Peacekeeping From Above: Drone Intelligence in UN Peace Operations and the Case of MINUSCA

The nature of armed conflicts and conflict resolution efforts has, in the last couple of decades, undergone a significant transformation that was accelerated by rapid technological advancement. Digitalization and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence have seemingly the potential not only to escalate tensions, but also to enhance situational awareness, support monitoring, and facilitate data collection for peace and state-building efforts. In recent years, the research, design, and operational deployment of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), with onboard sensors and multi-camera vision, have garnered growing attention and are increasingly utilized for intelligence gathering as part of international peace operations. The United Nations has been particularly active in promoting the integration of drone intelligence to enhance situational awareness and its monitoring capabilities. Despite the seemingly practical applicability of UASs in operational environments, ethical and legal concerns are still shaping the scholarly debate, with an emphasis on the associated national security implications for host states. Based on an in-depth literature review and personal field experiences from the UN operation in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), this article aims to contextualize and address the potential utilization of drone intelligence in UN peace operations and add new insights and lessons learnt from the field.