Author: Tomomi SUGIMOTO
On 21 November 2024, Mr. Jean-Pierre François Renaud Lacroix, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, delivered a special lecture at the University of Tokyo’s Komaba campus on current trends and future prospects of UN peacekeeping operations. The event was organized by the Graduate Program on Human Security (HSP), the University of Tokyo, co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Research Center for Sustainable Peace (RCSP) at the University of Tokyo, and supported by the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) Tokyo. The event was moderated by Prof. Ai Kihara-Hunt from, Director of the RCSP and Member of the UN-commissioned Independent Study Group on the Future of Peacekeeping.
USG Lacroix provided a comprehensive overview of UN peacekeeping operations, noting that there are currently eleven operations worldwide with approximately 70,000 personnel deployed, including 55,000 military, 6,000 police officers, and civilian personnel. The annual budget for these operations stands at $5.6 billion. He particularly praised Japan's stable contributions to UN peacekeeping, highlighting that Japan is the third-largest financial contributor to both peacekeeping operations and the UN regular budget, as well as Japan’s significant contributions for peacekeeper training programs.
Mr. Lacroix, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations (right) and Prof. Ai Kihara-Hunt (left)
The Under-Secretary-General highlighted several key challenges facing UN peacekeeping operations. First, he emphasized that the current divided state of the international community poses a significant obstacle to effective multilateral responses to crises. He noted that the number of conflicts is at its highest since World War II, with many lacking credible political processes. Second, he discussed emerging challenges such as the proliferation of non-state actors, transnational criminal activities, terrorism, and the impact of climate change on conflicts. Third, he addressed the challenges posed by new technologies, particularly the rise of misinformation and disinformation campaigns that can undermine peacekeeping efforts.
Despite these challenges, Mr. Lacroix expressed optimism about the future of UN peacekeeping operations, citing strong international support for their adaptation and improvement. He referenced the recently adopted "Pact for the Future," which outlines key priorities including enhancing political support, more focused mandates, improving peacekeeper protection, increasing the role of women in peacekeeping, and better addressing fundamental conflict drivers.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Lacroix outlined four key considerations that require attention going forward. These included potential opportunities amid international divisions, the UN's crucial role as a third-party mediator when conflicts cease, the need for more nimble, cost-effective and technologically advanced operational models, and the importance of developing new approaches beyond traditional peacekeeping tasks. He emphasized that even conventional operations like ceasefire monitoring would require fundamentally different approaches in today's context.
Following the keynote speech, Prof. Kihara-Hunt presented an overview of the UN-commissioned Independent Study on the Future of Peacekeeping, which has identified 30 plausible models for future operations, nine key capabilities and ten success factors for successful peace operations.
The presentation was followed by a Q&A session where Mr. Lacroix addressed a wide range of questions, from Security Council reform and partnerships with regional organizations to operational efficiency and inclusive participation in UN peacekeeping.
The event brought together the University's faculty members, students, and experts in the field, providing valuable insights into the evolving nature of UN peacekeeping operations and their future direction in an increasingly complex global environment.
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