A New Partnership Agenda: Charting the New Horizon for UN Peacekeeping
A New Partnership Agenda: Charting a New Horizon for UN Peacekeeping 
is an internal document (or ‘non-paper’) prepared by the by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Department of Field Support (DFS) that reflects the perspectives of the two departments as part of the “New Horizon” process of developing a forward agenda for UN peacekeeping.
The non-paper, which was released to Member States and peacekeeping partners, was prepared to support a reinvigorated dialogue with the aim of forging a peacekeeping policy agenda that reflects the perspectives of all stakeholders in the global peacekeeping partnership.
The non-paper is not an official UN policy document. It does not present a definitive set of solutions, nor does it stake claim to a monopoly of wisdom on peacekeeping. It does not replace earlier reform efforts, but instead builds on our achievements to date and identifies outstanding as well as new dilemmas that must be tackled to realize the continuous improvement towards which we strive.
Background
In the more than sixty years of its existence, UN peacekeeping has evolved significantly as a tool of international crisis response. UN peacekeepers have served across the globe to prevent the outbreak of conflict, to manage and contain violence and to support national actors in protecting and building peace after conflict.
Today, UN peacekeeping is stretched like never before and is increasingly called upon to deploy to remote, uncertain operating environments and into volatile political contexts. It is an enterprise to which Member States have turned time and time again to address an ever wider range of situations. Yet, it is also a tool that faces challenges: challenges to deliver on its largest and most expensive missions, challenges to design viable transition strategies for missions where a degree of stability has been attained and challenges to prepare for an uncertain future. These challenges can only be addressed through a global peacekeeping partnership.
Against this backdrop, the New Horizon initiative was launched by DPKO and DFS to maintain and intensify the dialogue among peacekeeping stakeholders on options for improving UN peacekeeping in current and future operations. DPKO and DFS hope that the initiative will help to facilitate an agreed forward agenda among partners that will forge a set of shared and achievable goals towards which the peacekeeping partnership can navigate over time.
As part of this initiative, in early 2009, DPKO and DFS also commissioned an external think-piece by the Center of International Cooperation (CIC), "Building on Brahimi: a Coalition for Peacekeeping in an era of Strategic Uncertainty" to help stimulate discussion on the challenges and opportunities for UN peacekeeping. The CIC piece is an independent, external input to the process. It does not reflect or prejudice the views of DPKO and DFS.
If you have any comments, thoughts or proposals that you would like to submit in relation to the DPKO-DFS non-paper or regarding the New Horizon initiative more broadly, please contact us.