UN official urges collective action to improve peacekeeping
8 November -- The top United Nations peacekeeping official today urged Member States to consolidate their support for the Organization's peace operations around the world.
Addressing the General Assembly's Fourth Committee, which is charged with reviewing UN peacekeeping, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno said the collective responsibility for the Organization's operations "must be manifested through international solidarity; a true partnership among States - large and small, rich and poor, from North and South."
"At their core," he said, "the problems we face are not only operational or technical; they also reflect the presence or lack of political will." He stressed that Member States must demonstrate their will by providing "political and material support to the operations they have authorized."
Mr. Guéhenno drew particular attention to the role of the permanent members of the Security Council, which is responsible for setting up UN peacekeeping operations. "If the Security Council adopts challenging mandates, do not its members, including its permanent members, have some responsibility to ensure that troops and police are available, that adequate logistical support is provided?" he asked.
The Under-Secretary-General also reviewed specific proposals for improving the capacity of the UN to carry out its peacekeeping work, including those put forward by Secretary-General Kofi Annan based on recommendations made earlier this year by an independent panel of experts commissioned to examine the issue.
Mr. Guéhenno observed that some of those initiatives required additional funds, while others required a better use of existing resources and a reassessment of priorities, and pledged to redouble efforts to achieve progress towards those goals.
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