A primary tool to enhance rapid deployment of military personnel is the United Nations Standby Arrangements System, which was initiated by the Secretariat in 1994. The system provides a framework through which Governments indicate to the Secretariat the military personnel and equipment they could, in principle, provide in a given case, and the time that would be required to deploy them. Some States have formalized this arrangement by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations. The system's data base is the point of initial consultation used by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in approaching Member States for contributions to new or ongoing missions.

It is important to note that all of these efforts are based on the principle that troops would only be available subject to national consent. The determining factor in rapid deployment will continue to be, not the existence of effective structures, but the political will on the part of Member States.