Civil Affairs

Civil Affairs (CA) is a term used by both the United Nations and by military institutions (such as the US military), but for different purposes in each case.

Civil affairs officers in UN peace operations are civilian staff members who are often at the forefront of a mission’s interaction with local government officials, civil society, and other civilian partners in the international community. "Civil Affairs components work at the social, administrative and sub-national political levels to facilitate the countrywide implementation of peacekeeping mandates and to support the population and government in strengthening conditions and structures conducive to sustainable peace.",

Civil affairs components are deployed in most peacekeeping missions led by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and are also a feature of many special political missions led by the Department of Political Affairs. Civil Affairs Officers are usually deployed at the local level, where they serve as the link between the UN mission and local authorities and communities. Civil affairs components work countrywide to strengthen the social and civic conditions necessary to consolidate peace processes and are a core function of multi-dimensional peacekeeping operations. As of mid-2013, there were approximately 700 Civil Affairs Officers in 13 UN Peacekeeping Operations worldwide.

Civil Affairs components perform one or more of three core roles, depending on the UN Security Council mandate given to a particular peacekeeping mission. In each role the work of Civil Affairs intersects with, supports and draws upon the work of a variety of other actors. Depending on the mandate, the three core roles are 1) Cross-mission representation, monitoring and facilitation at the local level; 2) Confidence-building, conflict management and support to reconciliation; and 3) Support to the restoration and extension of state authority.

There were precursors for what was later termed civil affairs in Central America and in Cambodia during the 1991 to 1993 period. For example, the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)’s civil administration component was responsible for the supervision of administrative structures in Cambodia, ranging from public security to finance and information. However, the first component known officially as ”civil affairs” was formed in 1992, with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)’s mandate in the former Yugoslavia.

The development and growth of civil affairs work has been a critical element of the development and growth of multidimensional peace operations. With the end of the cold war and the increase in peace operations required to respond to intra-state conflict, the UN was increasingly asked to tackle complex civilian tasks. These went beyond the quite limited role of liaising with political actors and the “good offices” work that had characterized civilian peacekeepers until that point. Cedric Thornberry, the first Director of Civil Affairs in a UN mission (UNPROFOR in 1992), described this new broader role as follows:

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