Roundtable discussion on the occasion of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

Distinguished speakers
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear Friends:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all for our annual roundtable discussion to mark the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. As we have just seen in this moving and telling video, today’s peacekeepers are not only called upon to perform traditional peacekeeping but to cope with complex, humanitarian emergencies. Today, this is what we celebrate.

I greatly appreciate that we can continue the tradition of organizing this commemoration with the Soldiers of Peace International Association. Their work shows us that the dedication of United Nations peacekeepers does not end with active duty. Our peacekeepers continue to serve the cause of peace, with energy and enthusiasm. This is of benefit to the Organization and – most importantly – to the people they also served in the field. As we see here, many of them carry medals that bear witness to their achievements. But I think that for many of them, the highest decoration and honour is the gratitude of the thousands of fellow human beings that they have helped. Today, we join those thousands of grateful individuals in expressing our thanks to our peacekeepers.

I appreciate sharing this podium with distinguished representatives of countries that play an important role in peacekeeping. I look forward to hearing their views on how to address the current challenges in peacekeeping. And, in particular, I look forward to hearing from the Blue Helmets who have joined us today. Your ideas – shaped by your experience on the ground – are particularly valuable.

As I mentioned earlier, United Nations peacekeeping is now spread more widely than ever before, with more robust mandates in fundamentally political operations where they support complex transitions to peace within deeply divided countries. The expectations are high – and continue to grow. If they cannot be met, legitimacy will be affected – and eventually this can impact the effectiveness of peacekeeping. We have seen this, for example, in the Sudan and in the DRC where the United Nations has been criticized because expectations of protection cannot be fulfilled. United Nations peacekeeping is quite simply at a crossroads.

With the new partnership agenda, which was published by the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support last year, the United Nations Secretariat has begun an inclusive process of reflection, together with Member States, on how to address the dilemmas of peacekeeping ten years after what is known as the “Brahimi” report that, to a large extent, determined the parameters of today’s peacekeeping. A fresh consensus is required on priorities between the Security Council, troop and police contributing countries and the Secretariat.

Allow me to share with you a few thoughts on these challenges, and how to begin to confront them together:

First, we need clear political strategy and direction. As I said in my earlier remarks at the Memorial in Ariana Park, peacekeeping cannot be seen – or be used – as an alternative to a political solution. Unity of purpose at the political level, within a given country and within the international community is critical to success.

Second, we need improved mission design. This entails both clear and coherent mandates and exit strategies as an integral part of mission planning. The mandates need to address the root causes of a conflict, and must have defined goals that can be jointly owned by national stakeholders and the international community. Simply put, we need to establish the correct diagnosis before we prescribe a remedy. The impartiality of Secretariat planning needs to be retained, together with the integrity of command and control. Relevant and realistic benchmarks must be established to facilitate management and monitoring. Likewise, we need clarity with respect to the concept of “robust peacekeeping” and the protection of civilians.

As last week’s discussions in the Security Council demonstrated, we will have a significant focus over the coming years on consolidating peace support structures to enable withdrawal. On 25 May, the Security Council voted to end, at the request of the Government, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Chad and the Central African Republic. All military and civilian personnel is to be withdrawn by 31 December. On 27 May, the Security Council extended for one month the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, while continuing to consider the mission’s mandate. The Secretary-General has recommended an adjustment of the mandate to allow it to focus on helping the parties to implement priorities such as elections, disarmament and reunification of the country. In addition, we may need to prepare for new missions in Somalia and Guinea-Bissau. The troop level is therefore expected to remain very high in the near future.

Against this background, the work of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission takes on added significance, and the Commission must be enabled to fulfil its potential. The five-year review of the Commission, which Member States are undertaking this year, will be an important opportunity to also reinforce the role of this new body in support of sustainable peace.

Third, there is a need to enhance resourcing and deployment. This includes building the capacities needed for future peacekeeping and establishing a stronger, more flexible support system. The challenges in deployment in Darfur are a case in point. While the military component of the AU-UN Mission in Darfur is now close to 90% of the authorized strength of 19,555, lack of critical equipment such as helicopters, military vehicles and armoured personnel carriers continue to affect the operational capability of the mission. Efforts to establish standing police capacity, a roster of specialized civilians, e.g. in engineering, stronger logistical support hubs and effective procurement processes need to be continued.

Fourth – and this is connected to my previous point – we need to expand the peacekeeping partnership. It is not sustainable to rely on a small number of significant contributors. Only two of the 15 largest troop-contributing countries are members of the Security Council – namely Nigeria and Brazil. Burden-sharing is critical to meeting future needs. We must strengthen the efforts for interoperability with key partners such as the African Union, the European Union and other regional organizations to maximize finite peacekeeping resources at a time of economic and financial crisis.

Dear Colleagues and Friends:
As we mark this year the 10th anniversary of the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325, we must acknowledge that we have not made the progress we had hoped in integrating women more closely in conflict prevention, management and resolution. While important advances have been made, through mandates better tailored to the needs of women and the valuable work of gender advisers, we need to strengthen efforts in this area – at headquarters as well as in the field. We have seen the difference that female peacekeepers can make – at a practical level to victims of violence and more generally as role models for women’s empowerment.

Security Council Resolutions 1820 and 1888 to address conflict-related violence against women, and the appointment of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict now provide an important foundation for addressing this endemic problem.

Dear Colleagues and Friends:
The challenges are indeed many. But, we can take heart from the fact that they are matched by our determination to continue helping fellow human beings in the most difficult and dangerous of circumstances. Each and every peacekeeper brings valuable lessons, and I hope we will hear some of them today. It is their remarkable personal and professional qualities that sustain peacekeeping, and their adaptability that carries it forward. We salute them and their accomplishments.

Thank you very much