Conclusion: A New Agenda for Peace Operations

Reports of the death of United Nations Peace operations have been greatly exaggerated. When, after securing a second five-year term in 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres released his vision for the future of global cooperation in “Our Common Agenda,” many of those working in or on UN peace operations grew concerned about the report’s virtual omission of the topic. The only passing reference to peacekeeping related to concerns of “liquidity reserves” reflecting circumstantial cash-flow problems and financial strains that had impacted missions and the ability to reimburse troop-contributing countries and continue to affect the regular budget of the organization. The latest UN reform agenda released in 2023 by Secretary-General António Guterres, “The New Agenda for Peace” (NA4P), does however give some recognition to peace operations, which it describes as “an essential part of the diplomatic toolbox” of the UN and suggests that “these missions will remain a central component of the continuum of United Nations responses” as “peacekeeping represents effective multilateralism in action.” Some similar language is included in the Pact for the Future member states negotiated to the wire and adopted at the September 2024 Summit. However, this will not guarantee the future of UN peace operations.