About DPO
The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) is dedicated to assisting the Member States and the Secretary-General in their efforts to maintain international peace and security.Activities by DPO
Exploring the Potential and Risks of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the UN System
Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean BoliviaPanamaSyriaYemenAs Generative Artificial Intelligence technologies progress, they offer numerous advantages, such as improved knowledge management, enhanced translation capabilities, and efficient content generation. Especially with the release of AI applications such as ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, and Microsoft Copilot, Generative AI continues to permeate the tools and applications used in the UN’s daily work. To foster greater awareness and capabilities among UN staff regarding both the potential benefits and risks of this technology, DPPA’s Innovation Cell organizes AI Innovation Workshops, including prompt engineering labs and other creative ideation sessions.
Activity Type Research/Reports/AssessmentsPolicy/Regulatory GuidanceAwareness/AdvocacyUnite Wave: Radio Monitoring Tool
Global Central African RepublicDemocratic Republic of the CongoSouth SudanTanzaniaUganda
The Secretary-General’s 2025 Global Risk Report identifies mis/disinformation as the leading global threat for which society is least prepared. In peacekeeping settings, MDH deepens polarization, erodes trust, incites violence, and undermines political and peace processes. It weakens local support for UN missions and endangers personnel. In 2022, civilians and peacekeepers lost their lives during MDH-fuelled unrest in the DRC, a peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon during an attack linked to misinformation, and influence operations contributed to the withdrawal of the mission in Mali. The targeting of women public figures, journalists, human rights defenders and UN staff has become widespread.
Technological tools are essential to monitor and analyse the vast and complex media environment. They enable situational awareness, early warning, and help to identify narratives of concern that undermine information integrity. Commercially available tools, while powerful, have limited capacity to identify patterns of online inauthentic behaviour and understand offline (FM radio) content. To address these needs, in the context of the Digital Transformation Strategy for UN peacekeeping, DPO and OICT are developing two tools – one of which is Unite Wave – a tool for collecting, transcribing, and analyzing radio data.
Unite Wave is a digital and hardware tool to enable systematic monitoring of offline and online radio broadcasts. It covers all aspects of radio broadcast monitoring, from data capture to transcription in 100+ languages (including in local languages), translation, and filtering. Capture of offline data is enabled through physical streaming sites. Unite Wave also has a dedicated frontend analytical dashboard for high level analysis of radio data to surface real-time sentiment and emerging narratives in contexts where radio remains a primary information source. It is codesigned with field missions and refined through user feedback.
UNGSC AI4All Programme
Global ItalySpainAI4All Programme accelerates Generative AI adoption at UNGSC through a structured, high-impact framework designed to build workforce capability, strengthen responsible use, elevate expert insights, and deliver measurable operational benefits.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsTrainings/WorkshopsTechnical AssistanceResearch/Reports/AssessmentsPolicy/Regulatory GuidanceAwareness/AdvocacyInfrastructure/Systems DevelopmentNetworks/Mentorship/ExchangeAI Capacity-Building Activity: Trial Monitoring in KRI Erbil
Arab States IraqThis activity aims to enhance the capacity for trial monitoring in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) by leveraging AI technologies. The objective is to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and transparency of trial processes, ultimately leading to better outcomes for justice and governance in the region. The expected impact includes increased trust in judicial processes and enhanced training for local stakeholders.
Activity Type Research/Reports/AssessmentsAwareness/AdvocacyInfrastructure/Systems Development