September 9, 2024
Mr. President,
We listened carefully to the briefings of Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, President & CEO of International Crisis Group Dr. Comfort Ero, and president and CEO of the International Peace Institute Zeyed Ra’ad Al-Hussein. Thank you for the assessments provided.
As one of the UN’s primary instruments for maintaining peace and security, peacekeeping has had a direct impact on the lives of millions of people for decades. Great hopes are pinned on peacekeeping operations (PKOs) as they are intended for both addressing immediate problems and facilitating long-term crisis management.
The changing nature and specifics of conflicts and the dangerous operation conditions, often fraught with the dire humanitarian and socio-economic situation on the ground, undoubtedly dictate the need for peacekeeping mechanisms to adapt. This is why the attention of the Member States and the UN Secretariat is focused on issues related to the evolution of peacekeeping and ways to transform it so that it could better meet today’s challenges, as well as on ways to boost the effectiveness of PKOs and ensure the safety of Blue Helmets and civilian personnel.
Whatever transformations UN peacekeeping operations undergo, they must be premised on unconditional respect for the sovereignty of host countries, strict adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and on the sanctity of the basic principles of peacekeeping, which is the consent of the parties, impartiality and non-use of force, except for self-defense and protection of the mandate.
Another crucial element in maintaining peace and security is the cooperation between the United Nations and viable regional and sub-regional organizations. We favor the development of such interaction on the basis of the UN Charter, primarily its Chapter VIII. We are convinced that regional integration organizations, primarily the African Union, have firsthand knowledge of the problems facing its member states, and they can definitely play an important role in assisting the states in their willingness to ensure the well-being and safety of their citizens.
We advocate the consistent development of UN cooperation with the African Union and sub-regional organizations on the basis of the principle “African solutions to African problems”. Furthermore, we are convinced that the key to success of African operations is the levelheaded assessment by the countries of the region of existing threats with the view to finding ways to overcome them, as well as their willingness to bear the risks when responding to challenges to peace and security. It is also important that African countries have room to make their own decisions on the modalities for dealing with threats, irrespective of what form of financial assistance they receive from external players. That’s precisely why we supported the UN Security Council resolution on financing African peacekeeping.
Mr. President,
We are convinced that the key to the effectiveness of the work of peacekeeping missions primarily lies in the creation of conditions for direct dialogue between the parties to conflict with the view to achieving a political settlement of the conflict. This requires that missions focus on reaching agreement on the root causes of crises. We can hardly reach our goal if we fail to define the goal itself. Unfortunately, we are witnessing situations where opinions on these issues significantly diverge, and not only between the warring parties, but also between the main regional or non-regional stakeholders, as well as within the UN Security Council. Without unity in the Council, we are unlikely to agree on a clear and realistic mandate, build trust with the host country and ensure effective support for regional efforts.
The lack of clear and feasible objectives for peacekeeping missions also makes it more difficult to achieve significant results in increasing their effectiveness. We believe it is necessary to cut secondary and non-mandate tasks for peacekeepers, in particular, those related to human rights, gender and climate issues, which distract peacekeepers from performing their main duties and require significant funding. When determining PKO’s mandate, it is fundamentally important to take into account the views and needs of the host countries. What should also be prioritized is cooperation of the peacekeeping mission and the Secretariat with the host country’s government, and the unconditional respect for host country’s legitimate interests. After all, constructive interaction with host countries is the prerequisite to the successful implementation of the peacekeeping mandate. It is the national authorities that shoulder the primary responsibility for protecting civilians, eradicating the root causes of the crisis and ensuring post-conflict recovery. We should recall that resolving a crisis in a country is a complex, painstaking, and often long-term process, and this process should be intranational in nature and should take into consideration the interests of all population groups. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all formula; therefore, it is necessary to search for a unique solution based on social, cultural, civilizational and historical peculiarities of society. Only the government of the host country can ensure such a durable social contract. And the role of the international community here is to extend the necessary political support, share experience, and provide humanitarian and economic assistance.
Ignoring the priorities and interests of the host country and its civilian population leads to nothing but worsening relations. This is closely related to the problem of growing “misinformation and disinformation” regarding the UN, which has been actively discussed recently on various platforms of the Organization. Dealing with the issue requires a comprehensive approach, since negative comments against the UN are not always indented for besmirching the Organization. In part, these critical assessments reflect the frustration of host countries and their populations. Therefore, they should not be ignored. Rather, UN peacekeeping missions need to respond to them by explaining what their mandate implies. They should also more actively reach out to ordinary people through radio, television, social media, and various local “quick-impact” projects. All of this can help establish constructive cooperation with the host country and build trust and, as a result, strengthen the UN’s credibility.
Mr. President,
Our country attaches great importance to UN peacekeeping. Russian peacekeepers are performing their duties in Sudan, South Sudan, Western Sahara, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus and the Middle East. Russia is one of the ten major contributors to peacekeeping budgets. The training centers of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation provide high-quality training for both Russian and foreign peacekeepers, including women.
We believe that the main development tracks for UN peacekeeping, as well as its future forms, should be agreed upon in an intergovernmental format. In this respect, the best forum is the UNGA Special Committee on Peacekeeping (C-34), which serves as a place where most UN member states, including troop-contributing countries and host countries, have the opportunity to develop common approaches to the parameters of peacekeeping operations, which should guide the UN Secretariat and missions on the ground. Only through unconditional compliance with the agreements and commitments reached between states, can we ensure the necessary level of trust between all parties concerned and thus enhance the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions and contribute to their ultimate success. We are convinced that the solidarity of Member States with regard to the principles of the functioning of peacekeeping operations will make it easier to resolve concomitant problems.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, we would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the military, police and civilian personnel of UN peacekeeping missions for their unwavering commitment to fulfilling their noble duty in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions with daily risk to life.
Thank you for your attention.