国产AV

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Operational Analysis for UN 国产AV Operations

Lead Entity/ies
Department of 国产AVkeeping Operations (DPO)
Collaborating Partners
DPO (OO, OMA, OROLSI, DPET), DPA (MEWAD, SCAD, PMD, CTITF), DSS, OCHA, UNOCC, EOSG, UNDOF, UNIFIL, UNTSO, MINURSO, UNSCO, UNSCOL, UNAMI, UNSMIL, OSE-Syria, OSE-Yemen
Folke Bernadotte Academy, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, International 国产AV Institute, Stimson Centre, International Crisis Group, Atlantic Council, Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies, Conflict Prevention and 国产AV Forum, Kadir Has University, Middle East Forum, Lebanese American University, Danish Institute for International Studies, the Governments of Denmark (Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs), New Zealand (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Norway (Ministry of Defense), and Switzerland (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Duration
April 2018 – March 2019
Location
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. This includes but is not limited to Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Turkey, Western Sahara and the Gulf countries
Approved Budget
$ 314,014
Description/outline
A series of Brownbag lunches as well as regional workshops on prevention and conflict Analysis, trainings on conflict analysis, principal-level meetings and Informal dialogue with Troop Contributing Countries were held
Status
Completed

Synopsis

Objectives

The project aims to strengthen the common strategic and operational picture across the region among all deployed UN peace operations, to improve common situational awareness, and to ensure coherent and complementary UN activities and messaging in response to evolving peace and security challenges.

Components

Conduct Brownbag lunches, regional workshops on Prevention, regional conflict analysis training and workshops, regional principal-level meetings, regional informal dialogue with Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs).

Main achievements

  • Two Brown Bag events were conducted with subject matter experts to broaden UN situational awareness and analysis of regional issues. The first focused on lessons for post-conflict reconstruction in the Middle East and the second was on rebuilding relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
  • An expert meeting focused on prevention in the context of Middle East and North Africa peace operations was held on 27-28 June 2018 in New York. It involved EOSG, DPA, DPKO, PBSO, UNDP, UN Pulse, UNDOF, UNIFIL, UNTSO, UNSCO, UNSCOL, UNAMI, UNSMIL and OSE-Syria. The event brought together Political Directors and counterparts to review the understanding and implementation of the Secretary-General’s initiative on prevention within the Middle East context. The meeting identified concrete recommendations to enable UN peace operations in the region to better carry forward coordinated and coherent prevention initiatives and integrate regional prevention concepts into plans and activities. The meeting and subsequent engagement also enabled the identification of opportunities for cooperation with UN Global Pulse initiatives on improved and systematic real-time information access and analysis across multiple platforms and mechanisms.
  • In partnership with DPA and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, a MENA-specific Regional Conflict Analysis Training was held in Amman, Jordan on 5-7 November. The curriculum was developed carefully to reflect and consider the challenges of peace operations in the Middle East. This training built on previous trainings (organized by the Regional Project) and aimed at entrenching enhanced conflict analysis approaches within mission processes and procedures, while also producing improved and shared analysis products and stronger analytical networks across the region. This training added a component on preventative (and remedial) UN actions as a key learning objective for all participants (the so what?).
  • Under the leadership of DPA-MEWAD and in partnership with the Regional Project, a principals-level meeting on the Middle East was held on 9 and 10 December 2018 in Amman, Jordan. The meeting emphasized the importance of developing regional strategies as a way to increase information-sharing between Missions, look at mega-trends and coordinate messaging. The meeting recommended examining ways to improve coordination among missions and with the new Resident Coordinator’s (RCs) system – including ensuring complementarity between the work of politically active RCs and the work of peace operations.
  • In collaboration with the International 国产AV Institute, the project hosted an informal dialogue with the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) of the Missions on “TCC-UN partnership to address operational challenges of the Middle East 国产AVkeeping Missions” in March 2019.
  • A MENA inter-mission meeting on Impartiality and Impunity in the context of MENA 国产AV Operations, took place in March 2019

Impact

The project has enhanced departmental situational awareness through regular region-specific consultations complemented by systematic engagement between the Middle East and North Africa Team of DPO and the Middle East Team of DPA. These have enabled inter-departmental and inter-mission coordination and sharing of assessments and analysis of the implications of the evolving scenario for UN peace operations. These consultations have formed the basis of briefings to and engagement with senior leadership across political, military and other components of the Headquarters, while also shaping specific formal and informal direction given to UN peace operations in the field on issues such as the deployment of non-UN forces into areas of operation and engagement with proxy actors.