ZIF Annual Report 2023 published
The ZIF Annual Report 2023 is online! The report includes facts and figures on peace missions, secondees and ZIF's work over the past year. It also provides concise information on priorities and activities.
The crises and conflicts of 2023 had a significant impact on ZIF's work and also meant that ZIF had to pay close attention to the safety of its personnel on deployment. As part of its duty of care, ZIF worked with the German Federal Foreign Office to support the successful evacuation of secondees from Sudan following the outbreak of fighting. In the second half of the year, several seconded personnel from Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon had to be temporarily transferred due to the escalation in the Middle East.
Mission visits in 2023 took ZIF delegations to Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Somalia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, the headquarters of the three major host partner organizations EU, OSCE and UN as well as the International Criminal Court in The Hague and OSCE/ODIHR in Warsaw were visited.
The work of ZIF 2023 was particularly shaped by the question of the future of peace operations in an environment characterized by geopolitical tensions. The study “White Dove Down? Peace Operations at a Turning Point” looks at trends and developments in all major host organizations of operations and missions and develops concrete policy recommendations for the German government.
A highlight of the year was the Peacekeeping Day 2023 ceremony, which was organized by the Federal Foreign Office and ZIF in the German Bundestag for the first time this year.
Changes at the top of ZIF: Dr. Astrid Irrgang signed a three-year contract as Executive Director in June, after taking over the position ad interim in September 2022. Dr. Katja Niethammer took over as the new Deputy Director in October.
In 2023, ZIF employed an average of 176.5 people, 43.5% of whom were women, across all age and career levels. ZIF thus continued its consistent efforts to achieve an equal gender ratio in secondments and to fill positions with a direct gender focus. ZIF also concluded new secondment agreements with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).