List of policy documents

The template shows how the Excel sheet should be organized that Member States providing formed police units to UN peace operations have to use. To download the Excel file, click here (via UN Force link).

Find out more about the work of the United Nations Police Division Standing Police Capacity, based in Brindisi, Italy.

The Annual report provides an overview of the different tasks and achivements of the Standing Police Capacity in 2015.

The Guidelines include principles for any UN police commander tasked to lead officers from different countries with very different policing styles and provide guidance for the unique challenges this operating environment presents in the context of collaborating with the host-State police service and other elements of the operation.

To develop the guidelines, almost 100 experts from Member States, think tanks and partner organizations including the African Union, joined current and former UN police commissioners in Pretoria, South Africa in October 2014 to discuss various aspects of police command. The workshop was organised by the United Nations together with the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, the Swedish National Police and the support of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The guidelines complement the existing DPKO-DFS Policy on Authority, Command and Control in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (2008) with more detail for police commanders. They address managing human resources; capacity-building for transferring policing and law enforcement responsibilities to the host-State police; the zero-tolerance policy to sexual exploitation and abuse; human rights protection and employing intelligence-led policing strategies. The guidelines also include approaches on working with community members, including women, as full partners in policing activities; and facilitating the full participation of women and girls in decision-making, planning, implementation and oversight.

The aim of the Guidelines is to outline specific roles and responsibilities of United Nations police components – from the tactical-level police officer to the Police Commissioner – so each can conduct their work more effectively.

The United Nations police are frequently tasked with an operational support role to the host-State police service and other law enforcement in addressing threats such as serious and organised crime, terrorism and corruption. In some cases, however, the United Nations police are also authorised to assume partial or full executive policing responsibility, such as conducting investigations, special operations and maintaining public order while the host-State police and other law enforcement agencies regain functional self-sufficiency.

By defining a standardised set of principles and concepts the Guidelines on Police Operations assist mission planning and operations for United Nations police operations amid an expanding portfolio of tasks. The guidelines also detail the linkages with other mission components, as well as informing host-state police with a clear overview about how the United Nations police implements mission mandates.

The thematic consultation for the development of these Guidelines took place in Langfang, China, in June 2014. Organised by the United Nations and the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, the event brought together experts from Member States, regional and subregional organisations as well as academia and think tanks.

The document includes guidance on conducting investigations, using criminal intelligence, or supporting the host-State police and other law enforcement in the conduct of these roles and responsibilities. The guidelines outline procedures for special operations and ensuring public safety, based on United Nations policing strategies that are oriented towards serving the community. As United Nations police peacekeeping differs fundamentally from domestic policing, the guidelines offer access to the approaches, concepts and principles for how United Nations police conducts operations.

Find out more about the work of the United Nations Police Division Standing Police Capacity, based in Brindisi, Italy.