Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to moderate this session on Partnership, Training, and Capacity Building. I thank the Republic of Korea for hosting the Peacekeeping Ministerial despite COVID-19 challenges.
Training & Capacity Building
The quality of training and capacity building plays a crucial role in the performance and effectiveness of UN peacekeeping.
It is also essential to making progress across all areas of Action for Peacekeeping plus.
Our peacekeepers are charged with stepping into high-risk contexts to establish safe environments and protect civilians while working with host governments to support political processes and help achieve sustainable peace.
This is a formidable task. To accomplish it successfully, we need troops who can deploy quickly.
With the necessary enablers.
And, with the appropriate skills and training.
Excellencies,
The United Nations has been developing the standards for training and working closely with Member States to strengthen the capacity of peacekeepers.
Through initiatives such as the Triangular Partnership Programme, we are conducting training in engineering, medical and C4ISR [Command, Control, Communication, Computers
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance].
To mitigate COVID-19 risks, we have conducted a number of these courses remotely over the last year. Currently, for example, we have a remote construction process management course for Southeast Asian troop contributing countries, in partnership with Japan.
[We have also resumed in-person trainings in Kenya and Uganda with appropriate COVID-19 mitigation measures.]
The ultimate aim of all this training is to create self-sustaining national training capacity.
And to allow Member States to consistently deploy units trained to UN standards. This includes deploying personnel who understand UN values and standards of conduct, and who can apply these on the ground.
[Equally important to the success of peace operations, of course, is that our uniformed personnel have the equipment and infrastructure needed to fulfill their assignments safely and efficiently. And, we need your help.]
Other Initiatives
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me to highlight a few additional areas critical to UN peacekeeping.
Firstly, Technology. It is fundamental in making our missions more effective and agile. We have recently launched the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of UN Peacekeeping and are preparing to launch the Deployment Review Digital Toolkit. These initiatives aim to enhance the safety of uniformed personnel and help them better prepare for their deployment.
Secondly, the provision of timely and quality Medical Care to peacekeepers is essential. [We are currently piloting Telemedicine in four peacekeeping missions.] While we continue to invest in medical training, we need the expertise and financial support of Member States to develop a new Casualty Tracking System and a Public Health Surveillance System.
Once again, I must express my gratitude to the Republic of Korea for their contributions to technology and medical capacity building through the issuance of the Seoul Initiative.
Finally, the United Nations remains committed to making UN peacekeeping more Environmentally Responsible and Gender Equitable.
We are redoubling our efforts to reduce missions’ environmental footprint and need your support by deploying units with renewable energy.
We are also taking steps, like the Senior Women Talent Pipeline and Elsie project, to increase female peacekeepers and make our camps more suitable for women.
Partnerships
Excellencies,
Partnerships is the central theme of this session, and the backbone of UN peacekeeping. The transformational potential of partnerships is the reason we have invested in initiatives such as the Triangular Partnerships Programme mentioned earlier. The Light Coordination Mechanism, which recently expanded its coordination activities to include policing needs, is yet another prime example of partnerships amongst Member States.
[In addition, we continue to build complementarity with regional and sub-regional organizations
such as through the Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Programme with the African Union.]
We need more such partnerships.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by paying tribute to the extraordinary dedication of women and men serving in our peace operations. It is our collective responsibility to train, equip, and prepare them to meet our shared commitments on the best possible footing.
[I am grateful for the many training and capacity building pledges that have been and will be
announced today.
With that said, I look forward to hearing from you during this panel session.]
I now wish to introduce our keynote speaker, the Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Mr. Suh.