Women, Peace, and Security in Practice: Integrating Gender into UN Peacekeeping Intelligence for Effective Civilian Protection

Abstract

The protection of civilians (PoC) has become a central mandate of contemporary United Nations peacekeeping operations, supported by evolving doctrine, institutional reforms, and the growing institutionalization of peacekeeping intelligence (PKI) to enhance early warning, situational awareness, and preventive action. Despite these developments, UN missions continue to struggle to anticipate and prevent patterns of civilian harm, particularly sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and other gendered forms of insecurity at the community level. Existing explanations often focus on political constraints, resource limitations, or technical deficiencies. This article argues that these factors alone cannot account for persistent protection gaps. Instead, failures in anticipatory action reflect gendered intelligence blind spots deeply embedded institutional norms and practices that shape how threats are defined, what information is collected, and which risks are considered actionable within intelligence cycles.

Drawing on feminist security studies and critical intelligence scholarship, especially the work of J. Ann Tickner and Laura J. Shepherd, the article examines how gendered harms are systematically deprioritized within PKI processes. Using qualitative institutional document analysis of UN policy, doctrinal guidance, and mission evaluations, including the Department of Peace Operations guidelines on gender and intelligence, the study focuses on three multidimensional missions: United Nations Mission in South Sudan, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. The findings show persistent gaps between formal gender commitments and operational practice across the intelligence cycle.

The article concludes that gender-responsive intelligence is not a peripheral component of the Women, Peace and Security agenda but a core operational capability essential for anticipatory protection, mission legitimacy, and effective civilian protection. Strengthening gender integration within PKI can enhance early warning, improve decision-making, and contribute to more proactive peacekeeping.

Keywords: Peacekeeping Intelligence, Protection of Civilians, Gendered Blind Spots, Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), UN Peacekeeping Operations

DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/103-04

Publication date: April 30th 2026