PRESS BRIEFING ON PEACE OPERATIONS CHALLENGES

Challenges of Peace Operations:  Into the 21^st Century, the concluding report of a five-year project in support of United Nations peacekeeping operations, was presented this afternoon by Swedish Foreign Minster Anna Lindh and Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar, head of the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping, United Service Institution of India, at a Headquarters press conference.

Today, stated Minister Lindh, the international community often acted too late in the face of conflicts.  When it did act, it must do so more efficiently. The Report’s 14 chapters provided 69 practical recommendations on how to improve peace operations and on preparations for peacekeeping and peace support.  The project underlined, for example, the importance of cooperation between the military and civilian components of peace missions as well as the importance of education and training.

The Report also stressed the role of women in peace operations, the role of information and the possibilities of new technologies in peace operations, she added.  It tried to provide practical ways to improve the effectiveness of peace operations.  The Report should not be seen as the final step but as one step to promote peace operations and was in line with the recommendations of the Brahimi report.

Lt. Gen. Nambiar said the Report was directed at member countries, without whose support no peace operation could succeed, whether it was by the United Nations, regional arrangements or any other organization.  Many of the ideas that had arisen from the various seminars were similar to those put forward by

Mr. Brahimi. 

For example, he continued, the Report stated that much more attention and priority needed to be given to training and education in peace operations, while recognizing that it was basically a national responsibility to train peacekeepers.  The strongest feature of the whole process was that it reflected a broad cross-section of military, police and civilian expertise from around the world.

As to any areas in which the Report differed from the Brahimi Report,

Ms. Lindh noted that the two were basically in line with each other.  In fact, the Report paid tribute to the Brahimi report, which was fundamental for the continuation of peace operations in the United Nations.

A correspondent noted that recently there was a tendency to shy away from peacekeeping operations in favour of forces that could be assembled more quickly, such as in the case of Afghanistan.  Asked for her reaction to that, Ms. Lindh stated that the recommendations would be the same whether preparing for peacekeeping operations or what’s known as “coalitions of the willing”.  What was important was that the United Nations be in the centre whether it was traditional peacekeeping missions or such coalitions.  The Report would be just as beneficial in a more rapid process as it would be in a traditional one.

Regarding the non-military components of peace missions, she said that several of the recommendations contained in the Report addressed how to enhance cooperation between the military and non-military components of missions. 

Gen. Nambiar added that the Report had highlighted the centrality of the United Nations and that anything that was done should be done under the aegis of the Organization.  It was recognized that the United Nations could not handle everything that came up and take up responsibilities across the globe.  Also, during the seminars, the reluctance of some countries to participate in United Nations peace operations in the more difficult areas was also discussed.

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