These operations support U.S.  national interests by carrying out mandates to help stabilize regions and  promote international peace. UN Peacekeeping Operations Have Evolved into Large, Complex Operations Concentrated in Less Developed Countries

Since 1998, UN peacekeeping operations have taken on more complex and  ambitious mandates, taken place in increasingly challenging environments,  and grown in size and scope. The 16 operations in 1998 had  mandates averaging three tasks or objectives each. In 1998, multidimensional  operations averaged fewer than 1,000 troops and military observers. The UN also has deployed more police to peacekeeping operations over  the past 10 years. A Potential New UN Operation Would Likely Require Significant Resources

As a way to assess UN capacity, we developed a potential new  peacekeeping operation to illustrate the detailed and likely resources the  UN would need to deploy a new operation. We estimate that  this operation would require 4,000 to 5,000 civilian staff, and UN officials  noted that it would have logistical needs comparable to those of other  large, complex operations in similar environments. The Potential New Operation’s Logistics Needs Would Likely Be Comparable to Those of Other Recent Large Operations in Sub-Saharan Africa

UN officials could not provide an estimate of the logistical needs for the  potential new operation without detailed planning in the field that  precedes actual deployments. The UN Would Likely Face Difficulty in Obtaining Troops, Police, Civilians, and Logistics Needed for the Potential New Operation

The UN would likely face difficulty in obtaining troops, military observers,  police, and civilians for the potential new operation. The UN Faces Challenges in Obtaining Needed Military Units

As of September 2008, about 77,000 troops and military observers were  deployed to existing UN peacekeeping operations, an overall gap of 18,000,  or about 20 percent, below the authorized level of approximately 95,000. The gap between deployed and  authorized FPUs stems mainly from the lack of units for operations in  Darfur. In contrast with its reliance on member states to contribute and deploy  FPUs as a unit, the UN recruits and deploys UN police individually. This has  hindered some operations from fully carrying out their mandates. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our review focused on four objectives related to the evolution of  peacekeeping operations and the United Nations’ (UN) capacity to deploy  new operations: Specifically, in this report, we examine (1) the evolution  of UN peacekeeping operations in the past 10 years; (2) the characteristics  of a potential new peacekeeping operation, given this evolution and UN  planning scenarios; (3) the challenges, if any, the UN would face in  deploying this potential new operation; and (4) U.S. efforts to support and  report on UN peacekeeping. We  categorized each mission as traditional or multidimensional, based on the  number of mandated tasks and whether the mandated tasks were  traditional, such as observing cease-fires or whether they were ambitious,  such as helping restore government institutions.
Why GAO Did This Study

The United Nations (UN) supports U.S. interests in maintaining international security by deploying and operating 16 peacekeeping operations in locations in conflict, including Darfur, Lebanon, and Haiti. Over the past 10 years, the number of deployed UN personnel increased from about 41,000 peacekeepers and civilian staff to about 109,000 in 2008. In this report on the UN's capacity to deploy further operations, GAO was asked to examine (1) the evolution of UN peacekeeping operations in the past 10 years; (2) the likely characteristics of a potential new peacekeeping operation, given this evolution; (3) the challenges, if any, the UN would face deploying this operation; and (4) U.S. efforts to support and report on UN peacekeeping. GAO reviewed UN documents, developed a methodology to assess the requirements for a potential new operation with UN assistance, interviewed UN headquarters and mission officials, and assessed U.S. government documents on UN peacekeeping.

What GAO Found

UN peacekeeping operations since 1998 have taken on increasinglyambitious mandates, been located in more challenging environments, and grown in size and scope. UN operations in 1998 averaged three mandated tasks, such as observing cease-fires; in 2008, they averaged nine more ambitious tasks, such as restoring government institutions. Operations in 2008 were located in some of the world's most unstable countries, were larger and more complex than in 1998, and deployed thousands of civilians. Based on trends in peacekeeping and recent UN planning options, GAO analysis indicates that a potential new operation would likely be large and complex, take place in sub-Saharan Africa, and have nine mandated tasks. This potential new operation would likely require member states to contribute 21,000 troops and military observers, including those in engineering and aviation units, and 1,500 police to carry out the mandate. The UN would likely need to deploy 4,000 to 5,000 civilians. The operation's logistics needs also would be large and complex. The ability to fully deploy any potential new operation would likely face challenges, in view of current UN resource constraints. As of September 2008, ongoing UN operations had about a 20 percent gap between troops and military observers authorized to carry out operations and actual deployments. For police, the gap was about 34 percent; it was similar for civilians. Some gaps reflect UN difficulties in obtaining and deploying resources to carry out operations. Lack of these resources, such as special military units, prevented some operations from executing mandates. Lack of infrastructure in the potential new operation's environment would challenge the UN to provide logistical needs.