United Nations peacekeeping

{{short description|International missions to maintain peace after armed conflict}} {{infobox national military |country = |name = United Nations Peacekeeping |native_name = |image = United Nations Peacekeeping Logo.svg |image_size = 300px |caption = |image2 = |caption2 = |founded = {{start date and age|df=y|1945}} |current_form = |disbanded = |branches = |headquarters = |flying_hours = <!-- Leadership --> |commander-in-chief = António Guterres |commander-in-chief_title = UN Secretary-General |minister = Jean-Pierre Lacroix |minister_title = Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations |commander = |commander_title = <!-- Manpower --> |age = |conscription = |manpower_data = |manpower_age = |available = |available_f = |fit = |fit_f = |reaching = |reaching_f = |active = 53,213 total<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-27 |title=Peacekeeping factsheet |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/peacekeeping-factsheet |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> |ranked = |reserve = |deployed = <!-- Financial --> |amount = $5.66 billion |percent_GDP = <!-- Industrial --> |domestic_suppliers = |foreign_suppliers = |imports = |exports = <!-- Related aricles --> |history = United Nations peacekeeping missions |ranks = |website = {{URL|peacekeeping.un.org}} }} {{United Nations series}}

'''United Nations peacekeeping''' is the deployment of international military, police, and civilian personnel under United Nations command to help countries transition from conflict to peace.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-18 |title=Home |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> Authorized by the United Nations Security Council and administered by the Department of Peace Operations, it is one of the principal instruments through which the United Nations addresses threats to international peace and security. It is distinguished from peacemaking, peace enforcement, and peacebuilding, although these activities may overlap in practice.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

Peacekeeping is not mentioned in the United Nations Charter; it developed during the Cold War as an improvised response to crises the Security Council was unable to address through the originally planned collective security provisions. Peacekeeping is governed by three principles: there must be consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-07 |title=Principles of peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/principles-of-peacekeeping |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> The mandates of UN peacekeeping missions have expanded significantly over time, from early observer deployments to multidimensional operations which may support complex peace agreements or protect civilians in active conflicts under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Peacekeepers may include soldiers, police, and civilian participants; they wear their home countries' uniforms and '''Blue Helmets''' or '''Blue Berets''', which have become synonymous with UN peacekeeping.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-06 |title=Deploying Peacekeepers |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/deploying-peacekeepers |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref>

Since 1948, more than two million people from 125 countries have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations; the forces were collectively awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.<ref name=":0" /> As of 2026, eleven operations are active, with a combined budget of $5.66 billion and around 53,000 personnel deployed from 117 countries, the largest contributors being Nepal, Rwanda, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Scholars have found that peacekeeping is associated with reduced conflict recurrence and fewer civilian casualties, although effectiveness varies with the local situation and a mission's mandate.

The current head of the Department of Peace Operations is Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who has held the office since 1 April 2017.

== Conceptual foundations ==

=== Non-charter origins === The UN Charter makes no reference to peacekeeping.<ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last=Koops |first=Joachim A. |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28122/chapter/212274836 |title=Introduction |last2=MacQueen |first2=Norrie |last3=Tardy |first3=Thierry |last4=Williams |first4=Paul D. |date=2015-07-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Koops |editor-first=Joachim A. |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686049.013.78 |editor-last2=Tardy |editor-first2=Thierry |editor-last3=MacQueen |editor-first3=Norrie |editor-last4=Williams |editor-first4=Paul D.}}</ref> Its framers envisioned a collective security system in which the Security Council, supported by armed forces made available by member states under Article 43 and coordinated through the Military Staff Committee established under Article 47, would respond directly to threats to international peace and security.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Goulding |first=Marrack |date=1993-07-01 |title=The evolution of United Nations peacekeeping |url=https://academic.oup.com/ia/article-lookup/doi/10.2307/2622309 |journal=International Affairs |language=en |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=451–464 |doi=10.2307/2622309 |issn=1468-2346}}</ref> However, this system never functioned as designed due to disagreements between the two sides of the beginning Cold War.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Bellamy |first=Alex J. |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28122/chapter/212275420 |title=Trends in Peace Operations, 1947–2013 |last2=Williams |first2=Paul D. |date=2015-07-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Koops |editor-first=Joachim A. |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686049.013.1 |editor-last2=Tardy |editor-first2=Thierry |editor-last3=MacQueen |editor-first3=Norrie |editor-last4=Williams |editor-first4=Paul D.}}</ref> Peacekeeping subsequently developed as an improvised institutional response to crises which the Security Council wanted to address despite the failure of the original mechanisms.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12" />

Because peacekeeping had no Charter basis, UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld described it as a "Chapter Six and a Half" activity, situated between the peaceful dispute settlement mandated under Chapter VI, and the military measures authorized under Chapter VII.<ref name=":29">{{Cite book |last=Findlay |first=Trevor |title=The use of force in UN peace operations |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press [u.a.] |isbn=978-0-19-829282-1 |edition=1. publ |location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Honouring 60 Years of United Nations Peacekeeping |url=https://www.un.org/en/events/peacekeepersday/2008/60years.shtml |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=www.un.org |language=EN}}</ref> The phrase has remained the standard shorthand for peacekeeping's legal and operational position, and its emergence from the necessity of working around the Charter's practical limits.<ref name=":12" />

=== Core principles === UN peacekeeping follows three core principles, first articulated by Hammarskjöld in 1958<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/594711 |title=Summary study of the experience derived from the establishment and operation of the Force: report of the Secretary-General |date=1958-10-09 |publisher=UN Secretary-General |editor-last= |location=New York }}</ref> and subsequently codified in the 2008 ''UN Peacekeeping Operations: Principles and Guidelines'', commonly known as the Capstone Doctrine.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web |url=http://pbpu.unlb.org/pbps/Library/Capstone_Doctrine_ENG.pdf |title=DPKO Capstone Doctrine |access-date=2011-07-16 |archive-date=2008-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819214105/http://pbpu.unlb.org/pbps/Library/Capstone_Doctrine_ENG.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":36">{{Cite web |date=2026-04-07 |title=Principles of peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/principles-of-peacekeeping |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> These principles are:

# Peacekeepers must be deployed with the '''consent of the parties''' to the conflict, who must be committed to a political process. Without such consent, an operation risks becoming a party to the conflict and being drawn toward enforcement action.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref name=":36" /> # Peacekeepers must exhibit '''impartiality''', implementing their mandate without favour or prejudice to any party. Impartiality is not equivalent to neutrality: a peacekeeping operation may penalize infractions of the peace process while remaining impartial in its dealings with the parties.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref name=":36" /> # Peacekeepers must '''not use force except in self-defense, and in defense of the mandate'''.<ref name=":36" /> They are generally not an offensive force, but are allowed to proactively deter forceful attempts to disrupt their mandate in what is called "robust peacekeeping".<ref name="autogenerated1" />

The three principles are interdependent and have been stretched (particularly the third) by the demands of post-Cold War deployments.<ref name=":13" /> The Security Council, even when authorizing robust mandates under Chapter VII, regularly reaffirms them in operative paragraphs of mission resolutions.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref name=":13" />

=== Distinction from other activities === Peacekeeping is distinguished from three related activities: ''Peacemaking'' refers to diplomatic efforts to bring hostile parties to a negotiated agreement, typically through mediation or arbitration under Chapter VI of the Charter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UN Peacemaker - DPPA Mediation Support |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/en |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=peacemaker.un.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Peacemaking in international conflict: methods & techniques |date=2007 |publisher=United States Institute of Peace |isbn=978-1-929223-66-4 |editor-last=Zartman |editor-first=I. William |location=Washington, D.C}}</ref> ''Peace enforcement'' refers to the use of coercive measures, including military force, to restore international peace and security under Chapter VII; it does not require the consent of the parties and is generally undertaken by member-state coalitions or regional organisations authorized by the Security Council, rather than by UN-commanded forces.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2026-03-22 |title=Terminology |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/terminology |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement {{!}} The Princeton Encyclopedia of Self-Determination |url=https://pesd.princeton.edu/node/561 |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=pesd.princeton.edu |language=en}}</ref> ''Peacebuilding'' refers to longer-term efforts to address the structural causes of conflict and to consolidate peace, including support for institutions and economic recovery.<ref>{{Citation |last=Barnett |first=Michael |title=Peacebuilding: What Is in a Name? |date=2021-05-31 |work=Understanding Global Cooperation |pages=237–266 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004462601_015 |access-date=2026-04-26 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-46260-1 |last2=Kim |first2=Hunjoon |last3=O’Donnell |first3=Madalene |last4=Sitea |first4=Laura}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> The UN acknowledges that these activities are mutually reinforcing and that contemporary peacekeeping operations frequently incorporate aspects of these other processes.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/145749 |title=An agenda for peace: preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping: report of the Secretary-General pursuant to the statement adopted by the Summit Meeting of the Security Council on 31 January 1992 |date=1992 |publisher=UN Department of Public Information |editor-last=Boutros-Ghali |editor-first=Boutros |location=New York |editor-last2=UN. Secretary-General}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1" />

== Ongoing missions == {{See also|Timeline of United Nations peacekeeping missions}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Acronym !! class="unsortable" | Name !Country/region !Start year!! 2025–26 budget !! class="unsortable" | Ref |- | MINURSO || Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara |{{Flag|Western Sahara}} |1991|| $71M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=MINUSRO factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/minurso |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | MINUSCA || Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic |{{Flag|Central African Republic}} |2014|| $1170M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=MINUSCA factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/minusca |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | MONUSCO || Stabilization Mission in the Congo |{{Flag|DR Congo}} |2010|| $870M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=MONUSCO factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/monusco |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNDOF || Disengagement Observer Force |{{Flag|Israel}} / {{Flag|Syria}} |1974|| $70M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNDOF factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/undof |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNFICYP || Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus |{{Flag|Cyprus}} |1964|| $57M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNFICYP factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/unficyp |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNIFIL || Interim Force in Lebanon |{{Flag|Israel}} / {{Flag|Lebanon}} |1978|| $550M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNIFIL factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/unifil |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNISFA || Interim Security Force for Abyei |{{Flag|Sudan}} / {{Flag|South Sudan}} |2011|| $310M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNISFA factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/unisfa |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNMIK || Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo |{{Flag|Kosovo}} |1999|| $46M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNMIK factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/unmik |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNMISS || Mission in South Sudan |{{Flag|South Sudan}} |2011|| $1190M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNMISS factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/unmiss |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNMOGIP || Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan |{{Flag|India}} / {{Flag|Pakistan}} |1951|| $9M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNMOGIP factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/unmogip |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |- | UNTSO || Truce Supervision Organization |Middle East |1948|| $42M ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNTSO factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/untso |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref> |}

==History== {{Main|History of United Nations peacekeeping}}Scholars commonly divide the history of UN peacekeeping into three "generations" of traditional, multidimensional, and robust peacekeeping, each of which have distinct mandates and practices.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last=Hellmüller |first=Sara |last2=Lobjoy |first2=Marie |last3=Tan |first3=Xiang-Yun Rosalind |date=2022-12-21 |title=Beyond Generations: An Alternative Approach to Categorizing Peace Missions |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/gg/28/4/article-p509_3.xml |journal=Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=509–533 |doi=10.1163/19426720-02804003 |issn=1075-2846}}</ref> However, these are not formal UN classifications, and the periods have some overlap in practice.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":16" />

=== Traditional peacekeeping (1948–1988) === The first peacekeeping mission was initiated as the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), which was designed to oversee a ceasefire between the warring parties in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNTSO |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/factsheet/untso |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> UNTSO remains operative more than 75 years after its creation. In 1951, the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) was authorized to monitor relations between the two nations after the partition of India in 1947 as a result of decolonization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNMOGIP |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/factsheet/unmogip |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref>

Both UNTSO and UNMOGIP were small, unarmed observer missions.<ref name=":13" /> This evolved into armed, interpositional peacekeeping during the 1956 Suez Crisis, after France and the United Kingdom vetoed Security Council action against the Anglo-French-Israeli intervention in Egypt. In response, the General Assembly invoked the 1950 "Uniting for Peace" resolution and requested Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to present a plan for a peacekeeping force.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/208415 |title=Resolution 998 |date=1956-11-04 |editor-last= |language=|last=UN General Assembly (1st emergency special session: 1956)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-05-16 |title=Stories from the UN Archive: UN’s first peacekeeping force |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149871 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250201025344/https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149871 |archive-date=2025-02-01 |access-date=2026-04-26 |work=UN News |language=en}}</ref> Hammarskjöld drew on a proposal of Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester Bowles Pearson, who had initially suggested a peacekeeping force of mainly Canadian peacekeepers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.international.gc.ca/about-a_propos/pearson_nobel.aspx?lang=eng&view=d|title=Lester B. Pearson: 1957 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient |date=2012-10-18 |website=Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115092632/http://www.international.gc.ca/about-a_propos/pearson_nobel.aspx?lang=eng&view=d |archive-date= 15 January 2013 }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Bligh |first=Alexander |date=2014 |title=The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), 1956–67: Past Experience, Current Lessons |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24585888 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=50 |issue=5 |pages=796–809 |issn=0026-3206}}</ref> However, Egypt did not believe a Commonwealth nation's troops would be sufficiently neutral, and Hammarskjöld thus designed the multi-national UN Emergency Force (UNEF). UNEF supervised troop withdrawals and remained as a buffer between Egyptian and Israeli forces until 1967.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3991934 |title=Statement by the Secretary-General on UNEF |date=1956-11-28 |publisher=UN Dept. of Public Information |editor-last=Hammarskjöld |editor-first=Dag |location=New York |editor-last2=UN. Secretary-General}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bligh |first=Alexander |date=2014-09-03 |title=The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), 1956–67: Past Experience, Current Lessons |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263206.2014.934815 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |language=en |volume=50 |issue=5 |pages=796–809 |doi=10.1080/00263206.2014.934815 |issn=0026-3206}}</ref> Pearson would win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his work.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-06 |title=1957 - Nobel Peace Prize |url=https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1957 |access-date=2025-11-15 |website=www.nobelpeaceprize.org |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Panhard AML in the Musée des Blindés, France, pic-1.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Peacekeepers' Panhard armoured car in the Musée des Blindés, Saumur, France. These vehicles have served with the UN since the inception of UNFICYP.]] Subsequent first-generation operations followed the UNEF template: small, lightly armed missions which acted as observers and buffers, staffed predominantly by non-aligned or middle-power states, operated with the consent of the host state, and used force only in self-defense.<ref name=":13" /> Notable examples include the UN Operation in the Congo (ONUC, 1960–1964), the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP, 1964–present), and the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights (1974–present).<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Aksu |first=Esref |date=2003 |title=The UN in the Congo conflict: ONUC |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt155j6v7.9 |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=www.jstor.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=UNDOF |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/factsheet/undof |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> ONUC was the most ambitious of these missions and at points strained the conventional bounds of traditional peacekeeping, deploying significant force against Katangese secessionists;<ref name=":15" /> Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash in September 1961 while travelling to negotiate a ceasefire with the Katangese leadership.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Urquhart |first=Brian |title=Hammarskjold |date=1994 |publisher=Norton |isbn=978-0-393-31253-9 |location=New York, NY}}</ref> right|thumb|250px|A Pakistani UNOSOM armed convoy making the rounds in Mogadishu

In 1988, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded collectively to the UN peacekeeping forces. The Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that the forces "represent the manifest will of the community of nations" and had "made a decisive contribution" to the resolution of conflict around the world.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Nobel Peace Prize 1988 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1988/summary/ |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref> By that point thirteen operations had been authorized; another five would be approved in 1988–1989 alone, marking the beginning of a sharp expansion in UN peacekeeping activity.

=== Multidimensional peacekeeping (1988–1999) === thumb|upright=0.8| Bangladesh forces under MINUSMA Mali [[File:Evstafiev-bosnia-sarajevo-un-holds-head.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Norwegian Peacekeeper during the Siege of Sarajevo, 1992–1993]] {{multiple image | direction = vertical | width1 = 180 | image1 = Les Soldats de la Paix du bataillon indien lors d'une patrouille de domination de terrain à travers la forêt de Pitakongo (15143910694).jpg | caption1 = Indian Army patrol under UN mission in Congo, Africa | width2 = 180 | image2 = The Blue Berets, We Care (15847021980).jpg | caption2 = Indian Army doctors attend to a child in Congo | width3 = 180 | image3 = Italian Army - Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" patrol in Lebanon May 2020 - 03.png | caption3 = Italian Army Brigade, "Granatieri di Sardegna" patrol in Lebanon under UNIFIL }}

The end of the Cold War transformed UN peacekeeping.<ref name=":13" /> With the Security Council no longer paralyzed by superpower rivalry, larger and more complex missions were established, often to implement comprehensive peace agreements in intra-state conflicts and civil wars.<ref name=":13" /> Mandates expanded beyond ceasefire monitoring to include disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants, electoral assistance, human rights monitoring, security sector reform, and in some cases transitional administration of territory.<ref name=":13" /> Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's 1992 report ''An Agenda for Peace'' codified the transition, distinguishing peacekeeping from other activities, and arguing that the boundaries between them were becoming porous.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/144858 |title=An agenda for peace: preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping: report of the Secretary-General pursuant to the statement adopted by the Summit Meeting of the Security Council on 31 January 1992 |date=1992-06-17 |publisher=UN |editor-last=UN. Secretary-General |location=New York |language=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Peou |first=Sorpong |date=2002-06-01 |title=The UN, Peacekeeping, and Collective Human Security: From An Agenda for Peace to the Brahimi Report |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/714002728 |journal=International Peacekeeping |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=51–68 |doi=10.1080/714002728 |issn=1353-3312}}</ref> The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) was established in 1992 to manage this expanded portfolio.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-10 |title=Department of Peace Operations |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/department-of-peace-operations |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref>

Several missions of this period are widely regarded as successful,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bellamy |first=Alex J. |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28122/chapter/212275420 |title=Trends in Peace Operations, 1947–2013 |last2=Williams |first2=Paul D. |date=2015-07-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Koops |editor-first=Joachim A. |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686049.013.1 |editor-last2=Tardy |editor-first2=Thierry |editor-last3=MacQueen |editor-first3=Norrie |editor-last4=Williams |editor-first4=Paul D.}}</ref> including the UN Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), which supervised Namibian independence in 1989–1990; the UN Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL), which supported implementation of the Chapultepec peace accords from 1991;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Howard |first=Lise M. |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28122/chapter/212294686 |title=United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL) |date=2015-07-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Koops |editor-first=Joachim A. |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686049.013.34 |editor-last2=Tardy |editor-first2=Thierry |editor-last3=MacQueen |editor-first3=Norrie |editor-last4=Williams |editor-first4=Paul D.}}</ref> and the UN Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ), which oversaw the transition from civil war to multiparty elections in 1992–1994.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Howard |first=Lise Morjé |title=UN peacekeeping in civil wars |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-88138-8 |location=Cambridge ; New York}}</ref> The UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC, 1992–1993), one of the largest operations of the era, organized elections and supervised a partial demobilisation despite the non-cooperation of the Khmer Rouge.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Widyono |first=Benny |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28122/chapter/212296093 |title=United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) |date=2015-07-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Koops |editor-first=Joachim A. |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686049.013.38 |editor-last2=Tardy |editor-first2=Thierry |editor-last3=MacQueen |editor-first3=Norrie |editor-last4=Williams |editor-first4=Paul D.}}</ref>

Other deployments failed catastrophically, often where missions had been dispatched without secured ceasefires or the consent of all parties.<ref name=":13" /> In Somalia, the UN Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) became drawn into combat with local militias following the collapse of state authority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Paul D. |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28122/chapter/212297281 |title=United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) |date=2015-07-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Koops |editor-first=Joachim A. |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686049.013.41 |editor-last2=Tardy |editor-first2=Thierry |editor-last3=MacQueen |editor-first3=Norrie |editor-last4=Williams |editor-first4=Paul D.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13793.10 |title=Intervention in Somalia: UNITAF and UNOSOM II |last=Tubbs |first=James O. |date=1997 |publisher=Air University Press |pages=31–46}}</ref> In Rwanda, the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) lacked the troop strength and political backing to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which over 800,000 people were killed.<ref>{{Citation |last=Laegreid |first=Turid |title=U.N. Peacekeeping in Rwanda |date=2017-07-05 |work=The Path of a Genocide |pages=231–252 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315133744-14 |access-date=2026-04-26 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-13374-4}}</ref> In the Yugoslav Wars, the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was deployed in conditions where "there was no peace to keep";<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-07 |title=Our history |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/our-history |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crossing the Rubicon |url=https://www.nato.int/en/news-and-events/events/transcripts/2005/07/01/crossing-the-rubicon |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) |language=en}}</ref> in July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces committed the Srebrenica massacre in a UN-designated "safe area" despite the presence of a Dutch UNPROFOR battalion.<ref name=":18">{{Cite web |date=1999-11-15 |title=Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution 53/35: The fall of Srebrenica |url=https://docs.un.org/en/A/54/549 |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=docs.un.org}}</ref> These failures led to a re-examining of the three original peacekeeping principles and their applicability to contemporary crises.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bellamy |first=Alex J. |title=Understanding peacekeeping |last2=Griffin |first2=Stuart |date=2008 |publisher=Polity |isbn=978-0-7456-3058-8 |edition=Reprint |location=Oxford}}</ref><ref name=":11" />

The 1999 reports of Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Rwandan genocide and the fall of Srebrenica were highly critical of UN actions.<ref name=":18" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/405039 |title=Letter dated 15 December 1999 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council |date=1999-12-16 |publisher=UN |editor-last=UN. Secretary-General |location=New York |language= |editor-last2=Independent Inquiry into the Actions of the United Nations during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda}}</ref> This led to the 2000 ''Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations'' (Brahimi Report), which called for clearer mandates, more robust rules of engagement, faster deployment timelines, and headquarters reform, and reframed impartiality as adherence to the principles of the Charter rather than equal treatment of all parties.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |date=2000-08-21 |title=Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (BRAHIMI Report) |url=https://www.unv.org/publications/report-panel-united-nations-peace-operations-brahimi-report-a55305 |access-date=2026-04-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zittel |first=Brian E. |date=2002 |title=The Brahimi Report: At a Glance |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24358182 |journal=Journal of International Affairs |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=501–503 |issn=0022-197X}}</ref>

A separate response was the establishment in 1996 of the small UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES), which received a high degree of commitment and became a "proving ground for ideas, methods, and procedures".<ref name="Boothby">{{cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/27800508 |title=The Political Challenges of Administering Eastern Slavonia |journal=Global Governance |volume=10 |issue=1 |author=D. Boothby |format= |pages=37–51 |date=2004 |doi=10.1163/19426720-01001005 |jstor=27800508 |access-date=17 April 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It was widely considered the most successful UN mission of the decade, and was followed by the more ambitious transitional administrations of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), both established in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNMIK factsheet |url=https://admin.unmissions.org/en/home-0/factsheet/unmik |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=admin.unmissions.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=MacQueen |first=Norrie |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28122/chapter/212302505 |title=United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) |date=2015-07-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Koops |editor-first=Joachim A. |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686049.013.58 |editor-last2=Tardy |editor-first2=Thierry |editor-last3=MacQueen |editor-first3=Norrie |editor-last4=Williams |editor-first4=Paul D.}}</ref>

=== Robust peacekeeping (1999–present) === Third-generation peacekeeping has been shaped by the protection of civilians as a central mission task and by the regular authorization of force at the tactical level under Chapter VII.<ref name=":13" /> In 1999, Security Council Resolutions 1265 and 1270 saw the first explicit mandate in peacekeeping history to protect civilians in armed conflict,<ref name=":20">{{Cite journal|last1=Bove|first1=Vincenzo|last2=Salvatore|first2=Jessica Di|last3=Elia|first3=Leandro|date=2021|title=UN Peacekeeping and Households' Well-Being in Civil Wars|journal=American Journal of Political Science|volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=402–417 |language=en|doi=10.1111/ajps.12644|issn=1540-5907|doi-access=free|hdl=10281/458537|hdl-access=free}}</ref> tasking the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to take "the necessary action [...] to afford protection to civilians under imminent threat of physical violence".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1999-09-17 |title=Resolution 1265 (1999) |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/285718?v=pdf |website=UN Security Council}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite web|title=A U.N. Peacekeeping Mission Is Afghanistan's Best Hope|url=https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29632/after-us-war-afghanistan-peacekeeping-mission-deserves-a-chance|access-date=2021-06-23|website=www.worldpoliticsreview.com|date=7 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Such protection mandates subsequently became a near-universal feature of peacekeeping operations in active conflict zones, even though they blurred the lines between peacekeeping and peace enforcement.<ref name=":31" /><ref name=":13" /> The most explicit departure came in 2013, when Security Council Resolution 2098 authorized the UN Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) to carry out offensive operations to "neutralize and disarm" armed groups in parts of the country.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|last1=Pushkina|first1=Darya|last2=Siewert|first2=Markus B.|last3=Wolff|first3=Stefan|date=2021|title=Mission (im)possible? UN military peacekeeping operations in civil wars|journal=European Journal of International Relations|volume=28 |pages=158–186 |language=en|doi=10.1177/13540661211046602|issn=1354-0661|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":23" /> The Council emphasized the authorization was given "on an exceptional basis, and without creating a precedent or any prejudice to the agreed principles of peacekeeping",<ref name=":24" /> but this nonetheless intensified debates about the separation between peacekeeping and peace enforcement.<ref name=":25" /><ref name=":26" />

=== Contemporary peacekeeping === In 2019, Secretary-General António Guterres renamed the Department of Peacekeeping Operations into the Department of Peace Operations (DPO), dissolved the Department of Field Support and had its functions absorbed into a new Department of Operational Support (DOS), and consolidated political affairs functions in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA).<ref name=":27">{{Cite book |last=Serafino |first=Nina M. |title=A U.N. Rapid Reaction Force? A Discussion of the Issues and Considerations for U.S. Policymakers |date=1995 |publisher=Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress |oclc=50077294}}</ref><ref name=":28">{{Cite web| title=Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) | url=https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/pdfs_terrorism-directory_6-DPKO.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204125022/https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/pdfs_terrorism-directory_6-DPKO.pdf | archive-date=2022-02-04}}</ref>

Since the late 2010s, a changing political environment and growing tensions with host governments have led to a series of mission closures and drawdowns. MINUSCA and MONUSCO have faced repeated calls from host governments for accelerated drawdown.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Hindsight: UN Peace Operations at a Crossroads |url=https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2026-03/in-hindsight-un-peace-operations-at-a-crossroads.php |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=Security Council Report |language=en}}</ref> In 2023, MINUSMA closed at the explicit request of the Malian transitional government,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=Resolution 2690 (2023) |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4014208?ln=en&v=pdf |website=UN Security Council}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-05 |title=MINUSMA |url=https://minusma.unmissions.org/en |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=MINUSMA |language=en}}</ref> which prompted a broader reassessment of the viability of UN peacekeeping where host-state consent has eroded.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmidt |first=Annie |date=2024-07-31 |title=Emerging Lessons from MINUSMA’s Experience in Mali |url=https://www.ipinst.org/2024/07/emerging-lessons-from-minusmas-experience-in-mali |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=International Peace Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> As of 2026, no new peacekeeping operation has been authorised since the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti in 2017, the longest such span since the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-15 |title=Where we operate |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/where-we-operate |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref>

==Mission mandates and operations== thumb|upright=1| Bangladesh Emergency Crash and Rescue Section of MONUSCO Force, in Bunia, Ituri [[File:Guard of Honour during UN Medal Awarding Parade at Bunia.jpg|thumb|Guard of Honor during UN Medal Awarding Parade at Bunia, Orientale, the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force]] [[File:UN battalion Bastille Day 2008 n2.jpg|thumb|A multinational UN battalion at the 2008 Bastille Day military parade]]

=== Authorization === Every UN peacekeeping operation is established by a Security Council resolution, which sets out the mission's mandate, troop ceiling, area of operation, and rules governing the use of force.<ref name=":30">{{Cite web |date=2026-03-24 |title=Forming a new operation |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/forming-a-new-operation |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> Mandates are typically authorized for an initial period of six to twelve months and are subject to renewal by further Council resolutions.<ref name=":30" /> Renewals are often politically contested among Council members and with the host state.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Susan Hannah |last2=Yuen |first2=Amy T. |date=2014-09-17 |title=The Politics of Peacekeeping: UN Security Council Oversight Across Peacekeeping Missions |url=https://academic.oup.com/isq/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/isqu.12086 |journal=International Studies Quarterly |language=en |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=621–632 |doi=10.1111/isqu.12086}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=UN Peacekeeping Operations: Open Debate |url=https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2024/09/un-peacekeeping-operations-open-debate.php |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=Security Council Report |language=en}}</ref>

When establishing a mission, the Security Council may invoke either Chapter VI or Chapter VII of the Charter, but this is not always specified in the text of the resolution. Chapter VI mandates rely on the consent and cooperation of the parties; Chapter VII mandates authorize the use of "all necessary means" to fulfil specified tasks, most commonly the protection of civilians.<ref name=":29" /> Since the early 2000s, the great majority of mandates in active conflicts have included Chapter VII authorizations.<ref name=":31">{{Cite journal |last=Bellamy |first=Alex J. |last2=Hunt |first2=Charles T. |date=2015-11-06 |title=Twenty-first century UN peace operations: protection, force and the changing security environment |url=https://academic.oup.com/ia/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/1468-2346.12456 |journal=International Affairs |language=en |volume=91 |issue=6 |pages=1277–1298 |doi=10.1111/1468-2346.12456}}</ref> A mandate is operationalized through rules of engagement on the use of force, which are developed by the Department of Peace Operations in consultation with troop-contributing countries, and approved by the Secretary-General.<ref name=":31" /><ref name="autogenerated1" />

=== Tasks === Contemporary peacekeeping mandates typically combine several core tasks, depending on the context of the mission.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> They may include ceasefire and peace agreement monitoring, verification of withdrawals, supervision of buffer zones, and investigation of alleged violations; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants; security sector reform, including the restructuring of national armed forces and police; electoral assistance, ranging from technical support to directly organizing elections in transitional administration contexts; rule of law and judicial support; human rights monitoring (often in coordination with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights); and protection of civilians.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Howard |first=Lise Morjé |title=UN peacekeeping in civil wars |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge university press |place=Cambridge |isbn=9780521881388}}</ref>

The protection of civilians (POC) has become the most prominent substantive task of contemporary peacekeeping.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |date=2026-04-08 |title=Protection of civilians mandate |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/protection-of-civilians-mandate |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> Since the principle's first explicit mention in 1999, sixteen peacekeeping operations have been mandated to protect civilians; as of 2026, five active missions (MINUSCA, MONUSCO, UNMISS, UNIFIL, and UNISFA) carry such mandates, and over 95 percent of currently deployed UN uniformed peacekeepers operate under a POC mandate.<ref name=":32" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gilder |first=Alexander |date=2023-08-11 |title=The UN and the Protection of Civilians: Sustaining the Momentum |url=https://academic.oup.com/jcsl/article/28/2/317/6982627 |journal=Journal of Conflict and Security Law |language=en |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=317–348 |doi=10.1093/jcsl/krac037 |issn=1467-7954}}</ref> However, implementation has been uneven: independent evaluations, including a 2014 report by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, found that missions under-respond to threats against civilians, particularly where the host state itself is the perpetrator.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-18 |title=Evaluation of the implementation and results of protection of civilians mandates in United Nations peacekeeping operations - Report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (A/68/787) |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/world/evaluation-implementation-and-results-protection-civilians-mandates-united-nations |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":33">{{Cite journal |last=Hultman |first=Lisa |last2=Kathman |first2=Jacob |last3=Shannon |first3=Megan |date=2014-10-17 |title=Beyond Keeping Peace: United Nations Effectiveness in the Midst of Fighting |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055414000446/type/journal_article |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=108 |issue=4 |pages=737–753 |doi=10.1017/S0003055414000446 |issn=0003-0554}}</ref> The expansion of POC mandates has also generated tension with the principles of consent and impartiality, since action to protect civilians from a host state's forces inherently strains the relationship with that state.<ref name=":33" />

=== Mission formation === Once the Security Council approves the creation of a mission, the Department of Peace Operations begins planning the necessary elements, including the selection of the senior command team.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Oksamytna |first1= Kseniya|last2= Bove |first2= Vincenzo|last3= Lundgren |first3= Magnus|date= 2021 |title=Leadership selection in United Nations peacekeeping |journal= International Studies Quarterly|volume= 65|pages= 16–28|doi= 10.1093/isq/sqaa023 |doi-access= free }}</ref> As the UN maintains no standing force or supplies, the department seeks contributions from member states for each new operation. Forming ad hoc coalitions in this way creates the possibility of failure to assemble a suitable force and produces a general slowdown in procurement once the operation is in the field. Roméo Dallaire, force commander during the Rwandan genocide, described UN peacekeeping as following a "pull" logic, as opposed to the "push" logic of traditional military deployments: "You had to make a request for everything you needed, and then you had to wait while that request was analyzed. [...] In a push system, food and water for the number of soldiers deployed is automatically supplied. In a pull system, you have to ask for those rations, and no common sense seems to ever apply."<ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Dallaire |first=Roméo |title=Shake hands with the devil: the failure of humanity in Rwanda |last2=Beardsley |first2=Brent |date=2003 |publisher=Random House Canada |isbn=978-0-679-31171-3 |location=Toronto}}</ref>{{rp|99-100}}

Member states deploy their troops at varying speeds.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lundgren |first1= Magnus|last2= Oksamytna |first2= Kseniya|last3= Katharina |first3= Coleman|date= 2021 |title=Only as fast as its troop contributors: Incentives, capabilities, and constraints in the UN's peacekeeping response |journal= Journal of Peace Research|volume= 58|issue= 4|pages= 671–686|doi= 10.1177/0022343320940763 |doi-access= free }}</ref> The exact size and composition of the force must be agreed with the government of the host state, and rules of engagement must be approved by the parties involved and by the Security Council. Peacekeepers' freedom of movement within the host country is also subject to negotiation, and host governments have occasionally imposed escort requirements or prior-notification obligations, in some cases in violation of the agreements governing the mission.<ref name=":34">{{Cite web |last=Sebastián |first=Sofía |last2=Gorur |first2=Aditi |date=2018-03-13 |title=U.N. Peacekeeping & Host-State Consent: How Missions Navigate Relationships with Governments |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/world/un-peacekeeping-host-state-consent-how-missions-navigate-relationships-governments |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=reliefweb.int |publisher=Stimson Center |language=en}}</ref> Such restrictions on freedom of movement have been the most frequently cited obstruction to mandate implementation across contemporary peacekeeping operations.<ref name=":34" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gregory |first=Julie |last2=Sharland |first2=Lisa |date=2023-09-25 |title=Host-Country Consent in UN Peacekeeping |url=https://www.stimson.org/2023/host-country-consent-in-un-peacekeeping/ |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=Stimson Center |language=en-US}}</ref> When all agreements have been completed, personnel assembled, and final approval given by the Security Council, peacekeepers are deployed to the operational area.

=== Leadership === {{See also|United Nations Military Observer|United Nations Police|}} A peacekeeping mission has several centers of authority. The Head of Mission, typically a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, exercises operational authority over all aspects of the mission and is responsible for political and diplomatic activity, overseeing relations both with the parties to the peace agreement and with UN member states; the Head of Mission reports to the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2026-03-24 |title=Forming a new operation |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/forming-a-new-operation |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> The Secretary-General also appoints a Force Commander and a Police Commissioner, alongside any additional senior civilian staff required by the mandate. Force Commanders are typically senior officers of their nation's armed services, often drawn from the country contributing the largest troop contingent. Once assigned under UN operational command, subordinate commanders report only to the Force Commander and should not act on national direction.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations |date=2008 |title=United Nations Peacekeeping Operations - Principles and Guidelines |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/capstone_eng.pdf}}</ref>

===Financing=== [[File:East timor independence un2.jpg|thumb|Australian peacekeepers in East Timor]] Financing peacekeeping operations is the collective responsibility of UN member states, as outlined in Article 17 of the UN Charter.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-07 |title=How we are funded |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> While the establishment of a mission has to be approved by the Security Council, its budget and resources need to further receive General Assembly approval.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-24 |title=Forming a new operation |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/forming-a-new-operation |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> In the 2025–2026 fiscal year, the total budget for all active peacekeeping missions was set at $5.66 billion; this excludes the long-running UNTSO and UNMOGIP missions, which are financed through the regular UN budget.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2026-04-07 |title=How we are funded |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref>

{{Bar chart | title = Total UN Peacekeeping budget in $US billions, by year | label_type = Fiscal year | data_type = Budget (% change from prior year) | data_max = 9 | label1 = 2015-2016 | data1 = 8.3 | comment1 = – | label2 = 2016-2017 | data2 = 7.9 | comment2 = -5.2% | label3 = 2017-2018 | data3 = 7.3 | comment3 = -7.2% | label4 = 2018-2019 | data4 = 6.7 | comment4 = -8.2% | label5 = 2019-2020 | data5 = 6.5 | comment5 = -3.0% | label6 = 2020-2021 | data6 = 6.6 | comment6 = +1.2% | label7 = 2021-2022 | data7 = 6.4 | comment7 = -3.0% | label8 = 2022-2023 | data8 = 6.5 | comment8 = +1.9% | label9 = 2023-2024 | data9 = 6.3 | comment9 = -3.1% | label10 = 2024-2025 | data10 = 5.6 | comment10 = -11.1% | label11 = 2025-2026 | data11 = 5.7 | comment11 = +1.8% }} ''Source: United Nations, Reuters''<ref>{{cite web|title=General Assembly Authorizes $8.3 billion for 15 Peacekeeping Operations in 2015/16 as It Adopts 25 Resolutions, 1 Decision in Reports of Fifth Committee {{!}} Meetings Coverage and Press Releases|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/ga11657.doc.htm|website=www.un.org|access-date=1 July 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="un2016">{{Cite web |title=How we are funded. United Nations Peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=peacekeeping.un.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=reut1>{{cite web|last1=Nichols|first1=Michelle|title=U.N. states agree $7.3 bln peacekeeping budget, U.S. share cut 7.5 pct|url=http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN19K0QS-OZATP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629110806/http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN19K0QS-OZATP|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=1 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-21 |title=How we are funded {{!}} United Nations Peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2025-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621202650/https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |archive-date=21 June 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-30 |title=How we are funded {{!}} United Nations Peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2025-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630152834/https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |archive-date=30 June 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-08 |title=How we are funded {{!}} United Nations Peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2025-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608150441/https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |archive-date=8 June 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-01 |title=How we are funded {{!}} United Nations Peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2025-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901044824/https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |archive-date=1 September 2022 }}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-27 |title=Peacekeeping factsheet |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/peacekeeping-factsheet |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-12 |title=How we are funded {{!}} United Nations Peacekeeping |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2025-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250512000716/https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |archive-date=12 May 2025 }}</ref>

Member states are legally obligated to finance peacekeeping operations according to an apportionement formula which is regularly updated by General Assembly resolutions; these are called "assessed contributions".<ref name=":5" /> Assessed contributions are calculated based on a country's gross national income, with poorer states receiving a discount of up to 90% on their potential contributions.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Implementation of General Assembly resolutions 55/235 and 55/236 - Report of the Secretary-General |url=https://docs.un.org/en/A/79/318/Add.1 |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=docs.un.org |publication-date=2024-12-31}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Member states can additionally make "voluntary contributions" to peacekeeping missions, including direct financing, transport, supplies, or personnel.<ref name=":5" /> The five permanent members of the Security Council collectively provide 59% of all peacekeeping funding, while a group of 31 other wealthy member states contributes a further 36% of the funding.<ref name=":7" />

{{Pie chart | thumb = none | radius = 150 | caption = '''Largest financial contributors to UN peacekeeping, 2025-26''' | footer = | labelformat = | legend = true | direction = row-reverse | label1 = {{flag|United States}} | value1 = 26.95 | label2 = {{flag|China}} | value2 = 18.69 | label3 = {{flag|Japan}} | value3 = 8.03 | label4 = {{flag|Germany}} | value4 = 6.11 | label5 = {{flag|France}} | value5 = 5.79 | label6 = {{flag|United Kingdom}} | value6 = 5.36 | label7 = {{flag|Italy}} | value7 = 3.19 | label8 = {{flag|Canada}} | value8 = 2.63 | label9 = {{flag|South Korea}} | value9 = 2.57 | label10 = {{flag|Russia}} | value10 = 2.29 }}

==Personnel== thumb|upright=1.6|Number of UN peacekeepers on active missions, 1947 to 2021<ref>{{cite web |title=United Nations peacekeepers on active missions |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/un-peacekeeping-forces |website=Our World in Data |access-date=26 April 2026}}</ref>{{See also|List of countries by number of United Nations peacekeepers contributed}}

=== Composition and contributions === Peacekeepers are typically trained infantry soldiers who volunteer for the secondment with their national armed forces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-07 |title=Military personnel |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/military-personnel |access-date=2026-04-27 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> The UN does not have its own military force, since all military personnel are, first and foremost, members of their own national armies who are then seconded to work with the UN.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-07 |title=Work with us |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/working-with-us |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> While Article 43 of the Charter obliges all member states to make available to the Security Council necessary "armed forces, assistance, and facilities", peacekeeping forces are contributed on a voluntary basis.<ref>{{Cite web |author=United Nations |title=United Nations Charter (full text) |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=United Nations |language=en}}</ref> As of April 2026, there were 53,213 people serving as peacekeepers (46,310 uniformed, 6,752 civilian, and 151 justice and corrections).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-27|title=Peacekeeping factsheet|url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/peacekeeping-factsheet|access-date=2026-04-25|website=UN Peacekeeping|language=en}}</ref> 117 countries were contributing to peacekeeping operations, with Nepal leading the tally (6,029), followed by Rwanda (5,880), Bangladesh (5,568), India (5,165), and Pakistan (2,662).<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Contributions by Country (Ranking) October 2025 |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/document-library/contributions-by-country-ranking-october-2025 |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=peacekeeping.un.org}}</ref> African nations contribute almost 24,000 personnel, nearly half the total.<ref name=":2" />

Since 1948, more than two million military, police, and civilian personnel from over 125 countries have served as UN peacekeepers across the 72 missions authorized to date.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=UN Peacekeepers - Serving for peace, sacrificing for humanity |url=https://www.un.org/en/peace-and-security/service-and-sacrifice |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=United Nations |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":35">{{Cite journal |last=Duursma |first=Allard |last2=Bara |first2=Corinne |last3=Wilén |first3=Nina |last4=Hellmüller |first4=Sara |last5=Karlsrud |first5=John |last6=Oksamytna |first6=Kseniya |last7=Bruker |first7=Janek |last8=Campbell |first8=Susanna |last9=Cusimano |first9=Salvator |last10=Donati |first10=Marco |last11=Dorussen |first11=Han |last12=Druet |first12=Dirk |last13=Geier |first13=Valentin |last14=Epiney |first14=Marine |last15=Geier |first15=Valentin |date=2023-08-08 |title=UN Peacekeeping at 75: Achievements, Challenges, and Prospects |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13533312.2023.2263178 |journal=International Peacekeeping |language=en |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=415–476 |doi=10.1080/13533312.2023.2263178 |issn=1353-3312}}</ref> During the 21st century, the UN has deployed more military personnel globally than any actor other than the United States.<ref name=":35" />[[File:PKW Syria 3.jpg|thumb|A Polish peacekeeper in Syria]]

The rate of reimbursement by the UN for troop-contributing countries per peacekeeper per month include: $1,256 for pay and allowances; $123 for personal clothing, gear and equipment; $36 for pre-deployment medical examinations and vaccinations; $10 for inland transportation; and $28 for pre-deployment training.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2022 |title=Results of the survey to support the review of the standard rate of reimbursement to troop- and police- contributing countries - Report of the Secretary-General |url=https://docs.un.org/en/A/76/676 |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=docs.un.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-06 |title=Deployment and reimbursement |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/deployment-and-reimbursement |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref>

=== Women === {{See also|Women in peacekeeping}} [[File:3 peacekeepers witnessed by Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues De Miranda Filho, Laila Bourhil and Lieutenant General Constant Ndima Kongba.jpg|thumb| Three female UN Peacekeepers from the Indian Army celebrate International Day of the UN peacekeeper 2023 (on 25 May) in Goma, North Kivu, DRC]] {{Excerpt|Women in peacekeeping|only=paragraph|paragraph=1,2,3|hat=no}}

=== Fatalities === Through April 2026, 4,496 people from 134 countries had been killed while serving on peacekeeping missions.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-27 |title=Peacekeeping factsheet |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/peacekeeping-factsheet |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref> The highest death tolls were borne by India (184), Bangladesh (174), Pakistan (172), Nigeria (160), and Ghana (156).<ref>UN Peacekeeping, [https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/statsbynationalitymission_2_15.pdf "Fatalities by Nationality and Mission up to 8/31/2018"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927204159/https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/statsbynationalitymission_2_15.pdf |date=27 September 2018 }}</ref> Almost 80% of UN peacekeeping fatalities have occurred since 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-13 |title=Fatalities |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/fatalities |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=UN Peacekeeping |language=en}}</ref>

== Effectiveness == There is a large body of scholarship on the effects and effectiveness of peacekeeping operations. The aggregate picture is broadly favourable: peacekeeping is associated with reduced conflict recurrence and fewer civilian deaths, but the literature also shows variation in mission performance and limitations on what peacekeeping can achieve.<ref>{{Citation |last=Di Salvatore |first=Jessica |title=Effectiveness of Peacekeeping Operations |date=2017-09-26 |work=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.586 |access-date=2026-04-26 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-022863-7 |last2=Ruggeri |first2=Andrea}}</ref>

The most widely-cited finding is that the deployment of UN peacekeepers significantly reduces the risk of renewed warfare after civil war. Fortna's 2008 analysis of post-Cold War peace agreements found that peacekeeping operations substantially extend the duration of peace, and that the effect is robust to controls for the conditions under which missions are typically deployed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fortna |first=Virginia Page |title=Does peacekeeping work? Shaping belligerents' choices after civil war |date=2008 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13671-4 |location=Princeton}}</ref> Hegre, Hultman, and Nygård (2019) estimate that a substantial expansion of peacekeeping operations would reduce ongoing armed conflict by roughly two-thirds compared to a counterfactual scenario without peacekeeping.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hegre |first=Håvard |last2=Hultman |first2=Lisa |last3=Nygård |first3=Håvard Mokleiv |date=2019-01-01 |title=Evaluating the Conflict-Reducing Effect of UN Peacekeeping Operations |url=https://doi.org/10.1086/700203 |journal=The Journal of Politics |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=215–232 |doi=10.1086/700203 |issn=0022-3816}}</ref> Lundgren (2016) further finds that the credible promise of peacekeeping deployment can already encourage combatants to negotiate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lundgren |first=Magnus |date=2016-06-30 |title=Which type of international organizations can settle civil wars? |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11558-016-9253-0 |journal=The Review of International Organizations |language=en |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=613–641 |doi=10.1007/s11558-016-9253-0 |issn=1559-7431}}</ref>

Hultman, Kathman, and Shannon (2013, 2019) found that larger peacekeeping deployments are associated with significantly fewer civilian casualties in African civil wars, with the effect strongest for armed military units rather than unarmed observers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hultman |first=Lisa |last2=Kathman |first2=Jacob |last3=Shannon |first3=Megan |date=2013-05-08 |title=United Nations Peacekeeping and Civilian Protection in Civil War |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajps.12036 |journal=American Journal of Political Science |language=en |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=875–891 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12036 |issn=0092-5853}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Hultman |first=Lisa |title=Peacekeeping and the Problem of Civil War |date=2019-12-12 |work=Peacekeeping in the Midst of War |pages=1–24 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198845577.003.0001 |access-date=2026-04-26 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-884557-7 |last2=Kathman |first2=Jacob D. |last3=Shannon |first3=Megan}}</ref> Fjelde, Hultman, and Nilsson (2019) found that peacekeeping was more effective at reducing civilian casualties in active conflict than counterterrorism operations conducted by national governments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fjelde |first=Hanne |last2=Hultman |first2=Lisa |last3=Nilsson |first3=Desirée |date=2019 |title=Protection Through Presence: UN Peacekeeping and the Costs of Targeting Civilians |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0020818318000346/type/journal_article |journal=International Organization |language=en |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=103–131 |doi=10.1017/S0020818318000346 |issn=0020-8183}}</ref>

Beyond direct security outcomes, peacekeeping deployment is correlated with improvements in rule of law during periods of peace, with Blair (2020) finding the relationship strongest for civilian rather than uniformed personnel, and where missions engage host states in institutional reform.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blair |first=Robert A. |date=2020-09-10 |title=UN Peacekeeping and the Rule of Law |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055420000738/type/journal_article |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=115 |issue=1 |pages=51–68 |doi=10.1017/S0003055420000738 |issn=0003-0554}}</ref> Bove, Di Salvatore, and Elia (2021) find that peacekeeping deployment in South Sudan had positive effects on local household welfare, meaning mission effects can extend to broader economic conditions in deployed areas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bove |first=Vincenzo |last2=Salvatore |first2=Jessica Di |last3=Elia |first3=Leandro |date=2021-07-01 |title=UN Peacekeeping and Households' Well‐Being in Civil Wars |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajps.12644 |journal=American Journal of Political Science |language=en |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=402–417 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12644 |issn=0092-5853}}</ref>

However, there is considerable variation across missions. Sambanis (2008) found that peacekeeping has stronger short-term than long-term effects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sambanis |first=Nicholas |date=2008-01-01 |title=Short- and Long-Term Effects of United Nations Peace Operations |url=https://academic.oup.com/wber/article/22/1/9/1682720 |journal=The World Bank Economic Review |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=9–32 |doi=10.1093/wber/lhm022 |issn=1564-698X}}</ref> Howard (2019) identifies domestic political conditions, mandate clarity, and mission leadership as critical determinants of success, and argues that effective missions rely less on the threat of force than on factors like persuasion and financial inducement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Howard |first=Lise Morjé |title=Power in peacekeeping |date=2019 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-47112-1 |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY}}</ref> Pushkina, Siewert, and Wolff (2021) find that mission success depends on cooperation and consent from domestic actors, and missions in situation of contested or eroding consent are significantly less likely to achieve their objectives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pushkina |first=Darya |last2=Siewert |first2=Markus B. |last3=Wolff |first3=Stefan |date=2021-09-21 |title=Mission (im)possible? UN military peacekeeping operations in civil wars |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13540661211046602 |journal=European Journal of International Relations |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=158–186 |doi=10.1177/13540661211046602 |issn=1354-0661}}</ref> The "peacebuilding triangle" framework developed by Doyle and Sambanis (2006) similarly shows that outcomes depend on the interaction of international and local capacities, and the severity of hostility.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doyle |first=Michael W. |title=Making war and building peace: United Nations peace operations |last2=Sambanis |first2=Nicholas |date=2006 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12274-8 |series=Princeton paperbacks |location=Princeton, N.J}}</ref>

In terms of critical perspectives, Autesserre (2016, 2021) argues that missions are systematically constrained by professional cultures that prioritize headquarters knowledge over local understanding, and that effective peacebuilding depends on bottom-up engagement with local conflict dynamics that conventional missions are poorly equipped to provide.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Autesserre |first=Séverine |title=Peaceland: conflict resolution and the everyday politics of international intervention |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-107-63204-2 |edition=3rd printing |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Autesserre |first=Séverine |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/39745 |title=The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World |last2=Gbowee |first2=Leymah |date=2021-05-03 |publisher=Oxford University PressNew York |isbn=978-0-19-753035-1 |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197530351.001.0001}}</ref> The "local turn" in peacebuilding scholarship has questioned whether externally-led missions can produce sustainable peace at all, and has argued that standard effectiveness metrics (such as absence of large-scale violence or signing of peace agreements) capture only a narrow conception of what peace requires.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mac Ginty |first=Roger |last2=Richmond |first2=Oliver P |date=2013-06-24 |title=The Local Turn in Peace Building: a critical agenda for peace |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436597.2013.800750 |journal=Third World Quarterly |language=en |volume=34 |issue=5 |pages=763–783 |doi=10.1080/01436597.2013.800750 |issn=0143-6597}}</ref>

==Misconduct and harm by peacekeepers== {{Further|Peacekeeping#Peacekeeping, human trafficking, and forced prostitution}} Allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse have been documented across numerous UN peacekeeping operations, with particularly substantial records of misconduct emerging from missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), Cambodia (UNTAC), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC and its successor MONUSCO), Haiti (MINUSTAH), Liberia (UNMIL), and the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Westendorf |first=Jasmine-Kim |title=Violating peace: sex, aid, and peacekeeping |date=2020 |publisher=Cornell University Press |others=JSTOR (Organization) |isbn=978-1-5017-4807-3 |location=Ithaca}}</ref><ref name=":23">{{Cite journal |last=Kovatch |first=Bonnie |date=2016-04-02 |title=Sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping missions: A case study of MONUC and MONUSCO |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21520844.2016.1192978 |journal=The Journal of the Middle East and Africa |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=157–174 |doi=10.1080/21520844.2016.1192978 |issn=2152-0844}}</ref>

The UN Conduct and Discipline Unit, established in 2005 in the wake of revelations about abuse by peacekeepers in the DR Congo, maintains a public database of allegations against UN personnel.<ref name=":24">{{Cite web |title=Our mandate & who we are |url=https://conduct.unmissions.org/en/our-mandate-who-we-are |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=Conduct |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Sexual exploitation and abuse |url=https://conduct.unmissions.org/en/sexual-exploitation-and-abuse |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=Conduct |language=en}}</ref> Reported allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse have ranged between approximately 50 and 100 per year across all UN field missions between 2016 and 2026,<ref name=":10" /> though the Office of Internal Oversight Services and independent reviews have consistently found that underreporting is substantial.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Evaluation of the Enforcement and Remedial Assistance Efforts for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by the United Nations and Related Personnel in Peacekeeping Operations {{!}} UNEG |url=https://www.unevaluation.org/member_publications/evaluation-enforcement-and-remedial-assistance-efforts-sexual-exploitation-and |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=www.unevaluation.org|date=2015}}</ref><ref name=":25">{{Cite web |title=Sexual exploitation and abuse by international peacekeepers – ICAI review – Read online |url=https://icai.independent.gov.uk/html-version/sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-by-international-peacekeepers/ |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=Independent Commission for Aid Impact |language=en-US}}</ref> Academic studies have linked the prevalence of abuse to factors including mission size, the presence of large transactional sex economies in conflict-affected areas, weaknesses in pre-deployment training and vetting by troop-contributing countries, and the structural problem that disciplinary jurisdiction over uniformed personnel rests with their home states rather than with the UN itself.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":26">{{Cite book |last=Neudorfer |first=Kelly |title=Sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping: an analysis of risk and prevention factors |date=2015 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-9961-9 |location=Lanham}}</ref>

=== Operational harms === In addition to individual misconduct, peacekeeping operations have at times caused significant harm to host populations through their activities. The most consequential such case occurred as part of the 2010s Haiti cholera outbreak, when inadequate sanitation at a base hosting Nepalese peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) contaminated a major waterway with cholera bacteria carried by infected personnel.<ref name=":37">{{Cite journal |last=Piarroux |first=Renaud |date=2011-07-01 |title=Understanding the Cholera Epidemic, Haiti |url=http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/7/11-0059_article.htm |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume=17 |issue=7 |pages=1161–1168 |doi=10.3201/eid1707.110059 |pmc=3381400 |pmid=21762567}}</ref> The following outbreak killed approximately 10,000 people and infected more than 800,000 over the subsequent decade in a country with no previously recorded cholera transmission.<ref name=":37" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pillinger |first=Mara |last2=Hurd |first2=Ian |last3=Barnett |first3=Michael N. |date=2016-03-21 |title=How to Get Away with Cholera: The UN, Haiti, and International Law |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592715003230 |journal=Perspectives on Politics |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=70–86 |doi=10.1017/s1537592715003230 |issn=1537-5927}}</ref> The epidemiological evidence linking the outbreak to MINUSTAH was established by independent investigators within months,<ref name=":37" /> but the UN initially declined to accept responsibility and successfully invoked its immunity when sued by the victims.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Freedman |first=R. |date=2014-02-01 |title=UN Immunity or Impunity? A Human Rights Based Challenge |url=https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ejil/cht082 |journal=European Journal of International Law |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=239–254 |doi=10.1093/ejil/cht082 |issn=0938-5428}}</ref> In December 2016, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a partial public apology acknowledging the UN's role in the outbreak and announced a trust fund for the victims.<ref>{{Cite book |last=UN Secretary-General |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/849994 |title=A new approach to cholera in Haiti: report by the Secretary-General |date=2016-11-25 |publisher= |editor-last= |location=New York |language=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sengupta |first=Somini |date=2016-12-01 |title=U.N. Apologizes for Role in Haiti’s 2010 Cholera Outbreak |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/world/americas/united-nations-apology-haiti-cholera.html |access-date=2026-04-27 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Similar operational harms, albeit at smaller scales, have been documened in other contexts, including environmental pollution and sanitation failures at mission bases.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aning |first=Kwesi |last2=Edu-Afful |first2=Fiifi |date=2013-03-11 |title=Unintended Impacts and the Gendered Consequences of Peacekeeping Economies in Liberia |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13533312.2013.761828 |journal=International Peacekeeping |language=en |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=17–32 |doi=10.1080/13533312.2013.761828 |issn=1353-3312}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Politics}} {{Commons category|United Nations peacekeeping missions}} {{columns-list|colwidth=30em| * United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs * International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers * List of United Nations peacekeeping missions * List of countries by number of UN peacekeepers * Multinational Force and Observers * Timeline of UN peacekeeping missions * List of non-UN peacekeeping missions * NATO peacekeeping * White Helmets Commission * International security * Responsibility to protect * Security-related bills }}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * Blocq, Daniel. 2009. "Western Soldiers and the Protection of Local Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Operations: Is a Nationalist Orientation in the Armed Forces Hindering Our Preparedness to Fight?" ''Armed Forces & Society'',[http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0095327X08330816v1 abstract] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406061546/http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0095327X08330816v1 |date=2009-04-06 }}. * Bridges, Donna and Debbie Horsfall. 2009. "Increasing Operational Effectiveness in UN Peacekeeping: Toward a Gender-Balanced Force." ''Armed Forces & Society'', May 2009. [http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0095327X08327818v1 abstract]. * {{cite journal | last = Bureš | first = Ronkęš |date= June 2006 | title = Regional Peacekeeping Operations: Complementing or Undermining the United Nations Security Council? | journal = Global Change, Peace & Security | volume = 66 | issue = 2 | pages = 83–99 | doi = 10.1080/14781150600687775 | s2cid = 154982851 | language = ne }} * {{cite journal | last1 = Dandeker | first1 = Christopher | last2 = Gow | first2 = James | year = 1997 | title = The Future of Peace Support Operations: Strategic Peacekeeping and Success | journal = Armed Forces & Society | volume = 23 | issue = 3| pages = 327–347 | doi = 10.1177/0095327X9702300302 | s2cid = 145191919 }} * {{cite journal | last1 = Fortna | first1 = Virginia Page | last2 = Lise Morjé | first2 = Howard | year = 2008 | title = Pitfalls and Prospects in the Peacekeeping Future | journal = Annual Review of Political Science | volume = 11 | pages = 283–301 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.polisci.9.041205.103022 | doi-access = free }} * {{cite journal | last = Fortna | first = Virginia Page | year = 2004 | title = Does Peacekeeping Keep Peace? International Intervention and the Duration of Peace After Civil War | journal = International Studies Quarterly | volume = 48 | issue =2 | pages = 269–292 | doi = 10.1111/j.0020-8833.2004.00301.x |citeseerx = 10.1.1.489.1831 }} * {{cite journal | last = Goulding | first = Marrack | author-link = Marrack Goulding |date=July 1993 | title = The Evolution of United Nations Peacekeeping | journal = International Affairs | volume = 69 | issue = 3 | pages = 451–464 | doi = 10.2307/2622309 | jstor=2622309| doi-access = free }} * Holt, Victoria K., and Michael G. Mackinnon. (2008) "The origins and evolution of US policy towards peace operations." ''International peacekeeping'' 15.1 (2008): 18–34; regarding the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. [https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/94297/US_Policy_Towards_Peace_Operations.pdf online] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821071035/https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/94297/US_Policy_Towards_Peace_Operations.pdf |date=21 August 2020 }}. * Howard, Lise Morjé. 2008. ''UN Peacekeeping in Civil Wars''. (Cambridge University Press 2008) [http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521707671 abstract]. * Jenne, Nicole (2022). "[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00223433221082121 Who leads peace operations? A new dataset on leadership positions in UN peace operations, 1948–2019]". ''Journal of Peace Research.'' * Powles, Anna, Negar Partow, Nelson (eds.). (2015) ''United Nations Peacekeeping Challenge: The Importance of the Integrated Approach'' (Routledge, 2015). * {{cite journal | last = Pushkina | first = Darya |date= June 2006 | title = A Recipe for Success? Ingredients of a Successful Peacekeeping Mission | journal = International Peacekeeping | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 133–149 | doi = 10.1080/13533310500436508 | s2cid = 144299591 }} * {{cite journal | last1 = Reed | first1 = Brian | last2 = Segal | first2 = David | year = 2000 | title = The Impact of Multiple Deployments on Soldiers' Peacekeeping Attitudes, Morale and Retention | journal = Armed Forces & Society | volume = 27 | pages = 57–78 | doi = 10.1177/0095327X0002700105 | s2cid = 143556366 }} *{{cite journal | last1 = Sion | first1 = Liora | year = 2006 | title = 'Too Sweet and Innocent for War'?: Dutch Peacekeepers and the Use of Violence | journal = Armed Forces & Society | volume = 32 | issue = 3| pages = 454–474 | doi = 10.1177/0095327X05281453 | s2cid = 145272144 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/896301 }} * {{cite journal | last1 = Worboys | first1 = Katherine | year = 2007 | title = The Traumatic Journey from Dictatorship to Democracy: Peacekeeping Operations and Civil-Military Relations in Argentina, 1989–1999 |journal = Armed Forces & Society | volume = 33 | issue = 2| pages = 149–168 | doi = 10.1177/0095327X05283843 | s2cid = 144147291 }}

== External links == * {{Nobelprize|name=United Nations Peacekeeping Forces}}

{{United Nations}} {{Nobel Peace Prize Laureates 1976-2000}} {{1988 Nobel Prize winners}} {{UN Peacekeeping Operations}} {{Authority control}}

Category:United Nations peacekeeping Category:Organizations awarded Nobel Peace Prizes