United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting Will Address Critical Gaps, Focus on Strengthening Operations in Ghana, 5-6 December

NEW YORK, 22 September (Department of Peace Operations) — The United Nations Secretariat and Ghana today announced that the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting will take place in Accra on 5 and 6 December.

At a press conference in New York, Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, together with senior United Nations officials, said this flagship biennial meeting will help secure much-needed political support and generate pledges to strengthen UN Peacekeeping, in line with Action for Peacekeeping and Action for Peacekeeping-Plus, the implementation strategy for 2021-2023.  This will be the fifth UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting and the first to take place in Africa.

UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meetings focus on securing concrete commitments from Member States to fill critical gaps, leverage new technologies and address key priorities to improve the operational effectiveness of peacekeeping missions.

With missions navigating unprecedented challenges and threats, this year’s event will focus on critical issues such as the protection of civilians, strategic communications and addressing misinformation and disinformation, safety and security, mental health of uniformed peacekeepers and the pivotal role of women in peacekeeping.

“As a long-standing troop- and police-contributing country to UN Peacekeeping since the 1960s, Ghana acknowledges the long and positive track record of peacekeeping in Africa and believes that UN Peacekeeping has a future and remains indispensable and invaluable in advancing peace in conflict settings globally.  It is therefore pertinent that the world remains resolute in our commitment to guarding jealously this multilateral tool and fully support the Secretary-General’s initiatives such as the Action for Peacekeeping and A4P+ [Action for Peacekeeping-Plus] which are essential to improving the effectiveness of modern-day peacekeeping and tackling the security challenges of our time,” said Ms. Ayorkor Botchwey.

“UN Peacekeeping is a global partnership with peacekeepers from over 120 countries deployed in some of the most challenging places in the world to help save lives, prevent conflict, and create conditions for lasting peace,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.  “The 2023 Ministerial is an important opportunity for leaders to reaffirm their commitment and make pledges to UN Peacekeeping, which remains one of the most significant multilateral tools to achieve sustainable peace and development.  We are grateful to Ghana for hosting this Ministerial meeting and for their critical contributions to strengthening our operations.”

Member States are also being encouraged to create or strengthen bilateral and triangular support and partnerships to ensure proposed improvements are sustainable and have the required impact.

Highlighting the significance of the Ministerial Meeting taking place in Africa and the importance of partnerships, Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support said:  “Ghana’s and Africa’s contributions to peacekeeping are advancing beyond troop contributions to offering a vital forum in which countries can unite and collaborate on innovative strategies to address current challenges and discuss the future of peacekeeping.  I look forward to the formation of partnerships amongst participants to enhance the effectiveness of our peacekeepers, elevate the quality of their medical care and foster environmentally responsible operations.”

“In addition to the myriad challenges currently before us, United Nations peace operations are also at a critical juncture in preventing and addressing misconduct as a central element of performance,” said Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance.  “This is a collective endeavour”.

The meeting in Accra is the latest in a series of high-level events that have enabled world leaders to pledge resources to help missions fully implement their mandates.  Beyond garnering political support for the work of UN peacekeeping, generous contributions by Member States at similar meetings in New York, London, Vancouver and Seoul have helped generate rapidly deployable military units, key aviation assets, better medical capacities and helped advance the women, peace, and security agenda.

In the lead-up to this year’s Ministerial Meeting, a series of preparatory meetings on key areas identified by UN Member States have set the stage for discussions.  These included preparatory conferences on women in peacekeeping operations, co-hosted by Bangladesh, Canada and Uruguay; mental health support for uniformed personnel, co-hosted by Ghana, Republic of Korea and the United Nations; and safety and security, co-hosted by Japan and Pakistan.  In October, a meeting on protection of civilians and strategic communications will take place in Kigali, co-hosted by Indonesia, Netherlands, Rwanda and the United Kingdom.

For media inquiries and further information, please contact Aditya Mehta, Department of Peace Operations, at tel.:  +1 917 775 4249, or e-mail:  mehta2@un.org; or Hector Calderon, Department of Peace Operations, at tel.:  +1 917 834 3100, or e-mail:  hector.calderon@un.org.

About United Nations Peacekeeping: Since 1948, more than 2 million peacekeepers from 158 countries have served in 71 operations.  Today, over 87,000 women and men from over 120 countries work to build peace in conflict hotspots across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.  More than 4,200 peacekeepers have given their lives while serving under the United Nations flag.