Will the United Nations deploy peacekeeping forces to a conflict zone in a new country or territory by 31 July 2026?
Started
Dec 19, 2025 05:00PM UTC
Closing Aug 01, 2026 04:00AM UTC
Closing Aug 01, 2026 04:00AM UTC
Topics
Seasons
The United Nations currently operates 11 peacekeeping missions across three continents, including operations in Western Sahara, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Golan Heights, Cyprus, Lebanon, Abyei, Kosovo, South Sudan, and along the India-Pakistan border (UN Peacekeeping). The most recent UN peacekeeping mission was established in 2017 when the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) was authorized, which itself concluded operations in October 2019 (UN Peacekeeping). Since then, no new UN peacekeeping operations have been authorized or deployed, and the trend has been toward mission closures and drawdowns rather than new deployments, with the peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) ending in 2023 and ongoing drawdowns planned for the peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (Security Council Report).
Recent discussions at the May 2025 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin and ongoing reviews of UN peace operations have focused on adapting peacekeeping to contemporary challenges, including exploring “nimble” mission models with narrow mandates to implement ceasefire agreements (Security Council Report). Reports earlier in the year indicated that UN officials may be exploring scenarios for potential peacekeeping roles in monitoring ceasefire agreements in conflicts such as Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, though no concrete plans have been announced (Security Council Report). The UN Security Council faces significant political divisions among permanent members that have constrained authorization of new operations in recent years (Lawfare).
Resolution Criteria
This question will be resolved as “Yes” if the United Nations deploys uniformed peacekeeping personnel to a new conflict zone by 31 July 2026.
This question will be resolved using official UN Security Council resolutions and announcements from the UN Department of Peace Operations, as well as by major international news reporting. If these sources provide conflicting information, UN Security Council resolutions and official UN Department of Peace Operations announcements will take precedence.
For the purposes of this question:
- A “conflict zone” is defined as a country or territory experiencing active armed conflict or that has experienced armed conflict within the previous 12 months.
- A country/territory is considered to “currently host” a peacekeeping operation if one was active on 19 December 2025, regardless of whether that specific operation ends before 31 July 2026. The deployment of a new peacekeeping operation to replace or succeed an existing operation in the same country will not count towards resolution.
The question will resolve “Yes” if ALL of the following conditions are met:
- The UN Security Council authorizes the establishment of a new peacekeeping operation through a Security Council resolution
- The peacekeeping operation deploys uniformed personnel (military troops, military observers, or formed police units) to the conflict zone on or before 31 July 2026
- The deployment is to a country or territory that does not currently host one of the 11 existing UN peacekeeping operations as of 11 December 2025 (MINURSO, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, UNDOF, UNFICYP, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIK, UNMISS, UNMOGIP, UNTSO)
The following will NOT be sufficient to resolve:
- Expansion or reinforcement of an existing UN peacekeeping mission to new areas within the same country or territory
- Establishment of a special political mission without a uniformed peacekeeping component
- Deployment of UN-authorized but non-UN-commanded forces (such as African Union or regional missions)
- Authorization by the Security Council without actual deployment of personnel by the end date
- Deployment of only civilian personnel without uniformed peacekeepers
- Advance teams, technical assessment missions, or planning missions without deployed peacekeeping forces