PRESS RELEASE : Peacekeeping is a vital tool to reduce global conflict and create stability – UK statement at the UN Security Council [February 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 21 February 2024.

Statement by Ambassador Archie Young at the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34).

Thank you Chair.

As we have clearly heard today, peacekeeping remains a vital tool to reduce global conflict and create stability. But as peacekeeping faces new and systemic challenges, it must continue to adapt and evolve.

We have made great progress in implementing the Action for Peacekeeping initiative and Action for Peacekeeping Plus priorities, which remains the key overarching reform framework, but there is more to be done to ensure that peacekeeping is fit for the future. As we start this year’s session, I would like to stress three points.

First, we underline the importance of partnership and collaboration, as well as political support and consent, in the effective delivery of mandates and well-planned transitions.

Missions continue to suffer from restrictions on freedom of movement and of violations of Status of Forces Agreements, including in the Central African Republic, Lebanon and Western Sahara.

Sustainable transitions require UN structures and the host government’s peace and security architecture to work together. It is the people on the ground who suffer most when host governments fail to support a sustainable transition, and there are significant risks in how we safeguard the protection of civilians during withdrawals.

Second, we must ensure all peacekeepers have the necessary training and capabilities, including the right medical capabilities, to meet the challenges of today and deliver their mandates.

Among these challenges, misinformation and disinformation is growing and puts the safety and security of our peacekeepers at risk.

Effective strategic communications are essential enablers of mandate delivery and it is vital that we continue to use tools such as the Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System, now rolled out in all missions, to their fullest extent and find ways to apply data in decision-making.

Third, we should recognise the progress made on Women, Peace and Security issues and commit to fully representative and safe operations. A growing number of Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries have shown significant increases in the number of their women personnel.

But there is much more to be done to ensure women’s participation is meaningful and that women, as part of missions or as civilians, are safe from harassment and abuse.

We urge the UN and Member States to hold themselves to the highest of standards on gender parity, civil society engagement, and countering sexual exploitation and abuse.

The United Kingdom values the work of this Committee in driving forward peacekeeping reform through practical consensus-based recommendations, and we will continue to contribute to improvements in peacekeeping through deployments, extrabudgetary funding and expertise, as set out by the range of our pledges in Ghana at last year’s Peacekeeping Ministerial.

Finally, I want to end by paying tribute to peacekeepers across the globe and to the memory of the brave peacekeepers who lost their lives. We commit to engage in collaborative and constructive discussions over the coming weeks to achieve a substantive report this year.

Thank you Chair.