Still caught in the crossfire?

This chapter argues that increased media attention has posed a growing challenge for UN peacekeeping missions. It analyses how effective three recent missions in Kosovo, Haiti and the Congo were in implementing the UN’s strategic communication policy. While the Kosovo mission fulfilled a scapegoating role for problems not solved at the political level, in Haiti the UN’s image problems after 2010 appeared largely self-inflicted. In Congo, where peacekeepers were seen as sexual predators, serious steps had to be taken to stop abuse. Although professional information capacities have clearly improved in recent years, effective peace communication still faces many hurdles.