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6 • ANNUAL REVIEW OF GLOBAL PEACE OPERATIONS

operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Burundi, the mandate was implicit.12 Today, it is stan- Côte d’Ivoire, and Darfur. And they are likely dard language in every Security Council res- to arise again as long as peace operations con- olution that authorizes an operation where tinue to be tasked with performing two func- civilian lives are likely to be in danger. tions: protecting civilians and providing public This mandate for protection of civilians is security. These mandates create conceptual and part of a normative shift reflected in general operational challenges for peacekeeping, with statements by the Security Council13 and the not only military but also political, humanitar- Secretary-General.14 The Brahimi panel argued ian, human rights, and normative implications. that “UN peacekeepers who witness violence against civilians should be presumed to be Protection of Civilians authorized to stop it, within their means, in Since late 1999, no less than ten peace oper- support of basic UN principles.”15 The norm- ations—both UN and non-UN—have been ative shift is also reflected in the report of authorized under Chapter VII “to protect International Commission on Intervention civilians under the imminent threat of physi- and State Sovereignty, which introduced cal violence,” often qualified by the words, the “responsibility to protect” principle,16 “within capabilities and areas of deployment.”11 later picked up by the High-level Panel in its This builds on practice that began in the early report,17 and by the Secretary-General in post–Cold War operations and gained mo- his.18 The reference to a “responsibility to mentum after the tragedies of Rwanda and protect” at the 2005 World Summit19 was an Srebrenica. While the term “protection of civil- important step in this evolution, marking the ians” was not used for the earlier operations, first time it was endorsed in a universal

Box 1.1 The 2005 World Summit and Peace Operations

The 2005 World Summit adopted (and capability for the policing component of that the UN establish a strategic reserve in some cases adapted) a number of rec- UN peacekeeping missions. for peacekeeping—an idea designed to ommendations made by the Secretary- • Support for the European Union and address the recurrent problem of the need General’s High-level Panel on Threats, other regional entities’ efforts to de- to bolster the defensive and offensive Challenges, and Change and by the Sec- velop capacities for rapid deployment capacity of peacekeeping forces in the retary-General himself in his report In and standby arrangements. face of hostility. The design of a strategic Larger Freedom, which was designed to • Support for the development and imple- reserve is similar to that of “over-the- build on previous reforms of peacekeep- mentation of a ten-year plan for capac- horizon” reserve forces commonly used ing. Among the main conclusions of the ity building with the African Union. in national deployments. However, the summit were: • A call on regional organizations with ca- summit did urge further development of pacity for the prevention of armed con- “enhanced rapidly deployable capacities • Recognition of the “vital role” played flict or peacekeeping to consider placing to reinforce peacekeeping operations in by peacekeeping in helping parties to these capacities in the framework of the times of crisis.” end conflict. UN Standby Arrangements System. The summit also adopted a care- • The need to mount operations with • A reaffirmation of the commitment to fully but strongly worded “responsibility adequate capacity to counter hostilities the protection of children in situations to protect populations from genocide, and fulfill effectively their mandates. of armed conflict. war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes • Endorsement of the creation of an initial against humanity.” standing policy capacity to provide co- The summit did not adopt in whole herent, effective, and responsive startup the High-level Panel’s recommendation

Source: UN General Assembly, Resolution 60/1, 2005 World Summit Outcome, NY: 20 September 2005.