The Need for Monitoring and Evaluation in Advancing Protection of Civilians

Despite all the progress the United Nations has made on protection of civilians (POC) policy in the past twenty years, and the innovative protection practices UN peacekeepers have implemented in the field as a result, it is unclear if and to what extent those practices are effective at reducing violence against civilians. This is because peacekeeping missions do not have systems in place to monitor and evaluate their efforts. It is imperative that peacekeeping missions begin to fill this gap in order to advance POC. Monitoring and evaluation is essential for missions to learn what’s working and what’s not, and to use that analysis to correct course and maximize impact.

 

Why It Matters

Several recent studies have found that peacekeeping missions reduce violence against civilians. But we know very little about which of a peacekeeping missions’ many activities is helping to reduce violence against civilians. Peacekeepers carry out dozens of different activities with the goal of protecting civilians—ranging from conducting patrols, to facilitating local peace dialogues, to strengthening legal and security institutions. Yet, because there is no monitoring and evaluation of these activities, we do not know which of them is effective at reducing violence and under what circumstances.

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