Outsourcing united nations peacekeeping roles and support functions

Abstract

The paper examines the use of private security organisations in a peacekeeping role as a cost-effective and efficient alternative to United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, and develops an outsourcing scorecard for the UN. Forty national and international organisations were surveyed through questionnaires, a review of relevant literature, and records. The UN rapid deployment task force should continue to be used until proper policy guidelines are established for the use of private security organisations for peacekeeping roles. Additionally, outsourcing of support functions would lead to major cost savings in UN peacekeeping operations. The scorecard developed in the research identifies services that can be outsourced successfully.