Africa: UN Peace Operations Review May Struggle to Deliver for Africa

What the report says

The Institute for Security Studies, in an AllAfrica-distributed analysis dated 3 September 2026, says the United Nations’ latest review of peace operations reflects some African priorities but may be difficult to carry out. The report is especially relevant to Africa, where roughly half of UN peacekeeping missions are located and where conflicts in Sudan, the Sahel, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia continue to test international responses.

The analysis says the UN Secretary-General’s review includes 15 priorities and 47 recommendations aimed at improving peace operations, including stronger civilian protection, more realistic mandates and better use of African regional actors. It also highlights two long-standing African demands: fuller implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2719 on financing African Union-led operations, and a more representative multilateral system, including Security Council reform.

But the piece argues that implementation faces serious obstacles. It points to chronic funding shortages, divisions among member states, bureaucratic delays and uncertainty over whether the incoming UN leadership in January 2027 will prioritise the overhaul. The authors also say the report does not fully resolve problems around host-government consent, peace enforcement, or counter-terrorism roles, which have complicated missions such as MINUSMA in Mali and transitions in Sudan and other theatres.

More broadly, the analysis says geopolitical fragmentation and budget cuts could weaken follow-through, even as African institutions such as the African Union may use the report to inform future cooperation with the UN and ongoing work on continental security arrangements.