21 February 2023

Mr. USG

Mme. USG

I am delighted to join you for the opening of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations’ substantive session.

I congratulate Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad Bande and the Bureau on their election. I think its is a good choice and I wish them all the best.

As we begin today, allow me to give tribute to all UN peacekeepers who have paid the ultimate price in our collective pursuit of peace since 1948.

To honor their sacrifice, let us do our part to maintain the peace they courageously worked to uphold.

Dear Friends,

It is often said that peacekeeping is international solidarity in its truest form.

Nations from around the world, represented here in the “C34”, put forward their most precious resource – their people – in support of peace.

Peacekeepers are the most visible aspect of the UN’s work – the human face of its ideals in the darkest corners of conflicts.

They also embody crisis management and transformation on the ground.

Peacekeepers enter a conflict setting, help to manage a crisis, and, ideally, leave behind a society transformed.

They go where no one is wishing to go, often becoming targets for attacks themselves.

Not a single month passes without an attack on a blue helmet.

Excellencies,

Dear colleagues,

This year, the UN marks the 75th anniversary of its flagship enterprise.

More than seven decades of supporting political processes and local communities, protecting civilians, and promoting human rights.

If this history has taught us anything, it is that we have the capacity to adapt and innovate.

The “Action Plan for Peacekeeping” initiative and its implementation strategy are two prime examples.

Let us use this anniversary to take stock of where we are headed – and change course, where needed.

Along the way, I encourage you to ask the tough questions.

Let me mention you some:

  • Are we investing enough in pre-deployment training and capacity building?
  • Are we doing our best to ensure the safety and security of blue helmets in complex environments?
  • Do we improve performance?
  • Are we breaking the invisible barriers to women’s participation and leadership?
  • Are we preparing for the future of peacekeeping – including the Secretary-General’s suggestions for the new generation of peace enforcement missions?

How you answer these questions in the “C34” today will determine whether UN forces are ready for the emergencies of tomorrow.

In this context, I look forward to the Secretary-General’s elaboration of the New Agenda for Peace.

Dear Friends,

The Special Committee has a great responsibility: to carry out a comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations.

This is no easy task, we know. So, I am asking you to set aside your differences as much as you can, as much as possible, or maybe beyond that. Build upon areas of common understanding and prioritize consensus.

To adopt an ambitious report, you may spend hours on a chapter – even a sentence.

As you do so, I implore you to remember the more than 87,000 men and women from 121 countries who are proudly serving the cause of peace today.

Dag Hammarskjöld, who presided over the creation of the first UN peacekeeping forces, said “the pursuit of peace … can never be relaxed and abandoned.”

I stand ready to assist you in any way as you undertake this critical endeavor.

Thank you very much, and many thanks Mr. Chairman.