INTERNATIONAL POLICING AND CIVILIAN PROTECTION IN UN PEACE OPERATIONS

 

ARC DECRA FELLOWSHIP, 2017-2021

CHIEF INVESTIGATOR

Dr Charles T. Hunt, Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow, Social & Global Studies Centre, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This 3-year project aims to evaluate the contribution of police to the implementation of protection of civilians mandates in United Nations peace operations. Research consists of a structured focused comparison of five UN peacekeeping operations:

• UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO)
• UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
• UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA)
• UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)
• United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)

The broad goal of the project is to identify ways of improving the protection of civilians into the future. Police peacekeepers are deployed in large numbers to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians in increasingly complex conflict situations. However, rapidly evolving contributions of police to civilian protection have not been subject to systematic evaluation.

PROJECT AIMS

• Understand how mandates to protect civilians are implemented by police in UN peace operations and how have these changed in the 15 years since their inception
• Through systematic comparative research assess the opportunities and challenges associated with the direct and indirect protection of civilians by UN police
• Identify the extent to which the implementation of civilian protection mandates by UN police peacekeepers aid, or hinder, the pursuit of both immediate protection goals and the wider goals of UN peace operations
• Identify policing practices that might mitigate the risks and enhance the efficacy of UN police in implementing civilian protection mandates
• Provide recommendations for policy development and practice in relation to the use of police for civilian protection purposes in UN peace operations.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Charles Hunt: charles.hunt@rmit.edu.au