Category Peace Operations Estimates (POET)

Executive Summary

from June 2020 Global Conflict Tracker by CFR

Concerns are growing that militant groups in Mali are increasing in number and strength, with violence spreading across the country and across borders. In January 2019, local al-Qaeda affiliate, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), claimed a series of attacks on UN peacekeepers, soldiers from both Mali and Burkina Faso, and local militants.

JNIM—which formed in March 2017 and was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in September 2018—and affiliated militant groups have expanded their influence, spreading from the north into central Mali by capitalizing on communal tensions, and has continued to carry out attacks in the capital, Bamako. A branch of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, has also appeared, compounding concerns over the militant threat.

In August 2018, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won re-election in a runoff vote that was marred by violence in the run-up to both rounds of the election. In addition to a deteriorating security environment, the Malian government continues to struggle to implement the June 2015 peace agreement it signed with the Coordination of Azawad Movements and a coalition of Tuareg rebel groups. Major components of the deal—including steps to increase autonomy and political representation in the north, bring development, and integrate rebel groups into the Malian security forces—remain unfulfilled.

From AMISOM website

Executive Summary

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Republic of Somalia is the most recent attempt to restore national institutions to Somalia. Established in 2004 and internationally recognized, its support in Somalia was waning until the United States-backed 2006 intervention by the Ethiopian military, which helped drive out the rival Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Mogadishu and solidify the TFG’s rule. Following this defeat, the ICU splintered into several different factions. Some of the more radical elements, including Al-Shabaab, regrouped to continue their insurgency against the TFG and the Ethiopian military’s presence in Somalia.

In February 2007, the United Nations Security Council authorized the African Union to deploy a peacekeeping mission in support of Somalia’s Transitory Federal Institutions (TFIs).

The Security Council authorized the Member States of the African Union to maintain the deployment of AMISOM, as set out in paragraph 1 of resolution 2093 (2013) until 30 November 2015. AMISOM continues to support the FGS’ commitment to a credible electoral process in 2016 and is actively working closely with the FGS and SNA to bring peace and stability to the nation.

Executive Summary

President Faustin Archange Touadéra’s government came into power in February 2016. He campaigned as a peacemaker who could bridge the religious divide, and he has been working to establish an inclusive government that includes the leaders of various factions. 

A breakthrough in the conflict occurred on 06 February 2019 when a Peace Agreement was signed between the central government and 14 armed groups. The agreement was negotiated by the African Union and United Nations representatives. However, the agreement is not yet fully implemented. A core tenant of the agreement is the inclusion of armed groups into government and military positions. This has upset civil society leaders who view these positions as concessions to people who perpetrated violence.

At the local level, some armed groups have refused to demobilize and continued to threaten the population with illegal taxation and targeted violence. However, local Peace Committees are being established with the support of women and youth, who are negotiating local peace agreements that have led to the de-escalation of tensions in some areas. Criminal gangs also pose a threat to stability in Bangui.  

from official UNMISS and UN Press websites

UNMISS’ objective is to consolidate peace and security, and help establish conditions for development in the Republic of South Sudan, with a view to strengthening the capacity of the Government of South Sudan to govern effectively and democratically and establish good relations with its neighbors.

The Security Council demanded that the Government of South Sudan immediately cease obstruction of UNMISS in the performance of its mandate, cease obstruction of international and national humanitarian actors in their delivery of aid to civilians, and facilitate free movement for the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Evaluation Commission.

Also by the text, the Council authorized the Mission “to use all necessary means necessary” to protect civilians, to create conditions suitable to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and to support the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement.  It also expressed its intention to consider “all appropriate measures” against those who take actions that undermine peace, security, and stability in South Sudan.

As a large, multidimensional peacekeeping operation – with 17,000 troops, 2,000 police and 2,000 civilians – UNMISS has been provided with significant resources and an extraordinarily ambitious mandate. Throughout its existence, UNMISS has been part of a much broader regional and international constellation of actors working to stabilize the country and encourage conflict parties to enter into a meaningful peace process. In many cases, UNMISS has played a limited supportive, coordinating, or otherwise indirect role in the overall trajectory of the country; in others, it is a central actor in the eyes of the people of South Sudan.