Any contribution of UNAMID in the Protection of Civilians in Darfur Region, SUDAN? The perspectives of peacekeepers

Abstract

The central question the present study aims to answer is the extent to which has the United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) fulfilled its mandate of civilians 'protection, from the perspectives of the peacekeepers who are among the primary agents in this regard. The study’s main focus is to examine the effectiveness of contemporary United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations in protecting civilians and identify gaps and tensions in the protection agenda from the Rwanda’s peacekeepers’ perspectives. Methodologically, this study used a qualitative approach. The data were collected through individual interviews and group discussions with selected former UNAMID peacekeepers from Rwanda, military and police components. A purposive sampling was used in the selection of peacekeepers who mainly could provide adequate information and were available. A total number of 30 former peacekeepers participated in the study. In addition, a review of the literature was undertaken, and analysis of selected existing studies made in order to get insights on related subject and facilitate the data analysis. The narratives of the respondents indicate a general feeling that they fulfilled the protection of civilians’ mandate, based on the reduction in attacks, killings, rapes and other atrocities against civilians since the time of UNAMID deployment in Darfur. However, they also acknowledged that they didn’t provide full and sustainable protection to civilians since some violent incidents continued to occur in their presence in Darfur, due to numerous challenges they faced, including the restrictions imposed by the host country and the absence of an inclusive peace agreement among others, which negatively affected the Protection of Civilians’ (PoC) implementation. The respondents pointed out a number of requirements to achieve a satisfactory PoC, including the adequate training of the peacekeepers and all involved staff in PoC prior to their deployment, set of a clear and achievable mandate with adequate resources to implement it, accountability by peacekeepers, facilitation by the host government and use of all means including force when necessary to protect civilians, etc. Most of these requirements are contained in the Kigali principles on the Protection of civilians and in the UN policy on the PoC.