Optimising national staff contributions in UN peacekeeping operations

Abstract

How can the UN optimise the contributions that locally recruited ‘national staff’ make to peacekeeping operations? Especially given intense pressure to reduce costs through ‘lighter footprints’, peacekeeping operations need to mobilise the full potential of all their personnel to accomplish mandated tasks. This includes civilian staff, of whom 61% are national staff. Missions depend on national staff both for cost savings (since national staff typically earn less than international staff) and for local expertise and access. Yet tensions arising from status inequalities between national and international staff pose significant risks to individual staff performance and to unit effectiveness. Hostile mission environments and downsizing trends exacerbate these tensions. Drawing on extensive interviews in four UN peacekeeping operations, this brief recommends that missions: Counter the culture of inequality between national and international staff by upholding formal rank equivalents, reconsidering restrictions on some unit leadership positions, avoiding generalisations about individuals based on their staff category, and revisiting differential administrative policies. Visibly invest in national staff security by reviewing safety and security protocols for national staff, improving communication about protection policies, and improving mechanisms for national staff to report protection concerns. Carefully manage downsizing by instituting a transparent downsizing process, ensuring fairness across staff categories, working to retain relevant existing staff throughout mission drawdown, and placing greater emphasis on career management and employment transitions.