Guard unit

In recent decades, the increasing deployment of missions to non-permissive security environments has led the United Nations to consider the deployment of guard units to protect United Nations personnel and premises.

A United Nations guard unit is a formed unit deployed under a memorandum of understanding with a troop- or police-contributing country, which is reimbursed for its personnel and contingent-owned equipment as part of the standard frameworks established by the General Assembly.

The deployment of a guard unit is a possible security risk management option when other preferred security risk management options have been exhausted. The decision to deploy a guard unit begins with a needs assessment, followed by a request for authorization through an exchange of letters with either the Security Council or the General Assembly, based on which intergovernmental body established the mission in question.

Guard units have been deployed in the following situations: