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Note to Correspondents on the High-Level Meeting on Action for Peacekeeping

26 Sep 2018

Note to Correspondents on Action for Peacekeeping meeting 

The Secretary-General convened a High-Level Meeting on Action for Peacekeeping yesterday, in the margins of the General Debate of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly.
 
The meeting, held during the 70th anniversary year of UN peacekeeping, was a key milestone in the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative, launched on 28 March at the Security Council open debate on peacekeeping operations.
 
The Secretary-General recalled that A4P seeks to strengthen peacekeeping “by refocusing peacekeeping with more realistic expectations; by making our missions stronger and safer; and by mobilizing greater political support for solutions and for well-equipped, well-trained forces.”

The meeting aimed to spur the action needed from all stakeholders to achieve these goals and address contemporary challenges facing peacekeeping.
 
The meeting encouraged sustained and collective engagement by all peacekeeping stakeholders to take A4P forward, including by implementing the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations. The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to the 146 Member States and four intergovernmental organizations that had already endorsed the Declaration and urged all those who have not yet endorsed to join.
 
During the meeting, 48 speakers took the floor, including 16 Heads of State and Government, two Vice-Heads of State and Government and 19 at the Ministerial-level, representing host countries, troop-, police- and financial-contributing countries, regional organizations and Security Council members.
 
Speakers underlined their adherence to the commitments in the Declaration and the need for their collective implementation. The support to political solutions to conflict was highlighted as a key area of focus, as well as better protection of civilians and improving performance.

Several host States also noted peacekeeping’s positive impact in supporting their countries’ emergence from conflict.
 
The importance of partnership was a recurring topic, with countries emphasizing the need to work collectively to address gaps, including with regional organizations such as the African Union, and triangular partnerships to support troop- and police-contributing countries to build their capacities.
 
Participants expressed their firm support for a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation and abuse, with several calling for all countries to join the Secretary-General’s Leadership Circle. The need for increased representation of women in peacekeeping at all levels was stressed. Some Member States pledged new contributions, including  uniformed contingents, specialized capabilities and support to the training and equipment of personnel.
 
The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Atul Khare underlined that the true measure of success of Action for Peacekeeping would be the extent to which peacekeeping operations are better able to contribute to lasting peace on the ground. They called on all Member States and intergovernmental organizations to turn their commitments in the Declaration into action and pledged that the Secretariat would do the same.
 
For more information: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/action-for-peacekeeping-a4p