Peace Enforcement (PE)

Description: The Peace Enforcement (PE) mission type consists of activities that are coercive in nature and conducted when the consent of all parties to the conflict has not been achieved or might be uncertain. They are designed to maintain or re-establish peace or enforce the terms specified in the mandate. In the conduct of PE, the link between political and military objectives must be extremely close. It is important to emphasize that the aim of the PE operation will not be the defeat or destruction of an adversary, but rather to compel, coerce, and persuade the parties to comply with a particular desired outcome and the established rules and regulations. Peace Enforcement normally takes place under the principles of Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The difference between PE and other Peace Support Operations (PSOs) is that the Chapter VII mandate allows more freedom of action for the commander concerning the use of force without losing legitimacy, with a wider set of options being open. Even in a PE, consent should be pursued through persuasion prior to using force, with coercion through force being an option at any time without altering the original mandate.