Note: Complete coverage of today’s meeting of the Security Council will be available after its conclusion.
Briefings
JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said that “in its seventy-seventh year, United Nations peacekeeping remains a cornerstone of multilateralism in action”. The UN’s peacekeeping operations can only ever be as strong as the collective support of Member States. As geopolitical tensions have mounted, including in the Security Council, and amid shifting global and regional dynamics, peacekeeping operations are increasingly unable to rely on Member States to act in a strong, unified manner to support peacekeeping or the political processes they are mandated to support. In parallel, peacekeeping missions are increasingly confronting drivers of conflict with no borders, such as transnational organized crime, the illegal exploitation of natural resources and climate change’s impact. Non-State actors engaged in these illicit activities are also weaponizing cheap technologies such as improvised explosive devices and drones and are propagating disinformation and hate speech. In such circumstances, at least one of the parties to the conflict often lacks any political ambition beyond fuelling disorder, making them reluctant parties to peace. “Despite all these challenges, today over 70,000 peacekeepers bravely continue their vital work,” he said.
He then laid out several key prerequisites for effective peacekeeping. Stressing the need to unify political support and foster trust, he said the ultimate objective of all peacekeeping operations is political. All UN peacekeeping operations are designed to support peace agreements between parties to a conflict. The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) is engaging key stakeholders at both national and local levels to advance inclusive, consensual political solutions. At the very least, peacekeeping aims to build confidence and create conditions for a durable political process to take hold. While little progress has been achieved in the political process since 2017, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) continues its efforts to maintain calm, playing a preventive role and promoting an environment conducive to negotiations and an eventual settlement. Yet, there is only so much that peacekeeping can do on its own. “For peacekeepers to be effective, the Council, and the wider membership, must muster strong, consistent and unified support for peacekeeping missions.” Further, all Member States should exert their diplomatic influence to back the political processes that peacekeeping operations are deployed to support, he said, citing all successful examples of peacekeeping operations, such as in Timor-Leste, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone.
He went on to stress that the optimal performance of peacekeeping operations depends on mandates that provide clear strategic direction. Mandates must also have the resources to match the Council’s ambitions. Adopting long, detailed mandates without the requisite resources raises unrealistic expectations, which has the potential to fuel frustration amongst host States and their populations and provides fertile ground for mis- and disinformation. Today’s complex challenges can only be addressed through networked multilateralism and strong partnerships – locally, regionally and globally. The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is successfully striking local peace agreements among herders and farmers by working alongside UN and non-UN partners on the ground. Community engagement and the better use of technology are among the ways to update Action for Peacekeeping Plus (A4P+). The safety, security and well-being of peacekeepers remain an overriding concern, he said. Over the past few years, the number of peacekeeper fatalities due to malicious acts has decreased from 33 in 2022 – of which 15 were from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) – to seven in 2023 to four thus far in 2024. However, the total number of hostile acts has increased across missions, including the emerging threat of unmanned aerial vehicles.
He pointed out that even with all the political commitment and necessary investments, peacekeeping still has its limits. Blue helmets can act robustly to protect civilians, but they do not fight wars. Where there is no ceasefire or political agreement whatsoever, enforcement action carried out by partners may be required. “We are at a pivotal moment,” he said, noting that in two weeks, the Summit of the Future will present world leaders with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bolster and restore trust in the multilateral system, when the verdict remains out on whether Member States remain committed to multilateral solutions. Every day, UN peacekeepers are bravely saving countless lives for a relatively small investment. But their missions need the attention, political backing and resources they deserve. “There are few better tools for securing peace in a fragile age,” he concluded.
COMFORT ERO, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group, speaking via video link, said that the United Nations has developed a unique set of mechanisms to manage force generation, deployment and sustainment since the end of the cold war, but problems persist. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations has seen public discontent with UN peacekeepers’ failure to halt violence against civilians and seen that explode into angry, and even deadly, anti-UN protests. In the Central African Republic too, analysts report that the population is skeptical of the UN’s ability to stop violence.
The UN still needs to do more to understand how communities perceive the UN and, in turn, how the UN can work to meet these communities’ expectations, she said. “When this Council mandates UN forces to protect civilians, it must ensure that they have the means and political backing to fulfil that goal. “If you do not do so, you undermine the UN’s credibility and chances of success,” she said. The Council should not set up representatives of the UN for failure. UN peacekeeping operations, which have taken on many forms and responsibilities since 1946, are among the most adaptive parts of the UN’s peace and security toolbox. It is incumbent on the Security Council to give UN peacekeeping operations the political support they need – to end wars and protect the vulnerable, she added.
ZEID RA’AD AL HUSSEIN, President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Peace Institute, recalling his time as a UN peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia, said that 30 years ago in Croatia, the UN had 15 battalions drawn from 11 different countries representing almost all corners of the world. “What a time it was then – to have American and Russian formed units working in the same overall theatre, under a French-led UN military command, and all answering to a Japanese SRSG, Yasushi Akashi,” he said. While acknowledging significant bravery, he expressed regret that, as in Rwanda in 1994, there were colossal errors of judgment and eye-watering cruelties that the UN either could not or did not stop. “But we were there, together,” he said. Contrasting that with today, he pointed to the decline in States’ willingness to host missions they consider past their “sell-by” date and the reluctance of others to provide a critical mass of political support to end interminable conflicts. Also expressing concern over the Organization’s flagging belief in its own ability to be a peace organization, he said that it now stands as a stump of what it once was.
“How did it become like this, so lopsided and now so difficult to navigate?” he asked. Focusing on one of the many causes, he recalled that, when Colin Powell was serving as the United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early 1990s, he stated that his country should never place its military personnel in harm’s way with no direct national interest. And, while the Irish, Fijians, Nepalese and many others sent peacekeepers into theatres without any possible motive other than service since the beginning of the UN, the “Powell Doctrine” became contagious almost overnight as it spread through capitals and parliaments. This contributed, in part, to Jordan’s decision, along with India, to withdraw its battalions from the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). At that time, he told the Council that, “while we wanted to serve the UN, we were not comfortable being viewed as a sort of underclass” in a UN “divided between masters and servants, bankers and soldiers – where we would be the only ones relied on to do the riskiest jobs”.
Reiterating that the Council should worry less about the precise structure of future mandates and more on making sure the right people are chosen, he stressed that the organ must give peacekeepers the support they require. Also urging a return to the basics, he said that, when there is an emerging or actual threat, the Council should mandate the Secretary-General to go, in person, to the heart of the hotspot and weigh the situation before reporting to the body with a battery of suggestions. Following that report, the Council can begin to tailor a logical response, he said, adding that this will allow the wound to determine the type of surgery required as best understood by “your most senior surgeon”. It is the Council – particularly its permanent members – who select the Secretary-General, he pointed out. The Council is therefore duty-bound to trust the Secretary-General’s judgment on matters relating to peace and security. “If you believe the Secretary-General is capable of it, then respect his abilities accordingly, mandate and send him, listen to him and then respond to the crisis accordingly,” he urged.
Statements
The representative of Slovenia, Council president for September, spoke in his national capacity, noting that peacekeeping operations “reflect multilateralism at its finest”, voiced regret that that no new operations have been mandated in the past decade, while several have been scaled back or withdrawn – all this despite the world becoming less peaceful. Also, peacekeeping operations have suffered from “the crisis of confidence” due to the “mismatch” between their mandates and local expectations and “changing security environment”. “With the highest number of ongoing conflicts and civilian casualties […] we now, more than ever, need UN peacekeeping that is fit for purpose and with strong united political support of the Council,” he emphasized. Therefore, he called for peace operations with “defined strategic objectives” that align with host country expectations. “A more inclusive, people-centred UN peacekeeping calls for greater community engagement, promotion of empowerment of women and youth, inclusive political processes, accountability and transparency, and stronger partnerships with civil society,” he emphasized.
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