UN to strengthen peacekeeping efforts
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has highlighted a new effort to strengthen United Nations peacekeeping at a time when the demand for the Organization's services is at an all-time high and the global economic crisis threatens to further limit its ability to respond effectively.
In an address at Ireland's Dublin Castle on Tuesday, Ban noted that the UN is the only body that can deploy comprehensive peace operations integrating military, police and civilian components, according to a report of UN news centre yesterday.
There are currently 16 peacekeeping operations and 27 special political missions deployed around the globe, supported by 78,000 military personnel, more than 11,000 police and more than 23,000 civilian staff, he said.
At the same time, he noted that peacekeeping has experienced serious setbacks. “Today we face mounting difficulties in getting enough troops, the right equipment and adequate logistical support,” he said. “Supply has not kept pace with demand.”
He added that the global economic crisis could further limit the Organization's ability to respond effectively, and that a number of missions struggle to operate amidst stalled peace processes and ongoing violence.
“These gaps and constraints should concern all of us,” he stated, noting that they have led the UN to undertake what it is calling a “new horizon” process for peacekeeping. “We want our efforts to be more cohesive. And we want a renewed consensus on the direction peacekeeping should take.”
The UN Departments for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and for Field Support (DFS) have been working on the New Horizon initiative, which focuses on critical peacekeeping tasks and functions that require a renewed consensus; measures to improve mission design, resourcing and deployment; proposals on assessing and building the capacities needed for future peacekeeping; and a strategy to create a stronger, more flexible support system.
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