UN Security Council adopts resolution on peacekeeping transitions

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations (UN) Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution on its peacekeeping transitions.

Resolution 2594 stresses the crucial role of peace operations and emphasizes the need for peace operations to engage at the earliest possible stage in integrated planning and coordination on transitions.

It further emphasizes that in order to be sustainable, the transition planning process should take into account broad challenges, including risks to stability, governance, and the rule of law, as well as the political, economic, development, humanitarian, and human rights context.

It requests the UN secretary-general to plan for UN peace operations transitions and to elaborate mission transition strategies.

It further requests that these mission strategies clarify roles and responsibilities for all relevant UN stakeholders as well as clear and realistic benchmarks and indicators, which measure factors and conditions that might impact the reconfiguration in order to ensure a successful and durable transition.

The resolution encourages national governments to develop and implement comprehensive national plans, policies, or strategies to protect civilians in advance of peace operations transitions.

It stresses the importance of providing clear, achievable, sequenced, and prioritized mandates, based on accurate and reliable information on the situation on the ground and a realistic assessment of threats against civilians and UN personnel, premises and assets.

It requests the secretary-general to provide integrated, evidence-based and data-driven analysis, strategic assessments and frank advice to the Security Council to facilitate as necessary a re-evaluation of the mission composition and mandate based on realities on the ground.

The resolution expresses the importance of a UN presence appropriately configured with necessary capabilities and capacities to provide support to protection-of-civilians efforts during transitions.

It calls on the secretary-general and field missions to draw on lessons learned from transitions in the further development and implementation of relevant UN transition policies and directives, and further calls on the secretary-general to continue to strengthen planning and management of transition processes and to further enhance organizational learning and guidance on transitions.

It recognizes that peacebuilding financing remains a critical challenge, and reiterates the importance of adequately resourcing UN peace operations, including during mission transitions, to support the long-term stability and continuity of peacebuilding activities.