c. Human rights and peace-keeping
The maintenance of international peace and security is one of the prime functions of the United Nations Organization. The importance of human rights in sustainable conflict resolution and prevention is gaining ground. Armed civilian conflicts are characterized by large-scale human rights viola- tions which can often be traced to structural inequalities and the resulting imbalances in the accessibility of power and resources. The need for peace- keeping efforts to address human rights issues is apparent.
The guarantee of a comprehensive approach to United Nations strategies for peace and security is conditional on the integration of human rights issues into all peace-keeping operations at the planning and preparatory stage of needs assessments. To date, human rights mandates have been incorporated into the duties of several peace-keeping operations and predictably, in the years to come, the cooperation between DPA, DPKO and OHCHR will increase. Co-operation has in large part taken the shape of human rights training for peace-keeping personnel, including the military, civilian police and civilian affairs officers. In some cases, OHCHR has been called upon to ensure the continuation of peace-keeping operations by establishing a human rights presence on conclusion of  the peace-keepers’ mandate.
With recent developments, cooperation has extended to the creation of joint DPKO/OHCHR human rights components in peace-keeping operations. Under the authority of the Representative/Special Representative of the Secretary-General in charge of the operation, the peace-keeping operation receives substantive human rights guidance from OHCHR.