Human Security & Governance
Protecting Civilians & Human Security Program
Peace Operations Reform

Protection of Civilians at 25 Years

Advancing Understanding and Implementation in Peace Operations

A dialogue series to strengthen understanding of the comparative advantages of diverse models of peace operations to protect civilians in increasingly complex security settings

This year marks twenty-five years since the UN Security Council adopted the first thematic resolution on the protection of civilians in armed conflict and authorized the deployment of the first UN peacekeeping mission with an explicit protection of civilians (POC) mandate. With a crisis of confidence in multidimensional UN peacekeeping, and the UN Security Council’s recent adoption of resolution 2719 on the use of UN assessed funding for AU-led peace support operations, there is a need for further consideration of the comparative advantages of different types of peace operations when it comes to POC.

Throughout 2024, the Stimson Center – in partnership with the Center for Civilians in Conflict, the Government of Switzerland, and other partners—will host a dialogue series on POC at 25 years. The series will undertake a contemporary assessment of protection challenges in UN and AU-led peace operation contexts, examine the comparative advantages and limitations of different peace operation footprints in advancing protection, and generate ideas for future mission models that could support protection aims, building on the UN Secretary-General’s call in the New Agenda for Peace for more ‘nimble, adaptable and effective’ peace operations.

Project Team
Julie Gregory
Research
Juliet Weis
Project Support
Lisa Sharland
Project Lead

Latest

Policy Memo
Prioritizing Protection of Civilians in Future Peace Operations: Applying Lessons from 25 Years of POC
Examining how UN peace operations can be planned and deployed to protect civilians in current and emerging situations of concern
Lisa Sharland • Julie Gregory • Juliet Weis
Project Note
Protection of Civilians in the Context of Peace Operations: New York Dialogues
Reflecting on twenty-five years of protection of civilians and adapting for the future of peace operations
Project Note
Protection of Civilians in the Context of Peace Operations: Geneva Dialogue
Exploring the intersection of protection, peace operations, international law, and human rights
Project Note
Protection of Civilians in the Context of Peace Operations: Nairobi Dialogue
Examining the evolving strategic and operational challenges facing peace operations in the protection of civilians
Field Note
Assessing the Protection of Civilians in Peace Operations Over the Last 25 Years and Into the Future
In early June, the program team traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to co-host the first of three dialogues on the operational realities of and challenges to the protection of civilians in the context of peace operations
Juliet Weis