Protection of Civilians

Abstract Many analyses look at protection of civilians in UN peacekeeping from 1999 onwards. However, the issue has a longer genealogy. There have been four advocacy episodes: an unsuccessful persuasion attempt by the Secretary-General during the 1960s mission in the Congo, incoherent advocacy by proponents of the ‘safe areas’ policy in Bosnia, a partially successful campaign by elected Security Council members during the Rwandan genocide, and successful persuasion by Canada during its 1999–2000 Council term. Focusing on the (partially) successful episodes, a coalition of elected Council members used a threat of shame to extract concessions from the permanent members to adopt a presidential statement critical of the Rwandan government. They faced a mix of advantageous conditions, including advocates’ reputation, post–Cold War unity, credibility of the private threat, and a cultural match, as well as inauspicious circumstances, such as high issue salience and targets’ counter-narratives. In 1999, Canada used persuasion to place protection of civilians on the Council’s agenda. Favourable circumstances included advocates’ skill, targets’ first-hand exposure to civilian suffering, a cultural match, repeated interactions, a crisis of peacekeeping, and a private setting. In 2010, the Secretariat produced a concept of protection of civilians, followed by policy and guidance. Missions nowadays have units or coordination forums on the issue, and the Protection of Civilians Team exists at headquarters. In the late 2010s, protection became a priority in several missions, yet contestation by traditional sceptics, such as Russia, as well as major troop contributors and UN officials, also intensified.