The Security Council passed resolution 2167, which recognizes the importance of partnerships with regional organizations for peacekeeping. Along with the vote there was a debate on the changes to UN peacekeeping. The Secretary-General stated that cooperation with regional partners for peacekeeping is based on the comparative strengths of each organization. The experiences of African-led peace resolutions and the UN’s other experiences collaborating with the African Union (AU) and the European Union in peacekeeping in Mali and the Sahel have provided good examples for effective cooperation in the future.

Mr. Popowski stated that as this year marks the 20^th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, it is particularly apt to undertake this stocktaking exercise on peacekeeping cooperation with member states and regional organizations. He raised two points regarding recent developments on peacekeeping cooperation. First, despite the increasing importance of regional organizations such as the AU in peacekeeping in Africa, the UN peacekeeping budget on the continent still has to be very large, as AU peacekeeping forces alone are not enough to support peacekeeping operations. Second, while peacekeeping cooperation among organizations has been enhanced since the release of the Brahimi Report, further cooperation is needed in the areas of assessment and management. Ambassador Antonio spoke on the complementarity between regional structures and the UN in peacekeeping missions, and that there should be a more dynamic interpretation of Chapter 8 of the UN Charter in order to facilitate closer cooperation between the UN and regional bodies in order to seize the opportunities of cooperation with the operationalization of the African Standby Force in 2015.

Member states contributed to the debate following the vote on the resolution. The Rwandan representative, who is the President of the Council for the month, cited political legitimacy and leverage, knowledge of regional culture, and access to local resources as reasons why it is appropriate for regional organizations to contribute to peacekeeping.

Meeting Title : 7228^th Meeting of the UN Security Council
Speakers: H.E. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Macije Popowski, Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service; Tete Antonio, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations; Permanent Representatives of Rwanda, United States, United Kingdom, Rusian Federation, China, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Australia, Chad, Nigeria, Chile, Jordan, France, Republic of Korea, Argentina, Pakistan, Japan, Sweden, Brazil, Italy, Guatemala, Spain, Turkey, Malaysia, Romania, Indonesia, Thailand, Estonia, New Zealand, Aremnia, Ireland, Malawi, Egypt, Fiji, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Germany, The Philippines, Morcocco, India; Eirini Lemos-Maniati, NATO Senior Civilian Liaison Officer to the United Nations.
Date: 28 July 2014
Location: Security Council Chamber, United Nations HQ, New York
Summary Written By WIT Representative: Harrison Chung
Edited By: Marli Kasdan