Peacekeeping operations : challenges and opportunities in the midst of health crises

The COVID-19 crisis has brought about significant challenges to international organizations operating in fragile contexts. Among others, the case of United Nations (UN) and its peacekeeping operations (PKOs) counting more than 80,000 personnel from 121 countries is certainly prominent. Not only do PKOs rely on international personnel’s frequent rotations, but they also rely on freedom of movement to carry out their mandate. How have PKOs adapted and responded to the crisis? How do PKOs balance the need to protect vulnerable civilians with support to governments’ responses to the crisis and safeguard legitimacy? This chapter explores the impact of the health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic on PKOs by focusing on two key aspects. First, it evaluates the current PKO efforts in managing the crisis in light of two previous health emergencies occurring in the midst of PKOs, namely Ebola in Western Africa and cholera in Haiti. It will reflect on the legitimacy costs associated with the risk of UN personnel being seen as vector of the disease. Second, it identifies challenges and opportunities created by the emergency. The key challenges stem from the inevitable delay or interruption of ongoing negotiation processes, and the associated risks of armed groups taking advantage of the uncertain situation. But there are some opportunities to consider. Operational adaptation becomes a need as missions have to prioritize civilians’ protection without violating governments’ policies on movement. Furthermore, halting frequent personnel rotations has likely increased cohesion within missions among soldiers but also between soldiers and missions’ leaders