Security Council Resolution 2185 (2014) [on the Role of Policing in Peacekeeping and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding]

S/RES/2185 (2014)View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Security Council, under agenda item 18 United Nations peacekeeping operations, published in 2014.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2016

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2016	S/2016/952	Report of the Secretary-General on United Nations policing		S/RES/2185 (2014)

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

International Police Peacebuilding Peacekeeping Operations Police

What’s in this document?

33 operative paragraphs

Resolves to include, as appropriate, policing as an integral part of the mandates of United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, and to give clear, credible, and achievable mandates for policing-related activities, matched by appropriate resources;

Stresses the importance of strong cooperation and coordination between United Nations Police Components and other elements of peacekeeping operations and special political missions, in support of the mandate and under the overall leadership of the Head of Mission;

Urges police-contributing countries to continue to contribute professional police personnel with the necessary skills, equipment and experience to implement mission mandates, including, where relevant, multidimensional peacekeeping mandates, underlining the importance of appropriate language skills at relevant levels to fulfil the mandate and of gender expertise, and urges prospective police-contributors to also contribute such personnel, to help ensure the demand for professional police personnel in United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions is fully met;

Requests the Secretary-General to further promote professionalism, effectiveness and system-wide coherence in the policing-related work of the United Nations including, in close consultation, as appropriate, with Member States and the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations in full respect of its vital role, through:

a. the development and implementation of standards and guidance for United Nations policing-related work, through the Strategic Guidance Framework for International Police Peacekeeping;

b. the development of comprehensive, standardized training for United Nations Police Components, including pre-deployment, induction and in-service training;

c. the provision of senior police leadership training, including through the Senior Mission Leaders’ Course;

d. the development of strong processes for evaluating the effectiveness of United Nations policing-related work;

e. the streamlining and improvement of recruitment and deployment procedures for United Nations police and civilian policing experts, recognizing that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate main committee of the United Nations General Assembly entrusted with administrative and budgetary matters; and

f. the coordination of work within the United Nations system on reform of policing and law enforcement institutions;

Recognizes that political leadership and the will of national authorities are critical to reforming host State policing and other law enforcement services, emphasizes the lead role of the host-State’s authorities in developing, as part of an inclusive national vision for its security sector, a strategy for policing and other law enforcement that promotes the rule of law and respects human rights, coordinating the implementation of the vision, dedicating national resources towards policing, law enforcement and other security institutions, and monitoring the impact of security sector reform processes, including policing reform;

Urges Member States and international partners to support, upon request, host State efforts to professionalize policing and other law enforcement agencies, within the context of broader security sector reform, and to ensure that international policing support is well-coordinated in support of a nationally-agreed plan, and underscores that such support should be tailored to the needs of the host State;

Recognizes that reform of police and other law enforcement institutions needs to be in support of, and informed by, inclusive political processes and agreements, to enhance the legitimacy of the institutions concerned and ensure wide ownership of such reform;

Notes the important role that United Nations Police Components can play, where mandated, in strengthening the rule of law in conflict and post-conflict situations, by inter-alia, providing operational support to host State policing and other law enforcement institutions, and supporting the reform, restructuring and rebuilding of such institutions including through technical assistance, co-location, training and mentoring programs, in the context of broader efforts to strengthen the rule of law and reform the security sector, where mandated;

In this regard, requests the Secretary-General to consider, as appropriate, security sector reform, including reform of policing and other law enforcement institutions, in the overall strategic planning of peacekeeping operations and special political missions in each country-specific context, and to work with Member States to enhance the capabilities and expertise of United Nations Police Components in relation to capacity development and institution building, including in the areas of:

a. operational policing, including community-oriented policing and information-based policing;

b. administration, management and leadership;

c. governance, oversight and evaluation;

d. policy formulation and strategic planning; and

e. coordination with partners;

Emphasizes the role of peacekeeping operations and special political missions in supporting host-State policing institutions in their preparation to transition to function self-sufficiently, and underlines that this preparation for transition should be based on a timely analysis of need, in consultation with the host State, of any assistance beyond the duration of the presence of the peacekeeping operation or special political mission, to enable United Nations peacebuilding and development actors, including the United Nations Country Team, to undertake the necessary strategic planning and resource mobilisation, working in close partnership with host-State authorities, and to transfer skills and expertise to host-State officials and experts as quickly as possible in order to ensure a successful and durable transition;

Encourages the Secretary-General’s Special Representatives and Envoys to fully take into account the strategic value of security sector reform, including reform of host State policing and other law enforcement institutions, in their work, as appropriate, in the context of broader security sector reform efforts, including through their good offices where mandated;

Welcomes the work of the United Nations Standing Police Capacity in providing expertise across the broad range of policing activities and providing a rapid, coherent, effective and responsive start-up capability for the Police Components of United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, and assisting existing missions through the provision of advice, expertise, base-line assessments and evaluation;

Requests the Secretariat to continue refining the composition of the United Nations Standing Police Capacity to ensure it includes skill sets to meet contemporary demands, including through enabling partnerships with member states and regional organisations;

Notes with appreciation the efforts made by the Department of Peacekeeping Operation’s Police Division to continue to explore the use of “specialized police teams” for police capacity-building, and requests the Secretary-General to report on this use, as appropriate;

Notes the Secretariat’s efforts to enhance inter-mission cooperation, including through the rapid redeployment of FPUs, recognizes that such cooperation can provide timely responses for critically needed capacity as an interim, short-term measure, notes the logistical challenges that can undermine the effectiveness of inter-mission cooperation, and encourages the Secretariat, in consultation with police-contributing countries, to continue to assess the practice of inter-mission cooperation with a view to streamlining standing operating procedures and improving the effectiveness of such cooperation;

Notes the importance of the deployment of civilian policing experts, with adequate and appropriate skills and expertise, to United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions;

Affirms the central role of the protection of civilians, where mandated, in the work undertaken by United Nations Police Components;

Affirms the importance of the role that United Nations Police Components can play, where mandated, in supporting the efforts of host authorities in the protection of civilians, particularly those under imminent threat of physical violence, including all forms of sexual and gender based violence, and in this regard, while recognising that protection of civilians is the primary responsibility of the host State, helping to build and reform policing and law enforcement institutions of the host State so they are able to sustainably and consistently protect civilians;

Highlights the critical role that United Nations Police Components can play in facilitating the participation and inclusion of women in dialogue on conflict resolution and peacebuilding, including on rule of law and security issues;

Encourages police-contributing countries to increase the percentage of women police in deployments to United Nations peacekeeping operations, in particular senior officers, including in leadership roles, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to support innovative efforts to encourage such deployment of women police and to enhance coordination between Police Components and child protection advisers as well as gender and women protection advisers;

Encourages police-contributing countries to provide all police personnel with adequate training to carry out their responsibilities in relation to sexual and gender-based violence and child protection, and further encourages relevant United Nations entities to make available appropriate guidance and training modules, including in particular the United Nations pre-deployment scenario-based training on prevention of sexual and gender-based violence and on children and armed conflict;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue and strengthen efforts to implement the policy of zero tolerance on sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations personnel, as well as the policy on prohibition of child labour in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and urges police-contributing countries to take appropriate preventative action, including pre-deployment and in-mission awareness training and other action to ensure full accountability, including prosecutions, in cases of such conduct involving their nationals;

Notes the importance of United Nations policing-related support to non-United Nations security forces adhering to the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy;

Reiterates that United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, including Police Components, located in a host State with Council-mandated sanctions regime, may, if deemed necessary by the Council, provide appropriate expertise to the host government, relevant sanctions committee and relevant experts groups, in the implementation and the compliance monitoring of that sanctions regime, and further notes the importance of appropriate training for United Nations Police Components in this regard;

Reiterates that United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, including Police Components, may, if mandated by the Council, assist in capacity building for host governments, as requested, to implement commitments under existing global and regional instruments and to address the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, including inter alia through weapons collection, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, enhancing physical security and stockpile management practices, record keeping and tracing capacities, development of national export and import control systems, enhancement of border security, and strengthening judicial institutions, policing and other law enforcement capacities;

Encourages information sharing, where relevant and appropriate, between Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations including its Police Division, the Department of Political Affairs, the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and the United Nations Development Program, within existing mandates and resources, when considering means to address, in a comprehensive and integrated manner, transnational organized crime, terrorism and violent extremism which can be conducive to terrorism;

Encourages the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate to enhance its dialogue and information sharing with Special Envoys, the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, with respect to policing activities, including during the planning stages of missions, as appropriate, in relation to implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1624 (2005), and requests the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate to identify principal gaps in Member States’ capacities, including the capacities of their policing and other law-enforcement institutions, to implement Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1624 (2005);

Affirms that United Nations Police Components, deployed as part of a United Nations peacekeeping operation, may, if mandated by the Council, provide support, in consultation with the host State, as feasible and where appropriate, to the efforts of national authorities, without prejudice to the responsibilities of those authorities, to bring to justice those responsible for serious international crimes;

Encourages closer coordination and cooperation on policing issues between the United Nations Secretariat and international, regional and sub-regional organisations, INTERPOL and regional police organizations, including through training, the sharing and exchange of information, thematic expertise, and operational support, as appropriate;

Reiterates the need to further strengthen cooperation and consultation with police-contributing countries, including through triangular cooperation between the Security Council, troop and police-contributing countries and the United Nations Secretariat, to foster a spirit of partnership, cooperation, confidence and mutual trust;

Expresses its intention to consider holding an annual meeting on policing issues with the Heads of United Nations Police Components;

Encourages the Secretary-General to consider the increasing role of policing, along with the many other critical issues related to peacekeeping operations and special political missions, in his upcoming strategic review of United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, as appropriate;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report by the end of 2016 on the role of policing as an integral part of peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding, with particular focus on the challenges faced by Police Components of United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, and making recommendations on how best to strengthen their contribution to the achievement of mission mandates.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents