Background Paper: Improving the UN’s Partnerships for Peacekeeping

The ability of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union to be able to effectively and efficiently address contemporary security challenges is dependent on enhanced partnerships. Although these entities have partnered in the past to address peace and security challenges, improvements are needed to optimize the relationships. Reimagining the relationships between the partners to reflect the principles of equality, enhancing each partners’ capabilities to better interact on pertinent issues of peace and security, the development of mechanisms that guarantee predictable, sustainable and flexible funding and better clarity on the principles of complementarity, subsidiarity and comparative advantage are essential ingredients for an improved partnership.

This background paper was authored by Linda Akua Opongmaa Darkwa, a Senior Research Fellow of the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, for the Challenges Annual Forum 2018. The Annual Forum was hosted by the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Swedish Armed Forces on the theme ’Action for Peacekeeping – Strengthening the Effectiveness of Future Peace Operation’.