UN chief appeals to defense chiefs for "unity and backing" on peacekeeping

The first-ever United Nations Chiefs of Defense Conference was held here on Friday with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealing to senior military officials for more contributions and political will to boost peacekeeping operation.

"Peacekeeping is a shared global responsibility that advances the world's common interests," Ban said in his remarks at the conference, calling for "more diverse and more quickly available contributions" from member states.

"It also includes additional 'boots on the ground' from developed countries with more technologically advanced militaries, " he noted.

"We need unity and backing," Ban said. "Effective performance demands broad consensus on why, where and how peacekeepers carry out their mandates."

The historic event brings together chiefs of defense and senior military officials from more than 100 member states to discuss issues central to UN peacekeeping as part of a wider process of engagement by the UN with member states to expand the peacekeeping partnership and promote effective and efficient implementation of mandates.

The conference continues throughout today, with Under-Secretary- General for Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous, and Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, also speaking.

Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, also attended the event.

Ban told the gathered soldiers that threats to peacekeepers " are growing," with more deaths year on year now than ever before.

"Before 2000, there were four times when more than 100 peacekeepers lost their lives in a single year. Since then, we have suffered that tragic toll ten times. Consecutively, 10 times, " he said.

After a moment of silence was marked for fallen peacekeepers, Ban said the role of peacekeeping was first and foremost to protect civilians from violence.

"They also support stabilization and the extension of state authority. They strengthen the rule of law. They address gender inequality. They protect human rights," he said.

In a dangerously complex global security landscape, marked by terrorism, organized crime, civil conflicts and even health crises, peacekeepers were being given increasingly challenging mandates by the Security Council.

According to UN figures, more than 130,000 military, police and civilian staff from around the world today serve in the UN's 16 peacekeeping operations.

"This is our largest deployment in history. It must be matched by a stronger international partnership for peacekeeping," Ban said, stressing that peacekeepers should be able to rapidly deploy into active conflicts that may escalate at any moment, with capacity to move peacekeepers quickly and safely to where they are most needed, and with intelligence capabilities and other support to enable them to fulfill their mandates. Endite