Today’s world has no shortage of crises. War in Ukraine has returned large-scale interstate conflict to Europe. The Middle East is convulsing with widespread violence and regional escalation. The war in Sudan has produced a humanitarian catastrophe, while Haiti faces levels of gang violence and state fragility that have overwhelmed national institutions.
Across many regions, armed groups, criminal networks, violent extremists, and political spoilers operate in the gray zone between war and peace. Meanwhile, mistrust among major powers has made it harder for the United Nations Security Council to act with unity and purpose.
People experiencing war, civilian suffering, and institutional collapse understandably ask: where is the U.N.? The reality is that the U.N. can act only when its member States task it, authorize it, resource it, and deploy it, and they too often lack the unity of vision needed to do so.
Not since 2014 has the Security Council authorized a new, wholly U.N.-led peacekeeping operation, despite the huge challenges facing the world. In late 2024, recognizing the scale of the challenges facing international peace and security, world leaders gathered at the Summit of the Future and tasked Secretary-General António Guterres with a review of the future of all forms of U.N. peace operations.
The secretary-general’s “Review on the future of all forms of United Nations peace operations,” circulated on Aug. 20, was drafted after extensive consultation with governments, civil society, and other partners. It covers many critical points, perhaps chief among them that all peace operations are fundamentally political, that the U.N. and the Security Council must revitalize their peacemaking role, and that political solutions require concerted international support and consistent policy toward parties in conflict to incentivize them to make peace.
This remains essential, but it also poses a practical conundrum. If member States are less able to find political solutions, but such solutions are essential to successful peace operations, should the U.N. not conclude that its peace operations machinery is becoming obsolete?
The answer is no. The U.N. must maintain its readiness so that it can be prepared to either deploy, in the event political conditions change, or support others to do so. This is also a key message of the review. Read more
