Making Maps to Make Peace: Geospatial Technology as a Tool for UN Peacekeeping

Abstract

This article analyses how United Nations peacekeeping operations are harnessing geospatial technology, including high-resolution satellite imagery and geographic information systems (GIS), in the furtherance of peace and security. We argue that it is strengthening the ability of peacekeepers to accomplish their mandated tasks, including the demarcation of international boundaries, support for the negotiation of peace agreements, stabilization, the protection of civilians, human rights monitoring, electoral assistance, support for the extension of state authority and the provision of humanitarian assistance. However, it remains to be seen how and to what extent UN peacekeeping can continue to grow and expand its geospatial capabilities. We identify several challenges of an operational and political nature that tend to impede its utilization. A key question in this regard is whether politics will prevent peacekeepers from exploiting recent advances in geospatial technology. We conclude and synthesize our argument by developing a simplified framework for determining when and under what conditions peacekeepers can effectively harness geospatial technology.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to Adam Smith, Adam Lupel, Samuel Martell, Keith Stanski, Matthew Willis, the United Nations Geospatial Information Section, and an anonymous reviewer, who have provided insightful comments on earlier drafts and supported our efforts. We would also like to thank our interviewees and email respondents for having shared their views and experiences with us. Any shortcomings are our own, and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions represented.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Elodie Convergne is a PhD Researcher at Sciences Po Paris (Institute of Political Studies) focusing on internationalized civil wars, peacemaking and the UN. She is also a consultant for various research and government institutions, and has worked at the UN Secretariat. She is a recipient of the Dissertation Award of the Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS), and has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Michael R. Snyder most recently served as a Policy Analyst at the International Peace Institute and a Research Assistant at the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations at the International Peace Institute. Previously, he interned in the UN Department of Political Affairs. He also worked at World Learning and the Center for International Cooperation, New York University. He obtained his Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University.

Notes

1. ‘Geospatial Support for UN Operations', UN Cartographic Section presentation at UNRCC Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, 29 Oct. 2009.

2. Satellite Sentinel Project, ‘Cover-Up: New Evidence of Three Mass Graves in South Kordofan', 17 Aug. 2011 (at: www.satsentinel.org/report/cover-new-evidence-three-mass-graves-south-kordofan).

3. Amnesty International, ‘Nigeria: Satellite Images Show Horrific Scale of Boko Haram Attack on Baga', Jan. 2015 (at: www.amnesty.org/en/news/nigeria-satellite-images-show-horrific-scale-boko-haram-attack-baga-2015-01-15).

4. See, for instance, UN, ‘Report of the Panel of Experts Established Pursuant to Resolution 1874 (2009)', UN doc., S/2012/422, 14 Jun. 2012.

5. See webpage of the UN Geospatial Information Section (formerly Cartographic Section). Accessed Jul. 2015 (at: www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm).

6. The report recommended ways in which new technology and innovation could enhance peacekeeping operational performance. UN, ‘Performance Peacekeeping: Final Report of the Expert Panel on Technology and Innovation in UN Peacekeeping', 22 Dec. 2014.

7. A notable exception includes theoretical works analysing the way maps provide security practitioners with a subjective depiction of reality. For instance, see Victoria Loughlan, Christian Olsson and Peer Schouten, ‘Mapping', in Claudia Aradau, Jef Huysmans, Andrew Neal and Nadine Voelkner (eds), Critical Security Methods: New Frameworks for Analysis, New York: Routledge, 2015, pp.23–56.

8. Ben Wang, Nathaniel Raymond, Gabrielle Gould, Isaac Baker, ‘Problems from Hell, Solution in the Heavens? Identifying Obstacles and Opportunities for Employing Geospatial Technologies to Document and Mitigate Mass Atrocities', Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, Vol.2, No. 3, 2013, pp.53/1–18; Patrick Meier, Digital Humanitarians: How Big Data Is Changing the Face of Humanitarian Response, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Feb. 2015.

9. See Walter Dorn, Keeping Watch: Monitoring Technology and Innovation in UN Peace Operations, Tokyo: UNU Press, 2011.

10. Paul F. Diehl, ‘The Political Implications of Using New Technologies in Peace Operations', International Peacekeeping, Vol.9, No. 3, 2002, pp.1–24.

11. See, for instance, Ben de Jong, Wies Platje and Robert David Steele (eds), Peacekeeping Intelligence: Emerging Concepts for the Future, Oakton, VA: OSS International Press, April 2003; Melanie Ramjoué, ‘Improving UN Intelligence through Civil–Military Collaboration: Lessons from the Joint Mission Analysis Centres', International Peacekeeping, Vol.18, No.4, 2011; Micah Zenko and Rebecca R. Friedman, ‘UN Early Warning for Preventing Conflict', International Peacekeeping, Vol.18, No.1, 2011, pp.21–37.

12. John Karlsrud and Frederik Rosén, ‘In the Eye of the Beholder? UN and the Use of Drones to Protect Civilians', Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, Vol.2, No.2, 2013, pp.27/1–10.

13. Presentation on ‘Geospatial Information Services’ by the UN Cartographic Section, New York, 5 Dec. 2014; ‘UN Uses GIS to Promote Peace and Provide Aid', ArcNews Online, Spring 2010 (at: www.esri.com/news/arcnews/spring10articles/un-uses-gis.html).

14. Definition from the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Geospatial Technologies Project, 1 May 2015.

15. GIS systems use computer software to capture, manage, analyse and visualize geographic or spatial data and information (definition according to Esri, a major supplier of GIS software and technology, at: www.esri.com).

16. In 1946, a single cartographer served under the Presentation Section. Information obtained via email correspondence with UN Cartographic Section official, 20 Jan. 2015.

17. UN Panel on Peace Operations, ‘Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations’, UN doc., A/55/305, Aug. 2000.

18. Francesco Mancini (ed.), New Technology and the Prevention of Violence and Conflict, New York: International Peace Institute, April 2013 (at: www.ipinst.org/publication/detail/396-new-technology-and-the-prevention-of-violence-and-conflict.html).

19. Unless otherwise stated, information in this paragraph and the following two was obtained via interviews with members of the UN Cartographic Section conducted in New York on 2 Oct., 6 Dec., 13 Dec. and 16 Dec. 2014.

20. Phone interview with UNOSAT official, 26 Sept. 2014.

21. UNITAR-UNOSAT, ‘Four Years of Human Suffering: The Syria Conflict as Observed through Satellite Imagery', Geneva, 2014 (at: http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/unitar/downloads/SyriaFourYearsOfHumanSuffering/UNITAR-UNOSAT_SyriaFourYearsOfHumanSuffering.pdf).

22. For UNOSAT's rapid mapping service only. See UN Institute for Training and Research, ‘UNOSAT Rapid Mapping Service Activity Report 2012′, Geneva, Feb. 2013.

23. UN Cartographic Section, ‘Geospatial Information for UN Peace Operations', presentation at the Cambridge Conference, 22 Jul. 2013.

24. UN Panel on Peace Operations (see n.17 above), p.43.

25. These include UNMISS, UNAMID, MINUSMA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, UNOCI, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the UN Disengagement Force (UNDOF), the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the UN Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA), the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

26. Péter Benicsák, ‘Overview of the UN Logistics Base/Global Service Center', Hadmérnök, Vol.7, No.2, 2012 (at: http://hadmernok.hu/2012_2_benicsak.pdf).

27. UN Cartographic Section (see n.1 above) and interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 16 Dec. 2014.

28. UN DPA in collaboration with DPKO's Office of the Military Adviser, ‘Operational Guidance Note: Military Operational Principles for Negotiating Ceasefire Agreements’, 2 Jun. 2006 (at: http://peacemaker.un.org/).

29. Ibid.

30. Richard G. Johnson, ‘Negotiating the Dayton Peace Accords through Digital Maps', US Institute of Peace, Virtual Diplomacy Initiative, 25 Feb. 1999 (at: http://web.archive.org/web/20070110153405/ http://www.usip.org/virtualdiplomacy/publications/reports/rjohnsonISA99.html).

31. Ryan Grist, ‘More than Eunuchs at the Orgy: Observation and Monitoring Reconsidered', International Peacekeeping, Vol.8, No.3, 2001, pp.59–78.

32. Email correspondence with members of the UNMISS GIS unit, 9 Mar. 2015.

33. Godfrey M. Musila, ‘Early Warning and the Role of New Technologies in Kenya', in Mancini, 42–55 (see n.18 above).

34. UN Secretary-General, ‘Special Report on the Review of the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)', UN doc., S/2014/138, 25 Feb. 2014, p.34.

35. Interview with UN DPKO official, New York, 18 Dec. 2014.

36. Ibid.

37. Chris Perry, ‘Machine Learning and Conflict Prediction: A Use Case', Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, Vol.2, No.3, 2013, pp.56/1–18.

38. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 11 Dec. 2014.

39. Ibid.

40. Wang et al. (see n.8 above).

41. This number was established by counting the shadows of the people appearing on the image, an exercise made possible by the fact that the snapshot was taken early in the morning, at a time when they were elongated.

42. Email correspondence with GIS officer, UN Mission in South Sudan, 13 Mar. 2015; interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 30 Mar. 2015; some entities involved are not specified upon request from our interviewees.

43. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 11 Dec. 2014.

44. Phone interview with UNOSAT official, 26 Sept. 2014.

45. Wang et al. (see n.8 above).

46. Email correspondence with members of the UNMISS GIS unit, 9 Mar. 2015.

47. Christopher K. Penny, ‘Just Peacekeeping: Managing the Relationship between Peacekeeping Intelligence and the Prevention and Punishment of International Crimes', in David Carment and Martin Rudner (eds), Peacekeeping Intelligence: New Players, Extended Boundaries, New York: Routledge, 2006, pp.140–57.

48. Following the model of the panopticon, which induces compliant behaviour from the inmates as they believe themselves to be constantly watched by the prison guard. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, New York: Vintage Books, 1977.

49. Phone interview with UN DPA official, 3 Sept. 2014, and with UNOSAT official, 26 Sept. 2014.

50. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 2 Oct. 2014.

51. UN Cartographic Section, ‘Geospatial Challenges in Responding to Haiti Earthquake 2010′, presentation at the Chengdu Forum, China, 15–17 Oct. 2013.

52. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 2 Oct. 2014.

53. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 11 Dec. 2014, and email correspondence with members of the UNMISS GIS unit, 9 Mar. 2015.

54. Digital Diplomacy Brownbag seminar, ‘Opportunities for DPA: One-Stop-Shop for Geospatial Information Services', presentation by the UN Cartographic Section and ensuing discussion, New York, 5 Dec. 2014.

55. ‘It takes a GIS technician one full month for the capture of map data at 1:50,000 scale in UNMISS.’ Email correspondence with official at GIS unit of UNMISS, 11 Mar. 2015.

56. Ibid.

57. ‘Getting armed men on a truck and raiding a village or two doesn't take more than a few hours. So the crimes may already have been committed by the time the pictures come in […]. [U]sing UUAVs may be more useful and cheaper.’ Patrick Meier, ‘Will Using “Live” Satellite Imagery to Prevent War in the Sudan Actually Work?’, iRevolution.net, 30 Dec. 2010 (at: http://irevolution.net/2010/12/30/sat-sentinel-project/).

58. UN (see n.6 above), p. 115.

59. There is ‘no official mechanism to get satellite imagery or aerial photos to provide the facts [sic] happened on the ground to the decision makers, update the existing maps or create large scale of maps, to support mission mandates. [There is a need for] real time basis of geospatial data obtaining mechanism (likely UUAV or fresh satellite imagery).’ Email correspondence with official at GIS unit of UNMISS, 11 Mar. 2015.

60. Interviews with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 16 Dec. 2014 and 30 Mar. 2015.

61. Generally speaking the quantity of imagery available is correlated with the level of interest of a particular community in the geographic area in question. Email correspondence with UN Cartographic Section official, 22 Jan. 2015.

62. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 30 Dec. 2015.

63. Ibid.

64. For more information on commercial satellite specifications, see the website of DigitalGlobe. Accessed October 2015 https://www.digitalglobe.com/.

65. Phone interview with UNOSAT official, 26 Sept. 2014.

66. Geocoding, or geotagging, is the process of recording the GPS coordinates of where a particular incident occurred so that data can be utilized by GIS software.

67. Digital Diplomacy Brownbag seminar (see n.54 above).

68. Phone interview with UN DPA official, 3 Sept. 2014.

69. Phone interview with UNOSAT official, 26 Sept. 2014.

70. ‘The Digital Diplomacy Coalition brings together the diplomatic, international affairs, and tech communities to share ideas and best practices to leverage digital for diplomacy.’ Digital Diplomacy Coalition–New York, 6 Oct. 2015 (at: http://digidiplomats.com/); ‘DPA needs to embrace Digital Diplomacy and other innovations to help channel ideas and harness new information communication technologies in achieving the Department's objectives.’ UN DPA, ‘Strategic Plan', Nov. 2013, p.27.

71. Micah Zenko and Rebecca R. Friedman, ‘UN Early Warning for Preventing Conflict', International Peacekeeping, Vol.18, No.1, 2011, pp.21–37.

72. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 11 Dec. 2014.

73. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 2 Oct. 2014.

74. One former GIS chief in the field remarked that her proximity to the Chief of Staff's office ensured her analysis and recommendations were well considered. Interview with UN Cartographic Section official, New York, 16 Dec. 2014.

75. UN Secretary-General, ‘Budget for the Support Account for Peacekeeping Operations for the Period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016′, UN doc., A/69/750, 30 Jan. 2015, para.283.

76. Ibid.

77. See remarks during United Nations Security Council Meeting, ‘United Nations Peacekeeping Operations’, UN doc., S/PV.7196, 11 Jun. 2014.

78. Ibid.

79. Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations 241st and 242nd meeting, 18 Feb. 2015 (at: www.un.org/press/en/2015/gapk221.doc.htm); phone interview with DPKO official, New York, 21 May 2015.

80. Phone interview with DPKO official, 21 May 2015.

81. Meier (see n.57 above).

82. United Nations, ‘Briefing Security Council, US Secretary of State Powell Presents Evidence of Iraq's Failure to Disarm', press release, 5 Feb. 2003.

83. Diehl (see n.10 above).

84. Ibid.

85. Phone interview with DPKO official, 21 May 2015.

86. United Nations Security Council Meeting (see n.76 above).

87. ‘Digital Diplomacy’ Seminar, presentation by the UN Cartographic Section and ensuing discussion, New York, 5 Dec. 2014.

88. Phone interview (see n.67 above).

89. Email correspondence with official from UNDPA, 5 Jan. 2015.

90. Diehl (see n.10 above).

91. Helena Puig Larrauri and Patrick Meier, ‘Peacekeepers in the Sky: The Use of Unmanned Unarmed Aerial Vehicles for Peacekeeping', ICT For Peace Foundation, Sept 2015 (at: www.ict4peace.org/peacekeepers-in-the-sky-the-use-of-unmanned-unarmed-aerial-vehicles-for-peacekeeping/)

92. UN, Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, United Nations, New York, 1967.

93. Ann G. Darrin and Beth L. O'Leary (eds), Handbook of Space Engineering, Archaeology, and Heritage, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2009.

94. Walter Dorn, (see n.9 above).

95. Wang et al. (see n.8 above).

96. United Nations Security Council Meeting (see n.76 above).

97. We thank an unnamed official at the Australian Department of State for providing us with this useful conceptual framework. Interview conducted in New York, 27 Jun. 2015.