UN chief demands collective action to tackle challenges to peacekeeping

UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for strong collective action to deal with the serious challenges to UN peacekeeping.

UN peacekeeping faces serious challenges, particularly in four of its largest deployments: Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan, Guterres told the UN Security Council in a high-level debate on peacekeeping.

"UN peacekeeping missions now operate in far more dangerous, complex and high-risk environments. They are under threat from armed groups, criminals and terrorists, who have access to powerful modern weapons," he said.

"UN peacekeepers are often under-equipped, under-prepared and unready for the dangerous environments in which they now operate. There are gaps in command and control, in culture, in equipment and in training," he said.

UN peacekeepers are vulnerable and are targeted for attack, said Guterres. Last year, 59 UN peacekeepers were killed in malicious acts, a sharp increase from 2016, when the figure was 34.

"We are damaging the instrument of peacekeeping, and indeed multilateralism itself, in creating unrealistic expectations. Lives and credibility are being lost," he said. "These challenges require strong, collective action."

He asked to refocus peacekeeping with realistic expectations, to make peacekeeping missions stronger and safer, and to mobilize greater support for political solutions and for well-structured, well-equipped, well-trained forces. Enditem