ABSTRACT

The first phase consists of the mobilization of public-and sometimes private-organizations in contributing countries to provide suitable police officers to the UN. The second phase involves the deployment and management by the UN of CIVPOL contingents in receiving countries. Finally, the last phase (which in our opinion has not attracted enough interest so far) relates to the reintegration of police peacekeepers by their main employer. The emphasis placed on the operational phase can certainly be explained by the numerous specific challenges associated with the promotion and maintenance of the rule of law in postconflict settings (Holm & Eide, 2000). However, from a sustainability point of view, we believe that the initial and final stages are crucial elements that need to be incorporated into the overall assessment of CIVPOL operations. The mobilization stage determines to a large extent the quality of police officers who are made available to CIVPOL missions, while the reintegration phase provides an opportunity for contributing organizations to benefit from the experience and skills gained by their officers. It is also closely monitored by returning officers’ colleagues who are considering volunteering for future CIVPOL operations, in order to determine the level of support the organization is providing and the impact such deployments have on career paths. Agreeing to contribute police officers to CIVPOL operations represents a significant commitment for police organizations whose resources are usually already stretched thin. Therefore, beyond altruistic motives, one would expect that organizations that are unable to embed the mobilization and reintegration phases into their routine processes will be less likely in the long run to maintain their CIVPOL commitment, seeing it as a costly distraction (Donais, 2004).