United Nations Peacekeeping and Civilian Protection in Civil War

TLDR

Civilian protection is a primary purpose of UN peacekeeping, yet there is little systematic evidence for whether peacekeeping prevents civilian deaths. The study asks whether UN peacekeeping protects civilians in civil war and proposes that missions with sufficient military and police forces can do so. The authors use monthly data on UN personnel composition and civilian deaths from 1991–2008 in African conflicts to examine the relationship between troop and police numbers and civilian targeting. The analysis shows that larger deployments of military and police forces to UN missions substantially reduce civilian killings, with several thousand troops and hundreds of police dramatically lowering deaths, confirming UN peacekeeping as an effective civilian protection mechanism.

Abstract

Does United Nations peacekeeping protect civilians in civil war? Civilian protection is a primary purpose of UN peacekeeping, yet there is little systematic evidence for whether peacekeeping prevents civilian deaths. We propose that UN peacekeeping can protect civilians if missions are adequately composed of military troops and police in large numbers. Using unique monthly data on the number and type of UN personnel contributed to peacekeeping operations, along with monthly data on civilian deaths from 1991 to 2008 in armed conflicts in Africa, we find that as the UN commits more military and police forces to a peacekeeping mission, fewer civilians are targeted with violence. The effect is substantial—the analyses show that, on average, deploying several thousand troops and several hundred police dramatically reduces civilian killings. We conclude that although the UN is often criticized for its failures, UN peacekeeping is an effective mechanism of civilian protection.