Atul Khare: Peace and democracy can prevail

“In the aftermath of a deep crisis,” says Atul Khare, a UN veteran, “peace and democracy can prevail as long as there is a strong and courageous local leadership, international solidarity… and a Security Council who is willing to act with unity and resolve.”

As the UN Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, Khare leads efforts to make the organization more agile, effective, transparent and accountable to better support its organizational and operational activities. In this interview, he talks about the importance of multilateralism and global solidarity in maintaining international peace and security in a changing world.

Question: Peacekeeping was considered a revolutionary concept – one that uses soldiers to prevent conflict and protect people. In a nutshell, how has it evolved over nearly 80 years?

Atul Khare: Well, UN Peacekeeping began back in 1948 and became a very important and flexible tool in the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security. In early years, UN Peacekeeping operations were mainly deployed to monitor ceasefires and support the implementation of peace agreements, such as the UN Truce Supervision Organization, the very first mission of military observers in the Middle East.

Over the time, UN Peacekeeping adapted to more complicated and multi-dimensional challenges. In the 1990s, many missions were mandated to keep and help build peace. This included for example supporting elections, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, and promoting human rights and the rule of law. In some cases, peacekeeping was also carrying out transitional administration functions. And this was successful in many parts of the world: in Cambodia, Mauritania and Timor-Leste. In places like Rwanda and Srebrenica, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UN Peacekeeping Operations were tested. This forced us to undertake a critical rethinking of how we operated.

In the following years, peacekeeping operations became more robust and multidimensional, with mandates to protect civilians, support disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, extend state authority, and assist in restoring state authority, for example, the UN Mission in the Central African Republic, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the UN Mission in South Sudan. UN Peacekeeping also broadened its partnerships, working in closer collaboration with regional and sub-regional organizations, including the African Union.

Recently, the Multinational Security Support in Haiti and the transition of our support to Somalia have required new ways of thinking how we acquire, move, and deploy goods and services to meet these new demands to support peace operations.

Question: Over the past decade, UN Peacekeeping has been undergoing a series of reforms to make it “fitter for purpose”. In what areas have these reforms been particularly beneficial and cost-effective in terms of operational support?

Atul Khare: Yes, and a recent reform, the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, launched seven years ago, has been driving these efforts.

Concretely, an area where there have been major gains is in the support provided to peacekeeping operations. For example, improving how we manage supplies, how we plan missions, and taking measures to protect the environment in which our personnel is deployed.

Let me add that we have also made much progress in being cost-effective and responsive to situations, notably by expanding modular and mobile capabilities. I would also like to mention another initiative launched by my Department, the Department of Operational Support, with financial support from Member States.

Through what we call the Triangular Partnership Programme, we have enhanced medical assistance to missions, engineering capacities as well as how we deal with non-explosive devices, and we did this by training our personnel and by building partnerships.

At the same time, we have invested in using better data for decision-making, technology for situational awareness, telemedicine and strengthened medical and emergency evacuation of peacekeepers, which has improved not only the way we carry out our mandate, but also the safety of our personnel on the ground.

I am proud to stress how agile and responsive we have been. For example, when we had to close one of our largest peacekeeping missions in Mali, MINUSMA, which was unexpected and had to happen within a tight deadline, we repatriated over 12,000 personnel and more than 7,600 cargo units of equipment.

Additionally, we made sure that troop and police contributing countries were reimbursed in a timely manner. And in the most challenging moments, we have successfully evacuated staff and uniformed personnel from harm’s way, in places like Haiti, Lebanon and Sudan.

Question: Back in the 1990s and 2000s, there was an appetite from Member States to set up new and large complex missions in Africa (Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone) and beyond, including missions with administrative mandate (Kosovo, East Timor).

Today’s peacekeeping requires a lighter footprint and several operations are downsizing. Is it because the nature of conflict has changed or are there other factors at play?

Atul Khare: Well, I would say that conflicts today are quite different: they are often fragmented and involve non-state actors, transnational threats, and chronic instability. UN Peacekeeping has therefore increasingly moved towards more flexible missions, and the Secretary-General has stressed the need for “prioritized and achievable mandates,” that match available resources and are guided by clear political strategies.

During the Berlin Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting this year, troop and police contributing countries have reaffirmed their support for UN Peacekeeping. At the same time, they have insisted on the need for smaller and faster deployment of personnel. These new demands show that Member States are engaged and recognize the value we are bringing as the United Nations. And they recognized that for building peace and to sustain it, partnerships, from global to local are essential. And of course, political will is what makes peace happen.

In this context, we had to adjust the way we respond to conflicts and step up coordination with regional organizations. This is crucial to ensure that we fulfill our mandate effectively. And I am pleased that the Department of Operational Support has been collaborating more closely with the African Union from strategic coordination, to providing training to troops deploying to the African Union Mission in Somalia. We received very positive feedback from troop contributing countries regarding this collaboration.

Question: Reflecting on your career in the UN decades as a peacekeeper, what are one or two pivotal moments that have stayed with you because of the lasting impact on the communities you have served?

Atul Khare: I believe one memorable personal experience, was when I was Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Timor-Leste from 2006 to 2009. I had to handle and prioritize many urgent tasks: restoring law and order across the country, including reforming the national police force; facilitating the safe return of large numbers of displaced persons to their homes; and supporting the Timorese authorities and people in organizing the decisive 2007 national elections.

Despite ongoing challenges—including fragile security and high political tension, I drew strength and inspiration from the resilience and determination of the Timorese people and their leaders. At the time, some at UN Headquarters, along with certain electoral experts and political analysts, doubted whether peaceful elections could take place so soon after the 2006 crisis. However, the 2007 elections became a watershed moment.

The elections marked a major step forward in Timor Leste’s democratic journey and helped lay the foundation for long-term stability. This progress was made possible, in a large part, by the unified support of the UN Security Council, and its attention at that time.

I wish to say that this experience in Timor-Leste remains one of the most meaningful and enduring of my international career— a proof that even in the aftermath of a deep crisis, peace and democracy can prevail as long as there is a strong and courageous local leadership, international solidarity and actual support, and a Security Council who is willing to act with unity and resolve.

Question: The current era of deepening geo-political divides presents significant obstacles to traditional peacekeeping. What would make peacekeeping effective in today’s world? And what are your hopes for UN Peacekeeping?

Atul Khare: As I mentioned earlier, the meeting we held in Germany this year with a large participation of UN Peacekeeping contributing countries showed us that support and political engagement are key for the future of peacekeeping. Clearly, and as I stressed there when our men and women peacekeepers are better equipped to succeed, they are also better prepared to protect the people and deliver.

We have come a long way in enhancing the safety of peacekeepers and increasing peacekeeping impact. Our telemedicine projects, integrated camp security and early warning system, the Elsie Initiative to increase the number of women in UN Peacekeeping, the use of technology like drones, are a few examples of our contributions to effective mandate delivery. We also continue to build on our progress on protecting the environment in which we operate through “The Way Forward: Environment Strategy 2030”, a strategy focusing on three key themes: responsibility, ambition and positive legacy.

Now, I should say that our success stories would not have been possible without the strong support of Member States, and the leadership of our missions. I see the future of UN Peacekeeping as to rely, in part, on our ability to leverage technologies and innovations to improve safety and security, implement mandates effectively, and strengthen the performance of UN operations. We must also build on lessons learned and fine tune these to enhance cost efficiencies for the future of UN Peacekeeping.

On a last note, I truly hope that we continue to work closely with Member States to advance how we deliver for our mandates, and I also hope we pursue our joint efforts to strengthen global peace and security.