UN Police Key in Peacekeeping, Council Informed
Note: Complete coverage of this afternoon’s meeting of the Security Council will be available 28 February.
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.
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”.
“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.”
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https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc16009.doc.htm