From Protecting Civilians to Combating Crime, Preventing Conflict, United Nations Police Play Vital Role in Peacekeeping, Security Council Told
United Nations Police are a critical part of the Organization’s peacekeeping architecture and must be adequately prepared, equipped and resourced to meet current and future challenges, the Security Council heard today, as it met to discuss UN support to conflict-affected countries.
UN Police, under the Department of Peace Operations, deploys officers — contributed by Member States — to field missions as individuals, formed units or specialized teams.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said that today’s meeting offers the opportunity to discuss a critical question: “How can we position United Nations Police to be prepared for the future and the challenges that, even as they evolve, retain many known aspects?” Such challenges, he noted, include lack of adherence to the rule of law, corruption, disregard for international law, transnational organized crime and human-rights violations. Further, he underlined the need to work collectively to ensure that United Nations Police are properly prepared, equipped and resourced “to meet whatever tomorrow brings”.
Gap between Mandates, Capacity to Deliver
However, he emphasized that “the gap between peacekeeping mandates and what the missions can, in practice, actually deliver has become increasingly apparent”. Yet, the Action for Peacekeeping agenda continues to help close this gap, as do the areas prioritized within the Action for Peacekeeping Plus agenda. Detailing several of these, he added that “rigorous and transparent monitoring of the performance and impact of peacekeeping operations provides the foundation for improving our operations”. Through such an agenda, he concluded, “we are better placed to address today’s challenges to peace and security and, ultimately, to improve the lives of the people we serve”.
The Action for Peacekeeping agenda is a UN initiative launched in 2018 to enhance the effectiveness and impact of UN peacekeeping missions. As a follow-up, the Action for Peacekeeping Plus was introduced in 2021 to build on the original framework and address emerging challenges.
“Although our footprint may be smaller today”, said Faisal Shahkar, United Nations Police Adviser, the tasks and responsibilities of the United Nations Police remain complex. This includes support to develop host-State policing capacities and institutions that underpin long-term stability and the rule of law. Noting the need to enhance trust between missions, host-State Government institutions and host populations, he said that it is vital to address mis- and disinformation. He also called for investment in training, highlighting the United Nations Police Commanders Course — “the crown jewel in the United Nations Police Training Architecture”.
He also pointed out that United Nations Police help reinforce the capacities of their host-State policing counterparts and support their operations, detailing several examples of this — including in the Central African Republic. There, United Nations Police provided extensive training for internal security forces, with a particular emphasis on human rights, gender-based violence and security in preparation for upcoming elections. Underlining the importance of skilled and knowledgeable police commanders, he urged: “We need your support in ensuring that such officers — including highly skilled women and Francophone officers — are made available.”
Maintaining Security towards Elections in Central African Republic
Providing further detail on the situation in that country, Christophe Bizimungu, Chief of the Police Component of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), said that the security situation there will undoubtedly be impacted by upcoming elections. “In addition to physical security measures, we will contribute towards the prevention of election violence — particularly violence against women and hate speech,” he said. Noting that United Nations Police primarily focus on civilian protection, he said it is ready to support electoral security and ensure that civilians are not affected during this period.
Ensuring Lasting Calm in Cyprus
Mingzhu Xu, Senior Police Adviser, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), also provided country-specific information on United Nations Police activities. She said that as one of the longest-running active missions UNFICYP has consistently upheld efforts to prevent the recurrence of conflict, contribute to the maintenance of law and order and facilitate a return to normal conditions. While its role has expanded beyond monitoring and reporting in the last five years, she emphasized that the Force’s most-important role is conflict prevention: “Every day, UNPOL officers engage with a multitude of actors in the buffer zone, employing community-oriented policing to defuse tensions, broker compromises and generally keep the peace.”
As the floor opened, Algeria highlighted its role as the host of the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation, urging the Union to play a prominent role in enhancing cooperation among African police institutions. For its part, the country is modernizing national security institutions and working to adapt to new challenges such as cyberthreats, its representative said. As a “reliable security partner with huge experience in anti-terrorist work”, Algeria is committed to supporting the police component of peacekeeping, he added.
United Nations Police are a “cornerstone of global peacekeeping efforts,” said Pakistan’s delegate, underlining the need for their perspective to be included in decision-making regarding peacekeeping mission planning and resourcing. “These insights can make a critical difference in improving UN peace operations,” he said. Also detailing Pakistan’s contributions of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping, he urged Member States to provide the necessary political and financial support to enable United Nations Police to fulfil their mandates effectively.
Need for Clear, Realistic Mandates
Those mandates must be clear, stressed Sierra Leone’s representative, stating that deployments must be “underpinned by clear objectives based on accurate assessments of the conditions on the ground, as well as the end goals to be achieved”. She added that, in developing such mandates, there should be “clarity and agreement” amongst key stakeholders — including the Security Council, police-contributing countries and host nations — regarding the “viability of the approach”.
Denmark’s delegate, emphasizing that “mandates must match available resources”, observed: “Overpromising and underdelivering risks eroding trust in the UN’s ability to make a difference.” He added that “realism is key” to ensuring successful, sustainable peace operations. Similarly, the representative of the United Kingdom stressed that United Nations Police must have the capacity needed to deliver mandates and tackle emerging threats — which means bringing in specialized expertise and making the best use of new technology.
“Dividends of science and technology should be harnessed to enhance abilities for information collection and analysis, situation assessment and early warning of risks,” said the representative of China, Council President for February, as he spoke in his national capacity. It is important, he urged, to constantly upgrade the capacity-building of United Nations Police as new technologies continue to emerge. Given their complex working environment and the high-risk tasks carried out by United Nations Police, the UN Secretariat should draw up detailed and thorough safety and security rules to meet these challenges, he added.
Modernizing Training of UN Police to Meet Complex Challenges
Further, their training must “match the growing complexity of policing”, said the speaker for the United States, calling on Member States to prepare police with specialized training such as conducting forensic investigations and addressing organized crime. Greece’s representative added that, when renewing relevant mandates, the Council should be mindful of the possible involvement of the United Nations Police in areas such as the fight against organized crime and addressing environmental crimes.
Guyana’s delegate, meanwhile, observed that the selection and training of Police Commissioners and their teams must prioritize technical skills and critical competencies in human rights, gender sensitivity, conflict resolution and inter-cultural communication. “Well-trained and effective police personnel are needed in peacekeeping operations more than ever before,” stated the representative of Slovenia, calling for a comprehensive approach to law-enforcement challenges to prevent conflict and promote sustainable peace.
“UN Police go far beyond enforcing the law — they serve as the crucial bridge between international missions and local communities,” said Somalia’s delegate, also stating they must have adequate resources and specialized capabilities to fulfil mandated tasks effectively. He stressed that “their daily commitment to building trust, ensuring security and promoting community cooperation underpins the stability essential in today’s challenging environment”.
The United Nations Police serve as a bridge between peacekeeping missions and host communities, concurred the representative of the Republic of Korea, adding: “This proximity enables UNPOL to address grievances in fragile communities — grievances that, if left unaddressed, can be exploited by extremist and terrorist groups.” Therefore, specialized training is essential, as is increasing the participation of women in national police forces. “Women are indispensable actors in conflict resolution,” added France’s representative.
Women ‘Effective Communicators’
The Russian Federation supports women’s increased participation in UN peacekeeping, its representative said, emphasizing that women are effective communicators with local people — even more so in certain ethnic or religious contexts. “The blue helmets are the face of the UN,” she added, noting that in countries hosting peacekeeping operations, the UN is not associated with its activities in New York but with the police and peacekeepers who patrol city streets and know what issues the locals encounter.
Panama’s delegate highlighted the need to strengthen ties with local authorities by including more women in all peace processes. Their contributions are essential in mediation and rebuilding trust, he said, concluding: “Peace is not won with a heavy hand. Peace is built with patience and tolerance, improving basic services, creating inclusive civic spaces involving women and youth, balancing the distribution of wealth and political power and by truly investing in sustainable human, economic and environmental development.”