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A Status Report on International Civilian Police in Peace Operations.

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Strengthening Criminal Justice Systems in
Support of Peace Operations
Presidential Decision Directive PDD 71
24 February 2000

Presidential Decision Directive 71 directed the State Department to establish a new program that would train civilian police for international peacekeeping missions around the world. The State Department would be the lead agency in the training of police for duty in places such as Kosovo and East Timor. The administration has asked Congress for 10-million dollars to fund the effort, which will bring together several US Government agencies. The United States currently has about 700 civilian police officers taking part in UN peacekeeping operations. Under the new plan, that number would be about two- thousand and the police would be trained ahead of time so they could be deployed quickly to trouble spots. The recent slowness in deploying civilian police to Kosovo provided evidence that present international capabilities are not adequate. And the ongoing deployment of CIVPOL (US civilian police) teams to East Timor and Sierra Leone showed that the need will not soon diminish.

Civilian police provide a sense of security and perform tasks that heavily armed troops are not well trained to handle. The units would be able to control crowds, deter vigilante actions, prevent looting and disarm civilian agitators, while at the same time winning the trust of the communities where they are deployed. In addition to encouraging other countries to develop similar programs, US officials are hoping for greater coordination with the United Nations. The goal is to develop training programs that will get local police and criminal justice systems functioning once stability has been restored by peacekeeping forces.

PDD 71 is the third in a series of PDDs designed to promote US interests by improving the ability to effectively manage or resolve inter and intra-state conflict. The other two documents, PDD-25, US Policy on Reforming Multilateral Peace Operations and PDD-56, Managing Complex Contingency Operations, and this new directive will be applied together.

Peacekeeping and Conflict Transitions: Background and Congressional Action on Civilian Capabilities PDF

Enhancing International Civilian Police in Peace Operations- USIP
Alternate link to full PDF

April 2002 | Special Report by William Lewis, Edward Marks, and Robert Perito
Summary

In the post-Cold War period, there has been an increase in the number of violent intra-state conflicts. Consequently, the international community has increased its focus on international peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction.

* The use of international civilian police (CIVPOL) in peace operations has increased during this period. Since 1992, the United Nations has authorized more than a dozen international police missions, while the total authorized strength of CIVPOL forces has increased to nearly 9,000. During this period, the United States has become the largest contributor of personnel to CIVPOL missions.
* With the increase in the number of missions and growth in personnel has come a vast expansion in the roles that CIVPOL is expected to perform. The complexity of peacekeeping operations has led to a need for CIVPOL officers with a wide variety of police skills, particularly in "executive missions" like Kosovo and East Timor.
* Among the problems resulting from expanded CIVPOL involvement have been a shortage of properly trained and experienced police officers and the lack of adequate logistical support. Providing American police for UN missions has been a particular challenge, as the United States has no national police force.
* To address the problems with CIVPOL missions, in February 2000, the Clinton administration issued Presidential Decision Directive 71 (PDD-71), which aimed at improving U.S. capacity to conduct CIVPOL operations and to rebuild foreign criminal justice systems. The directive also called for increased support for the United Nations to improve its capabilities in these areas.
* PDD-71 designated the State Department as the "lead agency," but in the closing months of the Clinton administration, little was accomplished. Failure to implement the directive was credited to the absence of sufficient White House involvement, inter-agency differences, and disruptions caused by the transition to a new administration.
* In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the Bush administration has not renewed PDD-71, but the issues raised in the directive have taken on new urgency. In the war on terrorism, CIVPOL can be a valuable tool in establishing the rule of law in post-conflict societies and preventing the growth of extremism.
* The United Nations has taken steps to improve its capacity to conduct CIVPOL missions. In August 2000, the UN's Brahimi Panel called for "a doctrinal shift" in the use of civilian police and other judicial and human rights specialists to reflect the increasing focus on strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights.
* CIVPOL reform remains an important issue. It requires continued attention from administration policymakers, Congress, practitioners, and academics.

About the Report

This report provides a summary of the presentations and discussions from a workshop co-sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace and the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) entitled "A Status Report on International Civilian Police in Peace Operations." The workshop took place on November 20, 2001. It brought together policymakers, practitioners, and academic experts to discuss implementation of recommendations contained in Presidential Decision Directive 71 (PDD-71) and the Report of the Panel on United Peace Operations (the Brahimi Commission Report) for improving the performance of international civilian police in peace operations.

The morning-long discussion was structured around presentations by three panels of senior U.S. government and United Nations officials concerned with directing United Nations civilian police (CIVPOL) missions. Richard Solomon, president of the Institute of Peace, and Joseph Montville, director of the CSIS Program on Preventive Diplomacy, made opening presentations. The workshop was chaired by Robert Perito, a senior fellow in the Jennings Randolph Program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. William Lewis, Ph.D., and Ambassador Edward Marks (Ret.) are both adjunct fellows in the Preventive Diplomacy Program at CSIS.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Institute of Peace, which does not advocate specific policies.