Where was the conference held?

The conference was held in Rabat, MAR.

What was the main focus of the conference?

The main focus of the conference was the deep reform of UN peace operations, particularly in Francophone environments.

When did the conference take place?

The conference took place in the spring.

2nd Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in Francophone Environments

Name: 2nd Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in Francophone Environments
Start: 2026-05-20T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-05-20T00:00:00Z
Location: Rabat

May 20, 2026Rabat, MoroccoIn-person

Registration open

The 2nd Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in Francophone Environments, held in Rabat, MAR, convened to address the evolving landscape of UN peace operations. The conference emphasized the critical need for a profound reform of these operations, particularly in light of the complex challenges faced in Francophone regions. Discussions focused on enhancing the effectiveness and adaptability of peacekeeping missions to better respond to contemporary conflicts and security threats.

Committees & topics

Topics
The Evolution and Challenges of UN Peacekeeping · Reforming UN Peace Operations · Peace and Security in Francophone Environments · International Cooperation for Peace and Security · Contemporary Security Challenges · Multilateralism in a Fragmenting Order

Why it matters

Peacekeeping operations are at a critical juncture, facing multifaceted challenges ranging from asymmetric threats to political complexities and resource constraints. The conference's focus on Francophone environments is particularly significant, as many of the most challenging and protracted conflicts globally are situated in these regions. The call for deep reform underscores a recognition that traditional peacekeeping models may no longer be sufficient to achieve lasting peace and stability.

The discussions in Rabat, MAR, highlight the importance of linguistic and cultural understanding in the success of peacekeeping missions. Francophone countries often share historical ties and cultural nuances that can either facilitate or complicate peace efforts. By bringing together ministerial-level representatives from these nations, the conference aimed to foster a more coordinated and context-specific approach to peacekeeping, ultimately seeking to improve the safety and efficacy of these vital international interventions.

How to prepare

For those preparing for discussions on international security and conflict resolution, understanding the nuances of peacekeeping reform is paramount. This conference provides a lens into the specific challenges and proposed solutions within Francophone contexts, which can be applied to broader discussions on global peacekeeping. Participants should familiarize themselves with the historical evolution of UN peacekeeping, its successes, and its documented failures, particularly in regions like the Sahel and Central Africa.

Consider the various stakeholders involved in peacekeeping, from troop-contributing countries to host nations and international organizations. Analyzing their differing interests and capacities, as outlined in the "hidden-stakeholders" and "stakeholder-workshop" lessons, will be crucial. Furthermore, understanding how gender dynamics intersect with conflict and peacekeeping efforts, as explored in "gender-dynamics-across-cultures," will provide a more comprehensive perspective on the reforms being advocated.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Morocco

Advocates for comprehensive reform of UN peacekeeping operations and emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation in Francophone environments.

Role in topic

As the host nation, MAR plays a central role in facilitating dialogue and cooperation among Francophone countries on peacekeeping matters. It actively promotes a vision for more effective and adaptable UN missions, drawing on its own experiences in regional security.

France

Supports strengthening peacekeeping capabilities, particularly in its traditional spheres of influence, and advocates for robust mandates and adequate resources.

Role in topic

FRA is a significant player in Francophone affairs and a key contributor to peacekeeping efforts, both financially and through troop contributions. Its perspective is crucial for understanding the political and logistical dimensions of operations in these regions.

Senegal

Emphasizes the need for greater African ownership and leadership in peacekeeping operations, coupled with enhanced international support.

Role in topic

SEN is a major troop-contributing country to UN peacekeeping missions, particularly in Africa. Its experience on the ground provides valuable insights into the practical challenges and requirements for effective peacekeeping in Francophone settings.

Canada

Advocates for innovative approaches to peacekeeping, including gender-responsive operations and capacity building for local security forces.

Role in topic

CAN has historically been a strong supporter of multilateralism and peacekeeping. Its focus on specialized training and gender integration offers a progressive perspective on reforming UN operations, particularly relevant in diverse Francophone contexts.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

The Evolution and Challenges of UN Peacekeeping

UN peacekeeping emerged in 1948 with UNTSO in the Middle East and was institutionalized through the first armed mission, UNEF I, in 1956 during the Suez Crisis. Conceived under Chapter VI of the Charter as a tool of consent-based interposition, peacekeeping expanded dramatically after the Cold War into multidimensional operations involving civilian protection, state-building, and disarmament. The failures of Rwanda (1994) and Srebrenica (1995) prompted the 2000 Brahimi Report, which urged more robust mandates and clearer rules of engagement. Today peacekeeping faces a structural crisis. Missions like MINUSMA in Mali (closed in 2023) and MONUSCO in the DRC (drawing down since 2024) have been forced out by host governments or rendered ineffective by asymmetric threats from jihadist insurgencies, armed groups, and private military companies such as the former Wagner Group. The 2023 New Agenda for Peace from the Secretary-General and the 2024 Pact for the Future call for a rethink of peace operations, emphasizing prevention, smaller specialized missions, and partnerships with regional organizations like the African Union under Resolution 2719 (2023) on financing AU-led operations. For francophone environments, where many of the most demanding missions have operated, the debate is acute: how to sustain protection of civilians and political processes when consent is fragile, troop-contributing countries face casualties, and counterterrorism objectives blur the lines of traditional peacekeeping.

Key players

Reforming UN Peace Operations

UN Peace Operations encompass peacekeeping missions, special political missions, and good offices engagements led by DPO and DPPA. The architecture has evolved through successive reform waves: the 1992 Agenda for Peace, the 2000 Brahimi Report, the 2015 HIPPO Report (High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations), and Secretary-General Guterres's 2017 management and peace and security reforms that merged political and operational functions. The Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative launched in 2018 and its A4P+ priorities (2021) emphasize political solutions, integrated approaches, capabilities, safety, partnerships, and accountability. The operational landscape has shifted dramatically. Mission closures in Mali, Sudan (UNITAMS), and the DRC reflect host-state pushback, geopolitical fragmentation in the Security Council, and disillusionment with mandates perceived as overstretched. Meanwhile, mis- and disinformation campaigns targeting blue helmets, particularly in the Sahel, have undermined consent. The 2023 New Agenda for Peace and the 2024 Pact for the Future propose lighter, more agile configurations, stronger prevention, and predictable financing for African-led operations via UNSC Resolution 2719. The core question is whether the UN can adapt peace operations to environments characterized by transnational terrorism, climate stress, and contested sovereignty, while preserving the foundational principles of consent, impartiality, and non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate.

Key players

Peace and Security in Francophone Environments

Francophone environments—particularly across West and Central Africa, the Sahel, the Great Lakes, and Haiti—have hosted some of the UN's most complex peace operations: MINUSMA (Mali), MINUSCA (Central African Republic), MONUSCO (DRC), MINUSTAH and BINUH (Haiti), and ONUCI (Côte d'Ivoire). These contexts share linguistic and administrative legacies of French colonialism, fragile state institutions, porous borders, and exposure to jihadist insurgency, intercommunal violence, and organized crime. Since 2020, a wave of coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, and Gabon has redrawn the regional security map, with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) withdrawing from ECOWAS in 2024 and demanding the departure of French and UN forces. The linguistic dimension matters operationally: French-language capacity in mission leadership, troop contingents, police components, and community engagement is essential for legitimacy and effective protection of civilians. Yet francophone troop and police contributions to UN missions have historically lagged demand, prompting initiatives such as the Ministerial Conferences on Peacekeeping in Francophone Environments (Paris 2016, Abidjan 2024) and Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) partnerships. The current moment combines geopolitical realignment—growing Russian and Turkish footprints, the dissolution of Operation Barkhane in 2022, and the closure of MINUSMA in 2023—with persistent humanitarian crises that demand new models of francophone-led security cooperation.

Key players

International Cooperation for Peace and Security

International cooperation in peace and security rests on the UN Charter framework of collective security, complemented by regional arrangements under Chapter VIII. Since the end of the Cold War, the UN has increasingly partnered with the African Union, ECOWAS, the European Union, NATO, and the OSCE, alongside subregional bodies such as the G5 Sahel (now defunct) and the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram. The 2017 UN-AU Joint Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security and Resolution 2719 (2023), which authorizes case-by-case use of UN assessed contributions for AU-led peace support operations, mark a turning point in burden-sharing. Cooperation is being tested by geopolitical fragmentation in the Security Council over Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan; the rise of minilateral arrangements; and the retreat of host-state consent for Western and UN deployments in several francophone African states. At the same time, transnational threats—climate-driven displacement, terrorism, illicit financial flows, pandemics, and cyber operations—demand more, not less, coordination. The OIF, the Commonwealth, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries play growing roles in linguistic and capacity-building niches. The debate centers on how to operationalize predictable financing, joint planning, interoperability, and accountability across overlapping organizations while respecting the primacy of the UN Charter and the agency of host states.

Key players

Contemporary Security Challenges

The contemporary security environment is defined by the convergence of state-based conflict, transnational terrorism, organized crime, and emerging technologies. The wars in Ukraine since 2022 and Gaza since 2023, the Sudan conflict since 2023, and persistent crises in the Sahel, the DRC, Yemen, Myanmar, and Haiti have driven forced displacement to record levels exceeding 120 million people according to UNHCR. Jihadist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS have expanded across the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and Mozambique, while criminal networks exploit governance vacuums. Layered on top are novel threat vectors: cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, weaponization of artificial intelligence and drones, climate-induced resource competition, and information operations that erode public trust in multilateral institutions. The 2023 New Agenda for Peace explicitly identifies prevention, trust, and the management of strategic risks as core priorities, while the 2024 Pact for the Future and Global Digital Compact attempt to extend security governance into the digital domain. For francophone environments specifically, security challenges are compounded by the breakdown of regional security architectures (the G5 Sahel Joint Force ended in 2023), the entrance of private military actors, and shifting external partnerships. Delegates must consider how to integrate hard security, governance, development, and human rights responses in a fragmenting international order.

Key players

Multilateralism in a Fragmenting Order

Multilateralism, anchored in the UN Charter since 1945, has delivered decades of norm-setting on human rights, development, disarmament, and peace operations. Yet the system faces its deepest legitimacy crisis since the Cold War. Security Council paralysis over Ukraine, Gaza, and Syria; the increasing recourse to the General Assembly under the Uniting for Peace resolution; and the 2022 reform requiring veto-justification debates reflect both dysfunction and adaptive pressure. The 2024 Summit of the Future and its Pact for the Future, Global Digital Compact, and Declaration on Future Generations aim to revitalize multilateral cooperation across security, development, technology, and governance. Simultaneously, the international order is fragmenting into competing groupings: an expanded BRICS, the G7, the SCO, and various minilateral security arrangements. Middle powers and regional organizations—the African Union, ASEAN, the EU, the OIF, and the League of Arab States—are asserting greater agency. Trust deficits between the Global North and Global South, exacerbated by perceived double standards on Ukraine versus Gaza and on vaccine equity, complicate consensus-building. For francophone states, multilateralism offers both a defense against great-power coercion and a platform for influence through coalitions like the OIF, the African Group, and the Non-Aligned Movement. The challenge is to reform multilateral institutions—including Security Council composition, international financial architecture, and peace operations financing—without collapsing the rules-based order they sustain.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for 2nd Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in Francophone Environments.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

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Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Advanced Negotiation

Multilateral Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

Conflict Resolution

Morocco May 2026

By committee

Frequently asked questions

2nd Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in Francophone Environments

May 20, 2026Rabat, MoroccoIn-person

Registration open

Committees & topics

Topics
The Evolution and Challenges of UN Peacekeeping · Reforming UN Peace Operations · Peace and Security in Francophone Environments · International Cooperation for Peace and Security · Contemporary Security Challenges · Multilateralism in a Fragmenting Order

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Morocco

Advocates for comprehensive reform of UN peacekeeping operations and emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation in Francophone environments.

Role in topic

France

Supports strengthening peacekeeping capabilities, particularly in its traditional spheres of influence, and advocates for robust mandates and adequate resources.

Role in topic

Senegal

Emphasizes the need for greater African ownership and leadership in peacekeeping operations, coupled with enhanced international support.

Role in topic

Canada

Advocates for innovative approaches to peacekeeping, including gender-responsive operations and capacity building for local security forces.

Role in topic

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.