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Abstract
Effective peacekeeping requires the proactive acquisition and prudent analysis of information about conditions within the mission area. This is especially true if the operation is conducted in a hazardous and unpredictable environment and the lives of peacekeepers are threatened, as was the case with the UN operation in the Congo (ONUC). A Military Information Branch (MIB) was established as part of ONUC to enhance the security of UN personnel, to support specific operations, to warn of outbreaks of conflict and to estimate outside interference (for example, the importation of armaments). The MIB employed signals intelligence using a wireless message interception system, photographic intelligence using airplanes equipped for the purpose, and human intelligence from lawful interrogations of prisoners and informants. A detailed description of the activities of the MIB is provided here for the first time, using newly uncovered archival files. The study points to some of the difficulties and benefits of developing dedicated intelligence‐gathering bodies.