A New Horizon for Peace Operations Partnerships – What are the next steps?

The second International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations was held 12-13 November 2009 at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel in New York. The Forum was co-hosted by the Permanent Representatives of Pakistan and Sweden to the United Nations in cooperation with the Challenges Partners and had the theme “A New Horizon for Peace Operations Partnerships – What are the next steps?”.

In addition to representatives from the Challenges Forum Partner Organizations, key officials of international and regional organizations, national representatives in different intergovermental bodies, and a selection of leading academic and NGO representatives attended the Forum.

The focus of Challenges Forum 2009 was: A New Horizon for Peace Operations Partnerships – What are the next steps? The aim of the Forum was to address the future of peace operations, identify the challenges, and generate recommendations and solutions for the involved actors, national and international, to consider for the way ahead. Within the overall theme the Forum adressed: A New Partnership for UN Peace Operations – What are the Next Steps; Multidimensional Peace Operations – New Issues and the Need for New Partners; Mandate-Making and Mandate-Implementation; Enhancing and Facilitating the Partnership with T/PCCs; United Nations Effective Mission Command and Control; and United Nations and Regional Arrangements Effective Mission Command and Control – Issues of Relevance for the Effective Cooperation with Partners in Action.

Challenges Forum Background Studies were developed on the following topics:

• A Review of Peacekeeping Initiatives in 2009: Strengthening Consultation among the Security Council, Secretariat and Troop- and Police Contributing Countries; Ms Fatemeh Ziai
• Broadening the Base of UN Peacekeeping: Proposals for How the United Nations can Attract and Support New, Expanding and Returning Troop- and Police Contributing Countries; Ms Fatemeh Ziai
• Implications of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding in United Nations Mandates; Mr Jake Sherman and Mr Ben Tortolani
• Command and Control Arrangements in UN Peacekeeping Operations; Mr Jean-Marie Guéhenno and Mr Jake Sherman
• Providers, Platforms or Partners? Possible Roles for Peace Operations in Fighting Organized Crime; Mr James Cockayne
• Developing a Strategy for Early Peacebuilding: Priorities, Sequencing and Delivery of Rule of Law and Security-related Activities by United Nations Peacekeeping Operations; Fatemeh Ziai
• Multidimensional Peace Operations Concepts and Doctrine Development; Challenges Forum Co-Chairs; Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Robert Gordon