Samuli Harju is an Advisor to the United Nations Program at the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC).

The UN Budget Committee Adopts Peacekeeping Budgets and a New Tone on the Protection of Civilians

On June 29, 2021, the UN General Assembly’s budget and administrative committee (the Fifth Committee) approved the annual budgets for peacekeeping operations. Despite the fact that a number of missions operating in complex settings proposed smaller or zero-growth budgets this year, Member States made additional cuts. This outcome calls into question whether the current budget…

Member States Must Support Protection of Civilians During Peacekeeping Budget Negotiations Process that Is Rigged to Cut

The UN General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, the Member State body that negotiates administrative issues and budgets, is getting closer to the June 30th deadline to approve the 2021-2022 peacekeeping budgets. During the final stretch, Member States should recognize that missions continue to provide critical protection to civilians, approve responsible budgets that reflect the security situation…

The UN Security Council Approves a Streamlined Mandate for UNMISS that Prioritizes Protection of Civilians in South Sudan

On March 12, the UN Security Council unanimously approved resolution 2567, which renewed the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The renewal comes on the heels of a year in which subnational violence with links to national political rivalries increased, parties to the revitalized peace agreement failed to implement many of…

Engaging Local Populations as Partners in UN Peacekeeping

United Nations (UN) Member States have increasingly highlighted the importance of UN peacekeeping engagement with conflict-affected communities.[1]  The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated instability and exposed systemic inequalities in a number of UN peacekeeping contexts, emphasizing a new challenge of community engagement, while increasing the urgency of UN peacekeeping missions to engage vulnerable communities in safe…

Not Just a Numbers Game: Matching Peacekeeping Mandates with Adequate Resources Is Essential as the COVID-19 Pandemic Spreads

UN Member States are now on their fifth week of the yearly UN peacekeeping budget negotiations.  The budget negotiations at the UN General Assembly’s Fifth Committee (administrative and budgetary) are never easy, but this year negotiations are fraught with additional challenges caused by COVID-19. In this current environment riddled with uncertainty, Member States should demonstrate…

#Lead2Protect: 22 Civil Society Organizations Call for Urgent Action to Strengthen the Protection of Civilians in Conflict

CIVIC and 21 civil society organizations have issued a joint statement calling on members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, and all governments to strengthen protection for civilians caught in armed conflict. The statement comes in advance of Protection of Civilians (POC) Week and the UN Security Council open debate on the protection…