2020.09 Protection of Civilians in United Nations Peacekeeping Handbook

Abstract

The new DPO Handbook on the Protection of Civilians in United Nations Peacekeeping incorporates and translates into action the principles set out in the recently revised DPO Policy on the Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping, and brings together the best practices of POC in UN peacekeeping. The POC Handbook captures lessons from a wide range of experiences and provides all mission components (civilian, police and military) with practical guidance, tools and techniques to interpret and implement POC mandates in contexts that vary greatly.

Rather than being a short compendium that merely outlines roles and responsibilities, the POC Handbook is designed as a more comprehensive reference guide on a variety of protection topics all components will be able to turn to when faced with questions about how to effectively use POC processes and tools. To this end, the handbook also provides a series of case studies from the past 20 years, since the first explicit POC mandate in UN peacekeeping, illustrating best practices in implementing POC principles and tools, ranging from the tactical level to strategic planning and communications. These case studies were designed to apply to and help a broad range of POC actors from differing backgrounds and leadership levels.