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United Nations: Peace/Security

Guide to information created by the UN and the UN Family of Organizations

Introduction

The UN Security Council adopts resolutions for peacekeeping operations. The Security Council President may make statements to call upon the parties involved in a conflict to work towards peaceful settlements. The Secretary General issues Reports of the Secretary General to the Security Council on peacekeeping missions. The General Assembly finances peacekeeping and the authorization of budgets for individual missions.

United Nations Peace Operations

Security Council. UN agency with responsibility for maintenance of international peace and security. Security Council Repertoire of Practice has a section on the history of conflict prevention and that lists a history of political missions and offices.

The various Security Council standing committees, ad-hoc working groups and tribunals include:

UN Research Guide - Peacekeeping. Excellent research guide from the UN DagHammarskjöld Library on the UN Peacemaking Process.

United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. UN agency that monitors global political developments in order to detect and deflect potential crises before they escalate.  

UN Special Advisors on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect.

UN Peacekeeping Resources. Reports, statistics, policies and other publications. See also the listing of current and historical Peacekeeping Operations;

United Nations Peacemaker. Online mediation support tool developed by the UN Department of Political Affairs. Includes a database of peace agreements on UN mediation.

United Nations and Disarmament

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Office promoting nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and for disarmament for weapons of mass destruction and chemical and biological weapons.

First Committee of the General Assembly. Deals with disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community.

Statements by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Statements by the High Representative of Disarmament Affairs and its predecessor offices

United Nations Conference on Disarmament. UN Multilateral disarmament forum that has negotiated the world's major multilateral arms limitation and disarmament agreements.

United Nations Disarmament Treaties. Listing of disarmament treaties and country signatories.

UN Disarmament Yearbook. Review of United Nations disarmament activities during a given year.

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. Brings together states, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia to study disarmament.

United Nations Military Expenditures Database. Database of country military spending reported to the UN.

UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS). Manages mine-action coordination centres as part of peacekeeping operations and humanitarian emergencies.

UN Research Guide - Disarmament. Research guide from the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library on Disarmament.

UN Research Guide - Landmines(archive). Research guide from the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library on Landmines.

Civil Society & Peacekeeping

International Peace Institute. Independent think tank dedicated to managing risk and building resilience to promote peace, security, and sustainable development.

NYU Center for International Cooperation. Analysis and policies to transform international cooperation on leading global challenges, such as increasing peace and security, strengthening fragile states, securing strategic resources, and tackling climate change.

Security Council Report. Publishes monthly reports on the prospective program of work of the Security Council supplemented by longer published reports and ad hoc reports on key thematic issues on the agenda of the Council.

UN Books on Peace and Disarmament