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Into the Abyss: Water in Armed Conflicts

On the other hand, the UN peacekeeping exercise provided awareness of the need to address natural resources, including
important experience relevant to water and peace. In areas water, in peace mediations and in other forms of UN engagement
marked by armed conflict, UN peacekeeping efforts often in conflict and post-conflict situations, especially in the form of
represent the most important and comprehensive contribution peace operations.
of the international community to stabilization and peace. UN
peacekeeping is no longer a simple ceasefire monitoring activity The role of UN peace missions is determined by specific
such as it was in its early history. Today, the mandates of UN mandates negotiated and adopted by the UN Security Council,
peacekeeping operations are invariably complex and involve a with each mandate tailor made to address the specific situation.
wide range of tasks such as the creation of safe environments Many of these situations involve UN peace operations for long
allowing humanitarian assistance, political stabilization and the periods of time. New mandates in an individual situation reflect
strengthening of the rule of law. This endeavor often requires the priority needs at the time of adoption, thereby making
critically important support to transitional authorities or local coherent development of the mandate more difficult to achieve.
governments in establishing or restoring public administration,
disarming combatants, assisting the local police and local The successful implementation of mandates for peace operations
governments in their efforts to establish control over natural is influenced by human, technical and financial resources.
resources. The roles played by UN peacekeeping operations can The 2015 report of the High Level Independent Panel on Peace
include digging water wells and other water resource initiatives Operations emphasized that Member States of the United
that involve distributing high-capacity rolling water containers. Nations must provide peace missions with adequate capabilities
to implement their mandates. These adequate capabilities
The role of UN peacekeeping operations is likely to become should include water and electric power specialists. Most of
even more complex in the future and will increasingly include the UN Member States with highly developed military systems
water issues. There is a growing tendency to include natural have skilled military specialists, trained to deliver the necessary
resource provisions in peace agreements. The UNEP report services, including drilling, water distribution, sanitation, power
titled, “Greening the Blue Helmets” concludes that this tendency production and distribution. To strengthen the capacity of UN
has been observed since 2005, at which time peace agreements peace operations, those UN Member States should provide
began to include such provisions. In 2016, the UN Environment the assistance of these specialists for the evaluation, repair
Assembly adopted a resolution on the “Protection of the and rehabilitation of water supply systems so as to restore or
Environment in Areas affected by Armed Conflict,” calling on the establish basic services to affected populations in the early
different parts of the UN system to provide enhanced assistance stages of the deployment of peace operations.
to countries affected by armed conflict and those in post-conflict
situations to assist in post-crisis environmental assessment and
recovery (UNEP/EA/Res. 15). This trend indicates an increasing

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