Protection of civilians in the context of UN peacekeeping: lessons learned from South Sudan

Abstract

The main questions this study aims to answer are: Firstly, to what extent have lessons learned from the protection of civilians in the past been implemented in the case of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); and secondly, what are the challenges related to civilian protection that UN peacekeeping operations are facing in general, and in particular - the UNMISS. The primary objective is to analyse the efficiency of modern UN peacekeeping operations in protecting civilians and identify gaps and tensions in the protection agenda. To that end, the study defines peacekeeping and compares traditional first-generation peacekeeping to modern multidimensional peacekeeping operations. Furthermore, the study discusses the reform in peacekeeping and evolution of the concept of civilian protection. The final focus of this study is to analyse the effectiveness of protection provided to the most vulnerable groups (women, children, refugees and IDPs) from both legal and practical aspects. After assessing the effectiveness of civilian protection in the case of UNMISS, the conclusion presents a look ahead at what are some of the remaining challenges that need to be address and provides suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of civilian protection.