By Armand Liebenberg, 1st July 2025
There are few images as iconic as that of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeper clad in a blue helmet, ushering civilians to safety or monitoring a fragile ceasefire along the line of contact. Yet, this image is rapidly becoming a relic of a bygone era.
Today, the landscape of peace operations, particularly in Africa, is being fundamentally reshaped by the increased complexity of conflicts, driven by a proliferation of non-state actors, increasingly asymmetric threats stemming from new and rapidly advancing technologies, and rising geopolitical tensions.
These factors have strained the UN’s peace architecture, undermining the confidence of many in the UN system itself, with some observers proclaiming, “the era of multilateral peacekeeping draws to an unhappy close,” as The Economist did earlier this year.
The failure of the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) coupled with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s increased dissatisfaction with the continued presence of its own faltering UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) are only two examples of the growing frustration and decline of confidence in the UN’s system’s ability to uphold its promise.
As a result, the UN has embarked on programme of reform aimed at restoring confidence in multilateral peacekeeping through ensuring the system is capable of addressing both present and future challenges. As part of this, May’s UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin brought world leaders together under the theme “The Future of Peacekeeping.”
Speaking at the Ministerial, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said: “In trouble spots around the world, Blue Helmets can mean the difference between life and death. Now more than ever, the world needs the United Nations. And the United Nations needs peacekeeping that is fully equipped for today’s realities and tomorrow’s challenges.”
The Ministerial culminated in 74 states making substantive pledges, a significant increase from the previous Ministerial’s 57. Crucially, participants called for a more flexible and context specific approach to mandates issued by the UN Security Council in order to meet challenges brought by the changing nature of conflict.
Speaking exclusively to defenceWeb, a UN spokesperson said: “The changing nature of conflict, including the growing use of technologies such as drones, underscores the need for peacekeeping to continue evolving. This was a key theme at the 2025 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial held in Berlin last May, where Member States discussed how peacekeeping can better respond to transnational threats – including the weaponisation of new technologies, the effects of climate change, and the harmful use of digital media.”
“At the recent UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025 in Berlin that was attended by 134 Member States, 74 Member States made concrete pledges to strengthen UN Peacekeeping, including through greater use of technology. As Under Secretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix noted in his closing remarks: ‘Like the rest of the world, peacekeeping must adapt to rapid technological advancements. These are altering conflict dynamics but also pose new opportunities.’”
This sentiment was echoed by the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF’s) Chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, who noted during his address at the SANDF’s commemoration of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on 29 May: “Technology that is deployed in the contemporary battlefield has prompted the world to come to a realisation that we cannot continue to fashion and deign the peacekeeping suite in the same old way. Thus, this year’s theme, ‘The Future of Peacekeeping,’ reflects the evolving nature of peace operations in a complex and rapidly changing world.”
Technology: A Double-Edged Sword
From drones to disinformation campaigns, technology is reshaping conflict, and by extension peace operations. These technologies present both a formidable challenge to peacekeeping missions and the safety of peacekeepers, as was made clear by the first ever attack on UN peacekeepers with an “improvised armed unmanned aerial system” last year.
However, in an era of constrained resources, stemming from (mainly US) funding cuts, the UN has recognised that, while presenting a challenge, technology also represents a vital tool that can and should be leveraged to enhance the operational abilities and effectiveness of peacekeepers into the future. Notably, the UN has already taken some steps in this direction, with MONUSCO peacekeepers, for example, already leveraging UAVs for surveillance and early warning, however (as the UN recognises) more can and should be done to ensure the future effectiveness of un peace operations.
“To remain an effective tool for peace, UN peacekeeping missions must become more agile, leveraging technology not only to enhance situational awareness and improve the safety of peacekeepers, but also to operate effectively in today’s complex information environments,” the UN spokesperson told defenceWeb.
For nearly 80 years, UN peacekeepers have served as a vital instrument for promoting international peace and security. While traditional peacekeeping was built around monitoring ceasefires and supporting political processes, operations now take place in environments shaped by drone warfare, online influence and disinformation campaigns, transnational crime, and the effects of climate change. The reality is the world has changed; peacekeeping must change with it.
@defenceWeb