”Reflecting POC’s rising importance, the vast majority of UN peacekeepers currently work in missions mandated to protect civilians. Although POC mandates have existed for fifteen years, field missions and Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) continue to seek guidance on its implementation.” These guidelines complement existing guidance and apply to all military personnel deployed in UN field missions with POC mandates, as well as staff members of the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support, UN Headquarters.
No one group can achieve human security on their own without working with others. Civil society, military and police all have roles to play in achieving human security. Human security also requires local ownership and active engagement between the security sector and civil society. Integrated training for the security sector and civil society can help identify common ground and also understand the areas where their approaches are different. This curriculum offers an innovative integrated civil-military-police curriculum.
These guidelines are designed to assist United Nations (UN) police in effectively implementing protection of civilians (POC) mandates in peace operations as a critical element in the comprehensive, whole of mission approach to POC and the wider UN system’s approach to protection.
Despite being a priority task, protection of civilians (POC) has proven difficult to implement on the ground due to a lack of theoretical and practical guidance for military actors. This document aims at complementing existing UN POC guidance with a threat-based approach to protection of civilians, focusing on the specific challenges that military commanders are confronted with in missions.