Jean-Pierre Lacroix

Jean-Pierre Lacroix is a French diplomat now serving as the incumbent Under-Secretary-General of Peace Operations for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (often abbreviated as DPKO) in the United Nations. After his academic career in the École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales (ESSEC Business School), Sciences Po Paris and l’École Nationale d’Administration, he dedicated his life to diplomacy and multilateral organizations.

Lacroix has worked at both national and international levels. He worked in the cabinet of the French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur from 1993 to 1995 and at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Director for United Nations, International Organisations, Human Rights and Francophonie from 2014 to 2017. He was the French ambassador to Sweden from 2011 to 2014 and held diverse positions at the United Nations, which have led him to his current position.

The Blue Helmets

The Blue Helmets were first introduced after the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Their chief mission was to maintain peace and stabilize post-conflict settings. Nowadays, this UN corps finds itself facing new challenges and criticism, among which the implication of peacekeepers in sexual exploitation and abuse incidents, their training no longer considered appropriate or a lack of trust from the communities which they are supposed to help. Despite these challenges, Lacroix aims at defending peacekeepers. As Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, he highlighted the importance of the Blue Helmets in protecting and aiding civilians in missions all around the world. He is a leading figure for peacekeeping in both a theoretical and practical realm, stating that UN peacekeepers have no intent to impose peace, but to create the necessary conditions that can lead to a peaceful reconstruction after political crises.

A gender perspective

Under the leadership of Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the DPKO has undertaken measures and policies to create adequate gender-related responses in crises and peacekeeping operations. In compliance with Security Council resolutions, Lacroix approved in 2018 a comprehensive compass for future peacekeeping. Under the principles of accountability, gender parity and inclusiveness, this initiative translates to a series of actions in the field: the reflection of gender parity in strategic documents, cooperation with civil society and women’s organizations during missions and the involvement of women in political processes, amongst other measures.

The future of peacekeeping

Claims for the reform of UN peacekeeping and peacemaking missions are being expressed all over the world. In the face of change, Lacroix defends the ultimate pursuit of the organization: international peace. Peacekeeping missions will continue to evolve thanks to the efforts made by the institution and its contributors, continuously striving to improve these mechanisms, especially since 2020 through the A4P+ priorities. Quoting Jean-Pierre Lacroix, “UN peacekeeping remains the embodiment of multilateralism in action, and peacekeepers continue to fulfill a wide range of functions required by the varied contexts in which they deploy”. Peacekeeping operations will continue saving lives, thanks to the work of organizations like the UN and the DPKO as well as the work of many diplomats, volunteers and blue helmets, amongst which is Lacroix.