Book launch: Sustaining Peace: UN peace operations – lessons from Haiti

There has been an immense evolution in peace operations, in policies, mandates, scope and function. Where traditional peacekeeping previously focused on ensuring security and stability – now restructuring the security sector; protecting civilians; supporting disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants; increasing democratic space, institution-building and good governance – are all core to the UN mandates – in short building peace.

Similarly, the expectations of the UN to solve conflicts have altered. There has been a growth both vertically and horizontally of multi-dimensional peacekeeping challenges and thus the need for sophisticated solutions. The policy developments and capacities to address these challenges have increased in the UN, yet in tandem considerable policy-operational gaps remain. Frequently even if initial stability and democratisation have been achieved, it has often proven more difficult to achieve the longer term objectives of creating sustainable security institutions and a stable democracy, repeatedly resulting in a return of conflict.

This book by Eirin Mobekk analyses the UN’s approaches to security and stability, DDR, police, justice and prison reform, democratisation, and transitional justice and their interdependencies through the seven UN missions in Haiti, from 1994-2007

It identifies strengths and weaknesses of these approaches, and focuses on the connections between these different sectors. It places these efforts in the broader local and regional political context; emphasises economic development as a central factor to sustainability; provides a civil society perspective, and discusses the many constraints the UN faced in implementing its mandates.

Thus, this book examines – as will the seminar, using Haiti as an example, why after long-term peace operations and other international and bilateral support so many countries revert into violence, poor governance and undemocratic practices even when substantial progress has been made in several areas. As one of Norway’s twelve development focus countries this analysis of Haiti is particularly relevant.

The book is published by Routlegde.

Programme

Presentation of the book’s findings

Eirin Mobekk, now Policy Director at Norad

Comments

Sarah Lister, Director, Oslo Governance Centre

Discussion

Moderator: Tori Hoven, Director, Department for economic development, gender and governance, Norad