Located within the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (APR2P), the U Thant Peacekeeping Program (UTPP) focuses on United Nations peacekeeping and Protection of Civilians issues in particular. The Program takes its name from the first UN Secretary-General from the Asia Pacific region, whose commitment to peace and civilian protection is globally recognised. 

The UTPP is an Australia-based academic research hub, with strong links to the wider Asia Pacific, hosting high calibre research fellows from across the region. As the Asia Pacific is a significant contributor to UN Peacekeeping, the Program aims to harness and focus existing regional peacekeeping expertise, consolidating not only current good practice, but also examining future trends in UN peacekeeping operations.

As such, the UTPP aims to collaborate with Australian, regional and international institutions such as the Australian Civil-Military Centre (ACMC), Indonesia Defense Force Peacekeeping Center, Operations Training Centre (Nepal), Malaysian Peacekeeping Centre, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, International Peace Institute (IPI) and The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations through the APR2P networks.

Focusing on Protection of Civilians, the UTPP fits in well with the overarching aims of APR2P. APR2P is located within the School of Political Science and International Studies at The University of Queensland (UQ), and is led by Professor Alex Bellamy, a world leading peacekeeping researcher.