Coning, Cedric de, et al. “The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace Operations.” IPI Global Observatory, 6 Apr. 2020, theglobalobservatory.org/2020/04/impact-covid-19-peace-operations/.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace Operations

“Advancing the New Management Paradigm: Management Reform in Action | United to Reform.” United Nations, United Nations, reform.un.org/news/advancing-new-management-paradigm-management-reform-action.

Advancing the new management paradigm: Management reform in action

-	The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace Operations
-	Advancing the new management paradigm: Management reform in action


University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

-	Changes to UN projects
-	Social distancing policies of UN
-	Negative Impact from COVID-19 on peace operations
-	Positive Impact from COVID-19 on peace operations


COVID-19 Impact on Peace Operations

References for COVID-19 Impact on Peace Operations

In light of COVID-19, UN had to bring about major changes in how their peace operations were to be done. Some countries like South Sudan have requested that rotation of troops be excluded if they were from high risk countries including China, Italy, South Korea, and Spain. In regards to which operations are to continue during the global pandemic, UN has adopted a system to assess necessity of operations prior to continuing. Some of the necessary operations that UN chose to continue includes protection of civilians, humanitarian assistance, etc. 

Changes to UN projects

UN took previous example in 2010 of cholera outbreak in Haiti and took similar yet advanced precautions during COVID-19. Active employment of 14-day quarantine for newly deployed workers are effective. Additionally, they have limited social contact by serving food as takeout and putting limit on meeting size and number. Most peace operations staff now work remotely if possible and are categorized by location-based vs non-location based in enforcing quarantine measures. 

Social Distancing Policies of UN

Due to global pandemic, UN peace operations met many shortcomings. One limit they faced was number of operations they were able to continue. In effort to limit spread of potential virus, only essential projects were continued, putting a halt to many projects that were necessary. This is projected to affect UN’s goals in the long term. Another limit UN faced was in how they carried out their work. Many meetings were done virtually and work was done from home. However, those who worked in remote regions of the country or in areas of poor internet connections faced challenges. Moreover, due to limit of global travels, deployment to another country has been strictly limited and those who had been deployed abroad are facing challenges in coming back to see their families. Lastly, current pandemic has placed significant complexities in future planning for UN. Budgets have shrunk due to global recession and many countries turning to prioritizing domestic needs instead. Also, the future outlook of foreign deployment is unclear since many countries are showing hostility to foreigners in light of current pandemic.

Negative Impact from COVID-19 on Peace Operations

COVID-19 pandemic has placed UN on many limitations. However, some of the strategies UN chose to adapt may be positive in the long run. One such positive change was ‘delegation of authority’ to heads of the mission. This is enacted to enable faster and more field-oriented decisions in times of crisis. UN’s vision with this reform is to simplify management by giving authority to personnel within the project. Moreover, UN’s responses to COVID-19 pandemic has been quick given its precedent of cholera outbreak in Haiti and will prepare UN for future pandemic.

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