in peace operations in Africa. The six issue briefs produced in conjunction with this project provide background and analytical context for the insights gained through the Better Partnership workshops. Each brief also highlights workshop findings and identifies recommendations for the US, UN, regional organizations, and policymakers.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

This border security study from the Future of Peace Operations (FOPO) program is in two parts. For part one, author Kathleen A. Walsh surveyed more than 100 international border assistance and training programs. Her report, Border Security, Trade Controls, and UN Peace Operations (2007), found both a great deal of overlap and lack of coordination among these programs that, if remedied, could make them much more cost-effective. The second part of the study, A Phased Approach to Post-Conflict Border Security (2007), by Katherine N. Andrews, Brandon L. Hunt, and William J. Durch, lays out the requirements for coordinated international support to border security in post-conflict states that host international peace operations.

The borders database, a comprehensive matrix of border security assistance programs, was updated in March 2010, by Jessica L. Anderson with Alix J. Boucher and Hilary A. Hamlin

This report is one of five FOPO studies on essential aspects of improving rule of law in post-conflict states. Other studies focus on the creation of a standing UN police capacity, fighting corruption in war-torn states, increasing accountability for non-military personnel in peace operations, and using UN Panels of Experts more effectively to combat spoilers and monitor targeted sanctions.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

The Secretary-General commissioned a panel composed of individuals experienced in various aspects of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace-building, to assess the shortcomings of the existing system and to make specific and realistic recommendations for change. The recommendations of the report focus not only on politics and strategy but also and perhaps even more so on operational and organizational areas of need. The report is popularly known as the Brahimi Report, named after the Chairman of the Panel, Lakhdar Brahimi.

To access the executive summary and the full report, click here.

The Secretary General's report to the United Nations Security Council relating to the United Nation's role in Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR), with special attention being paid to the problems of disarmament and demobilisation of child soldiers and their reintegration into society. The report cites the precise definition of the term "DDR", and details a discussion on demobilisation and reintegration, and the best ways of approaching the issues.

For full report, click here.

The report was prepared  to discuss the United Nations' role in establishing justice and rule of law in post conflict societies.

To access the full report, click here.

The report is primarily based on four field studies (Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti and Liberia) but also draws from experiences of other DDR settings based on a desk review and interviews with partners. The term “Second Generation DDR” is used to describe the set of evolving practices documented in the report. Scholar-practitioners and security oriented thinktanks are beginning to use Second Generation DDR and “Interim stabilization” to describe wider security promotion efforts. From the outset, however, it must be underscored that many of the ideas and practices highlighted in the report are not new, and have been implemented, albeit in a fragmented manner, by national Governments and UN agencies. Whereas traditional DDR focuses mainly on combatants that are present within military structures, the focus of Second Generation programmes shifts away from military structures towards the larger communities that are affected by armed violence.

The set of Second Generation DDR practices outlined in this report is a reflection of the broader change in UN peacekeeping. Among the paradigm shifts is the fact that the success of a peacekeeping operation cannot be guaranteed by top-down implementation of a Security Council mandate. Peacekeepers today require more sophisticated skills and tools to negotiate the local dynamics on the ground, which may not reflect the higher level agreement reached between national actors. It is also critical to ensure that programmes are linked to broader peacebuilding/early recovery strategic frameworks, exit strategies of missions, and the development frameworks of UN Country Teams and Governments.

For full report, click here

Five years after the Secretary-General's report on security sector reform (A/62/659-S/2008/39), where he advocated a more comprehensive approach to this important subject, SSR has become a core element in multidimensional peacekeeping.

It is also increasingly recognized as an integral part of conflict prevention, socioeconomic development and peacebuilding more broadly. Among member states, support for our work in security sector reform has grown steadily, not least due to our demonstrated commitment to provide a transparent forum for member states to discuss their experiences and develop and agree common approaches to security sector reform.

The United Nations is pleased to present the first volume of United Nations SSR Integrated Technical Guidance Notes (SSR ITGN). Produced through the systemwide effort undertaken in the framework of the inter-agency SSR Task Force, the ITGNs provide a body of guidance to United Nations personnel in the field and at Headquarters. The ITGNs also represent a potentially valuable source of information for national actors, and a platform from which we can launch joint initiatives with our partners, including Member States, multilateral and regional organizations and partners in the private and public sector. The ITGNs are an  important part of the Organization’s efforts to provide a holistic and coherent United Nations approach to SSR.

As with all guidance documents, the ITGNs need to be tailored to the specific context of our work; they will also need to be updated regularly to reflect the evolving needs and lessons of our work and that of member states. It is envisaged hat all colleagues and partners working in this vital area will find the ITGN a useful tool, and will provide feedback and comments so that our knowledge in this evolving field can be expanded continuously.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

There have been considerable developments in security-policy thinking since the end of the Cold War, and a complex set of transnational threatsand challenges necessitates new security policies and strategies. Not only the attacks of 11 September 2001, but also the dark side of globalisation such as climate change, the global spread of dangerous technologies and international organised crime have changed the security perspective and policy procedures in recent years. Consequently, new
national-security strategies, white papers and security-policy documents have been drafted in order to take into account the changing security landscape.

On 6 April 2009, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) welcomed a group of leading security experts for a seminar entitled “Security Strategies Today : Trends and Perspectives”. The goal of the seminar was to provide a forum for experts from different European states, major international powers and regional and international organisations to take stock of current security polices in the European region and beyond. The participants had an opportunity to assess the direction of security-policy thinking by analysing a number of key security-policy documents such as national-security strategies, defence concepts and white papers, among others. Assumptions regarding future threats were considered, as were a variety of drafting processes and methodologies.

More than 30 participants attended the seminar, including representatives of the Defence Ministries of Finland, Germany and Sweden, as well as representatives of the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In addition to faculty members from the GCSP, regional and international experts from a range of academic and policy institutions participated, including speakers from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the International Affairs Institute (Rome), the Institute for International Strategic Studies (Beijing), the Royal Institute of International Relations (Brussels) and the Foundation for Strategic Studies (Paris).

The Security Sector Reform (SSR) Unit of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), has presented its first United Nations Security Sector Reform Perspective. This publication introduces, explains and discusses the role and contribution of SSR in multidimensional peacekeeping and broader peacebuilding efforts. The publication highlights achievements and challenges in supporting national SSR efforts, presents the many important partnerships in this area and describes what SSR means for its beneficiaries and contributors.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

This Thematic Programme (TP) provides the global framework for UNODC’s work in crime prevention and criminal justice reform for the period 2012-2015. As such, the TP will ensure consistency in the UNODC approach to issues in this area, based on the
UNODC Strategic Framework for the period 2012-2013 and the UNODC Strategy 2012-2015 and in line with the relevant UN Conventions and standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice reform. The TP outlines the focus areas of UNODC in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice and gives an overview of outcomes to reach agreed objectives, as well as a specific set of indicators. Providing a global framework, the TP integrates the various components of the Office’s mandates and expertise in the areas of advocacy, research, setting norms and providing technical assistance. As such, it reflects the UN Secretary General’s programme of action for the strengthening of the rule of law at the national and international level, as presented to the General Assembly early 2012.

Moreover, for the implementation of this TP, particular attention will be paid to the practical recommendations offered by the World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development, on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development.

Follow this link to view the publication.

UN peacekeeping missions suffer from cumbersome recruitment processes, high vacancy rates and a shortage of civilian staff. This article explores the bottlenecks hampering the recruitment and deployment of trained personnel, especially civilians. Paradoxically, an increased number of trained personnel has not translated into higher deployment rates. Individual factors and structural bottlenecks together accounted for half of the nondeployments. Of the latter, the informal nature of the UN’s recruitment system and the central role played by personal contacts stands out. The article makes the case for an improved link between the recruitment architecture of the UN and its training programmes, and a significant overhaul of the UN recruitment architecture per se. Unless the UN and international training programmes address this paradox, the risk of training in vain will remain.

To view this publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view the publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view the publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view the publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view the publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view the publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view the publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view this publication, please follow this link.

Case studies on police, justice and corrections programming for nine UN complex operations and special political missions were developed by Stimson’s Future of Peace Operations Program at the request of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They are descriptive rather than analytic documents that help to organize, by mission, the issues and activities that the main study, Understanding Impact of Police, Justice and Corrections in UN Peace Operations, treats functionally, across cases, and are summarized in the study’s annexes. 

To view the publication, please follow this link.

The SSR Newsletter provides an update on recent activities of the SSR Unit, gives an overview of upcoming initiatives and shares relevant information and announcements with the greater SSR community.

In this issue:

• Launch of UN SSR Integrated Technical Guidance Notes 
• High-Level Meeting of the Group of Friends of SSR 
• High-Level Forum on Defence Sector Reform 
• Spotlight on a Mission: UNMIT 
• Answering the Call for SSR Assistance to Mali 
• Roundtable on SSR in Peacebuilding 
• Addressing the Inter-Linkages between SSR and the Protection of Civilians 
• The UN Security and Justice Sectors Fact Sheet 
• Coming Soon... 
• About the SSR Newsletter

Between 2006 and 2008, the General Assembly adopted three resolutions on rule of law, which is at the heart of United Nations' mission. To access the full text of these resolutions, click on the following links.

A/RES/61/39 - 18 December 2006

A/RES/62/70 - 8 January 2008

A/RES/63/128 - 29 January 2008

United Nations policing in the context of peace operations evolved rapidly during the 1990s after three decades of serving as a minor adjunct to the principal, military, purposes of UN peacekeeping. After the end of the Cold War, UN policing became a recognized component of operations, but lacked doctrine, administrative structure, quality assurance in recruitment or adequate training. Each is being addressed with some urgency at present, as UN police deployments head toward 15,000 officers. Although Headquarters police support capacity has grown, the United Nations still has proportionately far fewer people at Headquarters supporting deployed personnel than do developed states, such as Australia, that deploy international police contingents. The objectives of UN police operations meanwhile remain a matter of debate: to stabilize post-conflict public security while others rebuild local police capacity or to engage actively in capacity-building and associated institutional reform.

UN police support programs need to partner with development institutions that can offer the budget support for local infrastructure, equipment, and salaries that UN peacekeeping budgets cannot fund. UN programs also may need to take more account of extensive “informal” justice and security institutions in many of the post-conflict states where they work.

To view this publication, please follow this link.