Chapter 4. Creating a Secure and Stable Environment

SUMMARY

A secure and stable environment is characterized by a reasonable level of public order which allows the population to pursue its daily activities in relative safety. Furthermore, the state’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force has been reasserted in order to deter both internal and external aggression upon the state, its institutions and its people. In a United Nations peace operation, the police and military components of a mission often play a key role in helping to create a secure and stable environment, until the host government is in a position to maintain its own internal and external security. This may involve the legitimate use of force by the mission, which must be carefully calibrated and linked to the desired political outcomes. Overall, the mission should project strength and credibility and not allow spoilers’ use of violence to undermine a peace process. Meanwhile, the mission should also use this opportunity to partner with the host government in reforming the security sector.

This chapter discusses a set of six operational-level outputs, each with its own set of activities, risks and benchmarks, which together contribute to the overall outcome of creating a secure and stable environment.

• Warring Factions Separated and Violent Conflict Contained. This output emphasises the separation of parties to a conflict in order to allow the peacekeeping force to monitor their actions through the establishment of areas of control. In the short term, this helps limit the suffering of civilians and asserts control over armed forces in support of ceasefires, thereby building confidence in a fragile peace process.
• Civilians Protected. This output reflects the fact that civilians are at risk and are often targeted during armed conflict. The most vulnerable groups are women, children, refugees, IDPs, minorities and the elderly. Protecting these groups using integrated and holistic mission responses is vital to preventing suffering and strengthening confidence in the peace process in the eyes of the local population, neighbouring countries and the international community.
• Freedom of Movement Regained and Exercised. This output highlights the free flow of people and goods, and the social integration of isolated communities without fear of physical harm or disruption, leading to the normalisation of daily life and economic growth. However, freedom of movement by the mission can be challenged by various factors, including hostilities, opposing factions, natural disasters or even an uncooperative host state conscious of its sovereignty. All these factors must be managed by the various mission components.
• Threats from Spoilers Managed. This output highlights the challenges spoilers pose to the peace process. Spoilers come from a variety of sources but, in differing ways, they all work against the peace process and threaten the success of a UN mission. Managing threats from spoilers requires the development of discrete strategies based on a rigorous peace and conflict analysis. Spoiler management requires the integration of intelligence, law-enforcement, political, security, diplomatic and development resources. Credible local institutions must be harnessed and supported. These approaches must be based on sound and deep intelligence as well as wide sharing of information among all actors that can understand the nodal relationships among all of the spoilers.
• Public Order Established. This output reflects the fact that public disorder is profoundly destabilizing and undercuts efforts to strengthen state security institutions. It is often accompanied by widespread violations of human rights. The judicial system tends to be weak and confidence in its ability to adjudicate cases is low, while prisons are often overflowing. Public order is essential if the population is to gain confidence in the public security system rather than seek security from other illegitimate entities such as militias and warlords. Supporting the host government in the re-establishment of public order is a whole-of-mission task mission task, with the police component taking the lead at the tactical level.
• Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programmes Implemented. This output emphasises the fact that integrated DDR processes may contribute to security and stability in a post-conflict environment, allowing recovery and development to sustain peace. Dealing with combatants is a first-order step in moving towards peace and reconciliation and creates confidence in the peace process. All stakeholders will have different expectations and agendas, and the peacekeeping mission will always be expected to deliver more than time and capacity will allow. The key is to balance what is possible against what the stakeholders believe should be possible within a given time.

Each of the six outputs listed above generates a set of considerations, which reflect the inevitable polarities inherent in an environment and society traumatized by recent conflict. These point to the need to balance conflicting issues, such as:

• the effect of the use of force on political legitimacy and impartiality;
• the mismatch between limited mission capabilities and local/national expectations;
• the host state’s burgeoning sense of sovereignty and the mission’s need to implement its mandate through the status of forces agreement (SOFA);
• the long-term need to confront impunity while continuing to secure short- term support for the peace process;
• the tensions between DDR programmes, local security, and civilian expectations; and
• the need to deal with national security forces for short-term security while initiating the needed long-term SSR.