Pakistan calls for 'realistic, achievable' mandates for UN peacekeeping operations' success

UNITED NATIONS: Reaffirming it's support to the UN peacekeeping, Pakistan has called for "realistic and achievable" mandates for peacekeeping missions, backed by adequate resources, to ensure their success.

"Operational success of peacekeeping is predicated on timely and assured deployment of human and material resources," Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan told the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, known informally as C34. on Thursday.

The committee institutionalizes the General Assembly's oversight on policy and execution of UN Peacekeeping Operations.

"Peacekeeping is a means to an end, and not an end in itself", Ambassador Masood Khan said, emphasizing that it could not substitute for viable political processes or replace efforts to address the root causes of conflict.

Additionally, he said, peacekeeping could not be an alternative or substitute for the necessary building of the host State's robust security and defence forces. The Pakistani envoy also cautioned against the use of new technologies, such as unmanned aerial systems, and in defining the concepts of peace enforcement, based on the use of force and deterrence.

These ideas need to be considered within the framework of the guiding principles of peacekeeping and various constraints placed on the system, he said.

Pakistan, he said, had consistently been the largest contributor to United Nations peacekeeping in many parts of the world. He condemned the killing of peacekeepers, as well as targeted violent attacks against them, and called on the Peacekeeping and Field Support Departments to continue to strengthen measures to improve their safety and security.

Modern peacekeeping increasingly aims to control violent conflicts, stabilize post-conflict fragility, catalyse internal political processes and engage in peacebuilding, he said, adding that peacekeeping had evolved as the nature of conflict itself had changed.

Ambassador Masood Khan pointed to three elements that could ensure the future success of United Nations peacekeeping. First, peacekeeping must adhere strictly to the United Nations Charter, especially with regard to the principles of consent of the parties and the non-use of force.

Second, peacekeeping mandates must be realistic and achievable.

Third, the operational success of peacekeeping was predicated on timely and assured deployment of human and material resources.

Touching upon the role of troop-contributing countries, he stressed the critical importance of revising the compensation policy on death and disability of United Nations peacekeepers so as to ensure timely reimbursements.

It was equally necessary to improve the working modalities of casualty evacuation from field missions.

Finally, he said it was necessary to demonstrate the utility and interoperability of the training modules under development by the UN Secretariat, and to send manuals through a credible validation process.