Ministers, Excellencies, Generals, distinguished participants,
It is my pleasure and an honour to open and moderate this session on Global Perspectives on the Future of Peacekeeping.
At the outset, I would like to thank each of the Peacekeeping Ministerial Co‑chairs, the co‑hosts of the prep meetings, and especially Germany, our host.
We have a distinguished group of panellists representing the three hosts of the prep meetings that paved the ‘road to Berlin’. Before we hear from them, allow me to offer a few perspectives on the future of peacekeeping.
As we mark the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, I am heartened by the strong and consistent political support expressed by Ministers today for our peacekeeping missions and hope this will continue tomorrow.
Your presence and your leadership have a direct bearing on our peacekeepers. The importance of peacekeeping to the global community cannot be stressed enough.
Across our missions, UN peacekeepers are saving lives and protecting hundreds of thousands of civilians every day. We are here on their behalf.
We also heard your commitment to the Pact for the Future, underlining the continued relevance of and need for peace operations as critical tools to maintain international peace and security, as well as the need to further strengthen the effectiveness of our existing missions now.
The value of peacekeeping is undeniable. Our cooperative effort through the Action for Peacekeeping initiative has made our missions stronger, safer and more effective. However, there is more to do.
In today’s challenging financial climate, we must also be more sensitive to cost‑effectiveness. Therefore, we have dedicated ourselves to building and strengthening a culture of efficiency in our field operations, with tangible results for Member States. My department is working to support our leaders and managers in the field and in Headquarters in this cultural shift. Cultural transitions are the most difficult part of change management, but when done right deliver sustainable and meaningful results. We owe this to the taxpayers of your countries that underwrite the costs of our operations.
This approach is also aligned with the Secretary‑General’s UN80 Initiative, under which I lead a Working Group focused on identifying and pursuing opportunities to enhance efficiency; advancing cost reductions across the Secretariat; and ensuring effectiveness in service delivery.
It is now my pleasure to introduce the panellists:
- Sandra Lazo, Minister of Defence of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
- Ki‑hwan Kweon, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs for the Republic of Korea
- Major General Taufik Budi Santoso, Commandant, Indonesian Armed Forces Peacekeeping Center
- McCoy Pitt, Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, State Department, United States of America
Minister Lazo, the preparatory meeting held in Montevideo covered a wide range of topics, including training and capacity‑building, women in peacekeeping, protection of civilians, as well as policing and rule of law. As we look to the future, could you tell us some of the key lessons learned and best practices in these areas that were discussed?
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Thank you.
Let us turn to Ki‑hwan Kweon, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs for the Republic of Korea.
Deputy Minister Kweon, the meeting in Islamabad focused primarily on safety and security, the use of technology and partnerships. Can you please give us some highlights from that discussion as we look to make peacekeeping both safer and more effective?
Excellency, the floor is yours.
Thank you.
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Let me now introduce Major General Taufik Budi Santoso, Commandant, Indonesian Armed Forces Peacekeeping Center.
General Santoso, I was very pleased to participate in the discussions in Bogor, which were focused squarely on the future of UN peacekeeping, using the independent study on the future of peacekeeping as food for thought. Could you give us some of your key takeaways from that discussion, particularly on the capabilities that the UN will need to preserve or enhance to be fit for the future?
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Thank you for those remarks.
Let me now finally turn to Mr. McCoy Pitt, Senior Bureau Official of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs at the United States Department of State, and a co‑host of the Ministerial preparatory process. Mr. Pitt, could you offer some perspectives on the priority issues that are needed to strengthen UN peacekeeping at this pivotal moment in the Organization’s history?
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Thank you.
We heard several key priorities emerge from the discussions at the prep meetings. Many resonate with points raised in the first two panels today. These key points include:
Peacekeeping preparedness:
The UN has a proven capacity and track record to generate, deploy, and sustain diverse and capable forces and personnel around the world. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that the UN retains the core capacities, systems, and institutional knowledge to generate, conduct, and support peacekeeping operations. The UN must remain ready to deploy new missions or reinforce existing ones at short notice. This was an important point both in the prep meeting in Montevideo as well as in Jakarta.
Planning:
We must be ready for what will come tomorrow. More tailored and timely responses to crises and emerging threats require stronger integrated planning and analysis capacities and culture. This will also help make operations more versatile, nimble and adaptable. This glaring need was highlighted in the independent study and reinforced in all prep meetings.
Performance and conduct:
This is a critical aspect of our work. We have made consistent efforts to strengthen organizational performance—by civilians and uniformed personnel—in the field and in Headquarters. At the same time, we need to ensure accountability for the conduct of all personnel as a top priority for the Organization. While most peacekeepers serve with honor, even a single violation undermines trust and cannot be tolerated. Strong accountability must remain a core part of peacekeeping performance. I look forward to your pledges and commitments tomorrow.
We also need to continue to make progress on the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Working together, we can build on the gains made toward our gender parity goals to go beyond the numbers and enhance women’s roles in peacekeeping, including in leadership and operational roles. This also requires creating enabling, safe, and respectful work environments.
Excellencies,
I would like to conclude by recalling the Secretary‑General’s message from earlier today. We owe it to peacekeepers — and the populations they serve — to protect this hallowed institution and its ability to answer the call to peace.
The discussions today will help us shape peacekeeping operations that are fit for the future.
Thank you for being here today. We can only succeed together. We need your political support, including through the pledges you will make tomorrow.