EU Statement – United Nations General Assembly: General Debate of the C34 negotiations
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries, the Republic of North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia* and Albania*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.
Madam/Mr. Chair,
Let me start by recognizing the courage and sacrifice of all the UN peacekeeping personnel, which have worked incessantly to implement their mandates in the shadow of the COVID19-pandemic and all the challenges it has brought with it. The pandemic has exacerbated existing threats, and deeply affected peacekeepers’ operating environment, demanding considerable operational adjustments to ensure the safety and health of peacekeepers and the people they support and protect. We commend peacekeepers around the world for showing the needed flexibility and resilience and for continuing to protect vulnerable civilians, enabling difficult peace processes and stabilizing fragile regions.
Recognizing that peacekeeping operations are primarily political instruments, the EU commends the Secretary General and his Special Representatives for their continued action and leadership in this context. The EU strongly supports the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire to help fight COVID-19 in the most vulnerable countries and the full implementation of Security Council resolution 2532.
The EU is also committed to the security and safety of peacekeepers. Even though we are only a few weeks into 2021, we have already witnessed attacks on UN peacekeeping missions that are horrifying in both number and brutality. The EU condemns all attacks on peacekeeping missions and underlines that they may constitute war crimes under international law.
Madam/Mr Chair,
The new format of the C34 report, adopted for the first time in 2020, proved to be a successful tool for delivering actionable and measurable recommendations and support the implementation of the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P). We welcome that this structure has now become the standard for the Committee’s report offering clarity and focus.
We also take note of the new sub-section within the partnerships chapter on AU-UN cooperation on peacekeeping. The UN’s efforts to promote and maintain peace have to adapt to the changing security environment, and partnerships with regional and sub-regional organisations are an important part of that, as the support to the G5 Sahel Joint Force exemplifies. The EU recognizes that the African contribution to peacekeeping takes many forms and that cooperation between the UN and the AU has unique importance on the African continent. This underlines the need for predictable and sustainable financing of African peace operations.
The EU-UN partnership is also the framework for the trilateral cooperation EU-AU-UN. We are already working together in the Sahel, Central African Republic and Somalia and we are committed to further increase and operationalise our coordination and cooperation at political, economic and operational levels. Through the newly established European Peace Facility the EU contributes to the financing of peace support operations led by international partners, notably the AU and sub-regional African organisations.
Recognizing that true partnerships are not built on words but deeds, the EU Common Security and Defence Policy missions complement and support UN missions in Mali, Central African Republic, Somalia, Libya, the Balkans or Iraq. The unique and long-standing EU-UN partnership on crisis management and peacekeeping works across the peace continuum. We cooperate closely on practical issues, like logistics or medical support, and we share best practices on conduct and discipline, lessons learned from strategic reviews and carry out joint analyses. This year, we also exchanged lessons learned and good practices from COVID-crisis and going forward we will work together to better prepare our missions for future crises. The recently signed EU-UN Framework Agreement on Mutual Support is an instrument to facilitate further practical cooperation in the field.
Madam/Mr Chair,
A strong and continuous focus on improved performance by all stakeholders is an essential element of better peacekeeping. The EU welcomes the recent launch of Integrated Performance Policy Framework and we look forward to accompanying its implementation.
The EU commends efforts to step-up the mobility of peace operations, reinforce critical capacities, enhance planning and avoid undeclared caveats. Furthermore, the EU emphasizes the importance of training as a contributor to the performance of peacekeepers. The EU underlines the importance of better integration of efforts across the pillars of the peacekeeping missions and the UN agencies.
Gross violations of human rights are a driver of conflict and an inexcusable part of the violence. The human rights component of peacekeeping missions’ mandate and the obligation to promote accountability are essential elements in the prevention and mitigation of conflict. We continue to underscore the importance of the protection of civilians as a core task of peacekeeping.
The protection of children in armed conflict is a priority for the EU. In this regard, we stress the fundamental role of Child Protection Advisers on the ground. We call on child protection to be adequately mainstreamed throughout mandates and sufficiently resourced. Robust training of TCCs in child protection is also a priority.
Local communities are best positioned to understand their own protection needs and we support the integration of community engagement of the missions and community-based approaches to protection, including through developing appropriate language skills. We welcome the forward-leaning posture adopted by many missions, including MONUSCO, MINUSMA, MINUSCA and UNMISS, and the development of early warning tools to meet this challenge and engage local actors.
Madam/Mr Chair,
The peacekeeping missions’ focus on peacebuilding remains essential to preparing for transitions and delivering sustainable peace and stable societies. Peacebuilding initiatives have to be supported by coordinated, predictable, and sustainable funding.
The women, peace and security agenda remains an essential pillar for sustainable peace. Research shows that the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of peacebuilding and peacekeeping is the best guarantor for lasting peace. The promotion of the WPS agenda is also a matter of effectiveness. Within the EU, we are promoting gender equity through the EU Strategic Approach to Women, Peace and Security. We strongly advocate for the inclusion of gender analysis in all phases of mission planning and implementation, and recommend troop- and police-contributing countries to increase, at all levels, women’s full, equal and meaningful participation to peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.
We welcome the Secretary General's emphasis on increased accountability and his efforts to strengthen the system's ability to deal with sexual exploitation and abuse swiftly and decisively. The fact that cases of sexual exploitation and abuse are still being reported shows that the Secretariat’s efforts to improve accountability must continue and must be strengthened. The EU is ready to continue the support for the effective implementation of the zero-tolerance policy and the insistence on zero-impunity for all civilian, military and police personnel in UN and other international peace operations. All deployed personnel must be prepared to meet the highest standards of conduct and discipline. All allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by uniformed personnel must be addressed in an adequate and timely manner by TCCs and PCCs. We encourage the Secretariat to follow-up vigorously on each and every substantiated allegation.
Madam/Mr Chair,
The need for effective UN engagement in all aspects of peace and security, including peacekeeping, remains undiminished. The EU will work towards this goal and look forward to engaging with all negotiators, the Secretariat, facilitators and the bureau to make sure that the C34 contribute to an efficient response.
* The Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.