Darfur Conflict and Hybrid Operation: Challenges of a Pioneer Hybrid Peacekeeping Operation Model

The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) established on 31 July 2007 as the first truly joint peacekeeping mission was a very ambitious adventure in collective security management. For the first time in its 27 years of peacekeeping, the United Nations would be sharing command and control of a peacekeeping mission with a regional organization. It was an experiment whose success or otherwise would determine the way the United Nations, the body responsible for global peace and security, was going to do business. This article conducted a critical assessment of the mission using content analysis of UN Security Council Resolutions, Code Cables and Note Verbales as well as relevant African Union documents and in-depth interviews The data collected was critically examined using the qualitative method. It found that the mission was confronted with numerous logistical and security constraints as it operated in a complex and hostile political environment. It also found that several structural and functional issues were not very clearly defined, giving rise to operational challenges. The study recommends that, given the perceived influence the hybrid operation appears to have on future UN peacekeeping operations, issues bordering on command and control and mandates should be clearly defined to avoid gaps and or overlaps that were experienced in the Darfur operation.