Peacekeepers with a mandate to protect civilians have the authority and responsibility to provide protection within their capabilities and areas of deployment where the government is unable or unwilling to protect.

Protecting civilians is the primary responsibility of governments.

The POC mandate in peacekeeping is guided by a set of principles: The 2020 POC Handbook builds on the POC policy, and brings together the best practices of POC in UN peacekeeping it captures the lessons from a wide range of experiences and provides all mission components(civilian, police and military) with tools. The policy promotes consistency in approach while recognising the varied operational contexts faced by UN Peacekeeping operations and the requirement for flexibility to respond to changing environments and the different resources available across the lifecycle of a mission. This is the foundation of the 2019 POC Policy which provides the conceptual framework, guiding principles and key considerations for the implementation of the POC policy.

The effective implementation of the POC mandate requires a comprehensive, integrated and well-planned approach in order to address the various challenges missions with the mandate face. The Protection of Civilians (POC) is a responsibility which includes all parts of a peacekeeping mission, civilian, military and police functions. In many cases, peacekeeping missions are authorized to use all necessary means, up to and including the use of deadly force, to prevent or respond to threats of physical violence against civilians, within capabilities and areas of operations, and without prejudice to the responsibility of the host government.

Police and military jomic josil silvano