Pakistan calls for addressing roots causes of conflicts as part of U.N. peacekeeping

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (APP): Pakistan has called for a comprehensive strategy for U.N. peacekeeping involving conflict prevention, addressing the root causes of conflict and post-conflict peace-building in a bid to attain peace and stability. 

“Full operationalization of the comprehensive approach requires greater political will of member states, larger consensus on objectives, and genuine cooperation to achieve those objectives including through a much broader pooling and sharing of resources by all, “ Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon told the U.N. Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. 

Speaking in a debate on the U.N.’s “biggest enterprise”, he said Pakistan had remained at the forefront of collective United Nations efforts taken over the years towards the maintenance of international peace and security. Pakistan was the top contributor of uniformed personnel to the world body’s peacekeeping operations, with some 11,000 nationals currently participating in 13 missions. 

Pakistan had also been the lead troop contributor since the initial surge in demand in 2003, the ambassador said. The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, which monitors the Kashmir Line of Control, had been one of the Organization’s first peacekeeping operations. Some 100 Pakistani peacekeepers had made the ultimate sacrifice serving under the United Nations banner, he added. 

Haroon said tools and institutions were not enough to achieve results and that fully implementing a comprehensive peacekeeping strategy required greater political will on the part of Member States and broader consensus on shared objectives, including pooling of resources and burden sharing by all. 

“This, in our view is indispensable for achieving success during the current period of unprecedented expectations, demands and challenges,” he said, stressing that collective action must cut across the whole range of activities, from proper planning, objective analysis of ground realities, and crafting clear achievable mandates, to ensuring the safety and security of mission personnel and identifying sound exit strategies. 

That collective vision must be based on the tenets and principles of the Charter, but must also incorporate a shared understanding of the changing nature of conflict and corresponding required evolution in peacekeeping processes, including the reform and strengthening of peacekeeping capacity. 

“These are the fundamental issues that must be at the core of our work,” the Pakistan ambassador said, stressing that the continued success and credibility of United Nations peacekeeping required that Member States had full ownership of policy and strategic oversight. 

To that end, no body or particular set of countries could monopolize policy-setting in this area; the full engagement of the Organization’s wider membership was essential. Indeed, experience had shown that even the most sensitive issues could be addressed in a non-controversial manner, if there was a genuine effort to seek common understandings. He added that such broad engagement must be accompanied by the elaboration of coherent policies and their consistent implementation. 

Speaking on structural and policy issues from the perspective of troop-contributing countries, he advised against any kind of differentiation between missions in terms of operational structures, command and control mechanisms, or any other preferential arrangements. Pakistan expected partnerships to be based on equitable relationships and mutual respect. In light of recent problems, he said there was also a need to carefully review lessons learned from the new breed of United Nations peacekeeping missions, including hybrid operations, in terms of planning, force generation, deployment and overall performance, as compared to traditional mission structures. 

While calling for broader cooperation between the Secretariat, the Security Council and troop-contributing countries, Haroon noted his delegation’s disappointment at the persistent lack of adequate representation of major troop-contributors at relevant organizational levels.  

“We urge the Secretariat to rectify this as a matter of openness and fair play,” he said, stressing that representation of major troop-contributors at top managerial levels in the field and at Headquarters was essential to ensuring greater coherence between those who managed, directed and commanded operations, and those who provided invaluable human resources on the ground.