UN chief calls for sustained momentum in peacekeeping efforts

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday lauded the progress of UN peacekeeping reform in the last decade and called for sustained momentum in peacekeeping efforts and continuation this kind of reform into the future.

Ban made these remarks at a General Assembly thematic debate titled "UN Peacekeeping-Looking into the Future," assembled on the anniversary of an important panel on UN peacekeeping reforms.

The secretary-general indicated that UN peacekeeping has come a long way since March 2000 when former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed the Panel on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations to make recommendations for improving this important branch of the organization. UN peacekeeping had been troubled throughout the 1990s by challenges unprecedented in their scope, and needed to update practices and policy.

"Thanks to the reforms proposed by the panel," Ban said, "UN peacekeeping has been able to grow, incorporate the lessons learned from those experiences, and continue to serve as a cost- effective and flexible tool -- a flagship UN activity, a mission of hope for people caught in armed conflict."

Stressing that there is still space for improvement, Ban praised the General Assembly for supporting the New Horizon process, another review of peacekeeping practices that commenced in 2009 in order to formulate both immediate and long-term goals for peacekeeping.

"The process has helped to reinvigorate the peacekeeping partnership through dialogue between troop and police contributing countries, the Security Council and the Secretariat," he said. " Today we have reached a better understanding of what UN peacekeeping should and can do."

Dialogue and cooperation between the many national and international entities involved with UN peacekeeping was an important theme in Ban's remarks. From member states, which he indicated must match mandates for peacekeeping with resources and logistical support, to the UN Secretariat itself, to the countries that play host to peacekeepers, Ban emphasized that peacekeeping is a collaborative activity.

"Only together can we make sure that the blue helmets continue to bring hope to people around the world," Ban said.

Source: Xinhua