Optimising National Staff Contributions in UN Peacekeeping Operations

How can the UN optimise the contributions that locally recruited ‘national staff’ make to peacekeeping operations? Especially given intense pressure to reduce costs through ‘lighter footprints’, peacekeeping operations need to mobilise the full potential of all their personnel to accomplish mandated tasks.

This includes civilian staff, of whom 61% are national staff. Missions depend on national staff both for cost savings (since national staff typically earn less than international staff) and for local expertise and access. Yet tensions arising from status inequalities between national and international staff pose significant risks to individual staff performance and to unit effectiveness. Hostile mission environments and downsizing trends exacerbate these tensions.

Joint brief series: The Performance of Peacekeeping

This research brief series is the outcome of a joint initiative by the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), the Challenges Forum International Secretariat (CFIS) and the Swedish Defence University (SEDU). The aim of the series is to contribute to policy development by bringing cutting-edge research on key issues within peacekeeping to the attention of policy makers and practitioners. The editorial committee has consisted of Dr. Linnéa Gelot from SEDU, Agnes Cronholm and Dr. Johanna Malm from FBA, and Pernilla Rydén, Benoit Pylyser and Sanni Laine from CFIS. The views and opinions expressed in the brief series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the collaborating partners.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61880/NULO7273