Statement at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate “Strengthening UN Peacekeeping: Reflections for the Future” by the Republic of Latvia on behalf of Nordic-Baltic countries
New York, 9 September 2024
Mr. President,
Members of the Security Council,
I deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country, Latvia. We thank Slovenia for organizing this open debate and the briefers for sharing their insights.
At its inception more than 75 years ago UN peacekeeping was a result of a different political, security and technological environment. Yet, up to this day UN peacekeeping remains the most visible expression of multilateralism and at the heart of the United Nations. The Nordic and Baltic countries continue to see UN peacekeeping as an essential tool for the maintenance of peace and security.
Mr. President, allow me to focus on three points.
Firstly, flexibility, agility, and the primacy of political solutions are essential components for the future of peacekeeping. Mandates should be in line with an overarching political strategy, fitted to the specific context and adequately resourced. Missions should correspond to the security aspirations of the local populations. Transition-planning in coordination with UN agencies, funds and programmes should from the outset be central to any peace operation along with ongoing assessment and adjustment of mission structures in order to ensure they remain fit for purpose. We must prevent scenarios where missions slowly become perceived as part of the problem, not the solution. The Security Council needs to maintain a dual focus on facilitating and supporting political solutions, while also ensuring that peacebuilding is well integrated into the mandates of peacekeeping operations, and adequately financed in line with the General Assembly’s Financing for Peacebuilding resolution.
Secondly, partnerships are paramount. The adoption of Security Council resolution 2719 is a welcome step in the direction towards adequate, predictable and sustainable financing for African Union peace operations. We call for further deliberations on implementation of this resolution in the next Annual Joint Consultative Meeting between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council. Enabling regional organisations also means enabling them to act in accountable way as cohesive peacekeeping or peace enforcement providers.
Lastly, it is essential to strengthen national and local capacities and resilience to build lasting peace. Robust security sector institutions, support to human rights, democratic governance and rule of law are essential components of UN peace operations, in addition to empowering local actors, in particular women and youth. Full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peace processes and peace operations are paramount. The Peacebuilding Commission can provide strong support to countries in their capacity-building work. Furthermore, while welcoming the progress made over the past years, strategic communications of UN missions and their means to counter disinformation need to be strengthened further. This is particularly important in the advent of the A.I.
Mr. President,
We are just a few weeks away from the Summit of the Future. We hope the Pact will foster concrete actions to adapt peace operations to the new realities as well as strengthen conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts. We are also looking forward to the UN peacekeeping ministerial in Berlin next year as the next milestone of these efforts.
I thank you.