There is no global police force capable of stopping war before it starts, but the world does have peacekeeping missions that are tasked with winding down conflicts and keeping them from recurring. These multinational, multidimensional missions are often the first to be deployed after a war has ended, but they also play a critical role in helping countries build their way out of conflict and into peace.
Peacekeeping missions are usually composed of lightly-armed international military and police forces that are tasked with protecting civilians, monitoring the parties to a conflict, and creating order in a region. In most cases, the UN will put out a call for a certain number of troops and other nations sign up to provide them. These troops are under the operational control of the United Nations and can only use their weapons for self-defence.
The mission’s mandate can vary from a simple task such as ceasefire monitoring to a broad undertaking like overhauling a nation’s government and public services. These operations are typically governed by a Security Council resolution and overseen by the United Nations Secretariat.
The success of a Peacekeeping mission is dependent on the coordination and coherence of many different factors – from the leadership of the military and police to their relationship with local communities and other international organizations. These complex interactions can be complicated by the intermingling of varied cultures among the troops, police and personnel who are drawn from many contributing nations.
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