The environmental aspect of peacekeeping missions

Abstract

Peacekeeping missions account for more than half of UN emissions and are among the top polluters on Earth. Thus, taking into consideration the environmental aspect of these operations is relevant to address local grievances and mitigate the impact of troops themselves. Responding to local environmental problems and targeting the behavior of peacekeepers is ultimately relevant to enhance the successfulness of the mission, preserve UN credibility and foster global environmental protection. After a careful review of the literature background connected to this field, this research outlines UN green efforts in general and later focuses on MONUSCO and UNMISS, as significant examples of ongoing operations which contribute to a large portion of UN emissions. Overall, this dissertation questions the existence of environmental plans in these two cases, their connection to the academic field and their possible improvements. To conduct this exploration, UN green plans in MONUSCO and UNMISS are analyzed in their pre, intra and post-deployment efforts with the aim of highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the findings are assessed against the main scholarly arguments and used to advance recommendations and challenges. The results coming from this work shed light on the current gaps in the...