The Evolution and Implementation of Civilian Protection in UN Peace Operations

Abstract

United Nations peace operations have become the most visible manifestation of the international community’s will to protect civilians in fragile states. By the end of 2011, eight UN blue helmet missions around the world provided immediate security to non-combatants. Civilian protection has not only emerged as an important political reference point on the agenda of the UN Security Council but has become the operational priority of almost all recent peace operations. This state of affairs is indeed a quantum leap compared to the United Nations’ starting point shortly after the end of the Cold War. The present chapter analyzes the political, conceptual and operational evolution of coercive civilian protection in the framework of UN peace operations. Chapter 3.1 examines the period from 1989 to 1998 when Protection of Civilians (POC) was not yet an explicit objective of peacekeeping mandates.