Field Operations and Good Offices Missions
The Department of Political Affairs manages political missions and peace-building support offices engaged in conflict prevention, peacemaking and post-conflict peacebuilding in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. The field operations currently under DPA's supervision are:
In Africa:
- BNUB, United Nations Office in Burundi
- BINUCA, United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic
- UNIOGBIS, United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in Guinea-Bissau
- UNOCA, United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa
- UNOWA, United Nations Office for West Africa
- UNIPSIL, United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in Sierra Leone
- UNSMIL, United Nations Support Mission in Libya
- UNPOS, United Nations Political Office for Somalia
In Central Asia:
In the Middle East:
- UNAMI, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
- UNSCO, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
- UNSCOL, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon
These DPA-led field operations are headed by senior representatives of the Secretary-General and provide a forward platform for preventive diplomacy and other activities across a range of disciplines, to help prevent and resolve conflict or to build lasting peace in nations emerging from civil wars. The peace-building offices, currently active in Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone aim to help nations consolidate peace through comprehensive peace-building strategies developed and carried out in coordination with national actors and U.N. development and humanitarian entities on the ground.
Political missions are part of a continuum of UN peace operations working in different stages of the conflict cycle. In some instances, following the signing of peace agreements, political missions overseen by the Department of Political Affairs during the stage of peace negotiations have been replaced by peacekeeping missions. In other instances, U.N. peacekeeping operations have given way to special political missions overseeing longer term peace-building activities.
Fact sheet on current UN Political and Peacebuilding Missions (PDF)
See the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council website for information on the mandates of current and previous missions.
Good Offices missions
In addition to the field-based missions currently under its supervision, DPA provides guidance and support to traveling envoys and special advisers of the Secretary-General bringing to bear his “good offices” for the resolution of conflicts or the implementation of other UN mandates. These currently include UN envoys or special advisers for Cyprus, Yemen, Myanmar, Sahel, Syria, Western Sahara, and the FYROM-Greece name dispute.
Investigative Mandates and Fact-Finding Missions
DPA has also assisted in establishing and providing support to various UN investigative and fact-finding bodies. These have included: the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG); the United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan; the International Commission of Inquiry on the 28 September 2009 events in Guinea; and the United Nations International Investigation Commission in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.