Civilian human rights monitors
To respond to human rights crises, the UN has also deployed civilian human rights monitors. These may be attached to a UN peacekeeping mission, or in stand-alone offices set up by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). They use a variety of techniques – monitoring and reporting, support to local civil society, dialogue with government/military authorities, etc. – to try to improve respect for human rights and the protection of civilians. The basic idea with these deployments is to use the presence of UN staff in the field as a means of protecting civilians caught up in violence and conflict.