The Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahammudu Bawumia, has appealed to member states of the United Nations (UN) to refocus their attention on dealing with the diverse challenges faced by UN Peacekeepers in their operations to ensure more efficiency.
He said in line with the ongoing reforms, particularly the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P, A4P+) and the Digital Transformation Strategy, the UN must be clear in its objectives in order to generate high-performing and specialised capabilities.
“As we embark on this journey, it is essential to recognise the diverse challenges faced by UN peacekeepers and peacekeeping missions. Therefore, the agenda of our ministerial meeting places a focused lens on critical aspects, including the protection of civilians, strategic communications, safety and security, the mental health of peacekeepers, and the indispensable role of women in peacekeeping,” he emphasised.
Dr Bawumia made the call when he opened the 75th UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) in Accra yesterday.
The two-day event, organised under the auspices of the UN in collaboration with Ghana, is the first to be held in Africa.
More than 600 delegates, including high-profile government officials, high-ranking military officers and renowned members of the UN from across the world, are participating in the conference which ends today.
The Vice President said Ghana was proud to host the meeting since it held significant importance in fostering international cooperation for the noble cause of global peace.
“Our collective mission is to explore and navigate the gaps in peacekeeping, evaluate options for meaningful change and, most importantly, work towards concrete outcomes that will enhance the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations worldwide,” he said.
Dr Bawumia noted that the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference was not just a meeting but also a pivotal moment when Foreign and Defence Ministers would be deliberating on strategies to strengthen UN peacekeeping.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Under Secretary General in charge of Peace Operation, Jean-PiereLacroix, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guteress, said UN Peacekeepers had saved and improved lives in the world’s most fragile political and security situations over the past 75 years.
He said UN Peacekeepers had been working under difficult and often very dangerous conditions to achieve extraordinary outcomes for the communities they served.
“The contribution of the two million women and men who have served since the first peacekeeping mission was deployed in 1948 is immense. They have helped many countries successfully navigate the difficult path from war to peace, from Liberia and Namibia, to Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Timor Leste and many other countries,” he emphasised.
Mr Guterres said UN peace operations had an exceptionally strong record of preventing and reducing violence, as well as preventing wars from recurring.
“Peacekeeping operations also continue to preserve ceasefires, protect civilians, mediate local conflicts, and strengthen institutions, wherever and whenever possible. UNIFIL, for example, supports efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon, including liaising with both sides,” he stressed.
The Secretary General explained that the ultimate objective of peacekeeping was to help resolve conflicts by supporting parties to secure and implement peace agreements and related political processes.
In this regard, he said over 75-year history of the UN should not be forgotten in the fog of war that continued to ravage the world’s most fragile nations and populations, adding that, “but we must recognise that peacekeeping is not a magic wand and it cannot succeed alone. Securing sustainable peace requires the political will and active and united engagement of United Nations member states.”
Mr Guteress said the challenges peacekeeping missions faced currently were greater than ever before as there was increasing division among Member States, which had weakened the collective capacity to support political and peace processes.
“Conflict is more complex and multi-layered. Peacekeepers are facing terrorists, criminals, armed groups, and their allies who have access to powerful modern weapons, and a vested interest in perpetuating the chaos in which they thrive,” he said.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL & CLAUDE NYARKO-ADAMS
