The people‐centred approach to peace operations: The new un agenda

Abstract

The September 2000 UN Millennium Assembly confirmed the need for a fundamental reform of UN peacekeeping operations. This reform is shaped by the need for a new ‘people‐centred’ approach to conflict situations, no longer strictly bound by traditional ‘state‐centred’ principles, such as non‐intervention and state sovereignty. This article considers the impact of the proposals for UN peace negotiations, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and long‐term conflict prevention. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of these reforms for the external management of post‐conflict states and the changing roles of both the UN and NATO. It appears that there is a growing division of responsibility, with the authorization of military intervention and peacekeeping tasks increasingly falling to ‘coalitions of the willing’ while the UN develops its peacebuilding responsibilities with a coordinating role in post‐conflict political and development activities.