UN Peacekeeping
Expected Council Action
In February, the Security Council will receive its annual briefing from the heads of police components of UN peace operations. The anticipated briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix; UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar; Police Commissioner of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) Mamouna Ouedraogo; and Police Commissioner of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Meinolf Schlotmann.
Key Recent Developments
Annual briefings by the heads of police components of UN peace operations began in 2014. In the past, these briefings were typically held in November during the annual UN Police Week; however, last year the briefing took place in February, and it is scheduled to be held in February again this year.
At last year’s meeting, Lacroix, Shahkar, Police Commissioner of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Christophe Bizimungu, and the Senior Police Adviser of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Mingzhu Xu, briefed. Lacroix used the opportunity to brief Council members on how UN Police (UNPOL) can position itself to meet current and future challenges. Shahkar highlighted the accomplishments and challenges of UNPOL and called for the Council’s continued support. Bizimungu and Xu shared field perspectives in leading UN police operations in the CAR and Cyprus, respectively.
The meeting last year took place ahead of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial held in Berlin in May 2025. According to a press release issued at the conclusion of the Berlin Ministerial, 53 member states pledged to contribute to police capabilities in UN peacekeeping operations, including formed police units and individual police officers.
On 8 October 2025, the Department of Peace Operations announced that Olukemi Ibikunle, a Nigerian correctional officer deployed to MONUSCO, had won the third UN Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers. The award, established in 2022, recognises the outstanding contributions of women justice and corrections officers serving in UN peace operations. This year, five women officers from various UN peace operations were shortlisted for the award. Ibikunle was selected in recognition of her role in developing an advanced high-security prison block for high-risk detainees as well as for designing a model prison blueprint for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The fifth UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS 2026), a biennial event bringing together Ministers, Chiefs of Police, and senior representatives of regional and professional policing organisations, is scheduled to take place in New York from 1-2 July. According to the Department of UN Peace Operations, the focus of the meeting this year will be to:
- operationalise the UN Police Division’s role as a system-wide service provider and focal point for UN policing and other law enforcement matters;
- reinforce ongoing efforts to enhance the performance of UNPOL by strengthening capacities; and
- integrate UN policing priorities in international peace and security processes, discussions and fora.
At the June 2024 summit, member states expressed support for equipping UNPOL with the necessary capacities to strengthen their role in addressing evolving threats and challenges. They also welcomed the establishment of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing, aimed at promoting the work of UNPOL and ensuring system-wide policy coherence.
Key Issues and Options
An overarching issue for Council members is the future of UN peace operations. In this context, particular attention is likely to focus on the comprehensive review of peace operations requested by the Pact for the Future, the outcome document of the 2024 Summit of the Future. With the first draft of the review report expected soon, Council members may be keen to discuss concrete recommendations for strengthening the role of UNPOL as part of efforts to ensure more agile and adaptable peace operations capable of responding to current realities.
Another issue of concern is the UN’s liquidity crisis and its impact on the work of UN Police on the ground. In October 2025, Shahkar briefed troop- and police-contributing countries on the implementation of a contingency plan to mitigate the effects of the liquidity crisis on UN peace operations. At the February briefing, he may highlight the particular challenges the crisis poses for UNPOL across different missions, notably through constraints on their operational capacity. Ouedraogo and Schlotmann could also shed more light on the issue from a field perspective.
With several UN peace operations drawing down and exiting, the role of UNPOL in protecting civilians and building the policing capacity of host countries has become increasingly important. Members may wish to discuss the role of UNPOL in UN peacekeeping transitions in the Security Council Informal Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations.
Council Dynamics
Council members are generally in agreement about the importance of UNPOL in helping to maintain public order, protect civilians, and assist host states in building their law enforcement capacities. Council members also recognise the critical role UNPOL plays in countries undergoing transition.
As reflected in statements at last year’s briefing, several Council members recognise UNPOL’s key role in peace operations in rebuilding trust and solidarity with communities, protecting civilians, strengthening the rule of law and justice, and promoting peacebuilding, among other things. Several members also emphasised the role of women in policing and reiterated the importance of achieving gender parity at all levels of peacekeeping operations, including within police contingents. This strategy was developed to create an enabling environment for the meaningful participation of uniformed women personnel in peace operations, both at the headquarters and in the field.
Several other positions in last year’s meeting on UN policing may also be reiterated in this year’s meeting. Some members underscored the safety and security of police officers, while others stressed the need to improve UNPOL’s performance and strengthen its capacity to adapt to an evolving operating environment. In addition, some members highlighted the importance of closer integration of police components within UN peacekeeping, whereas others favoured maintaining clear operational distinctions among the various components of UN peace operations.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 20 November 2014S/RES/2185 | This was the first standalone resolution on UN policing. |
| Security Council Meeting Records | |
| 27 February 2025S/PV.9870 | This was an open briefing on UN policing. |
