The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations discussed what aspects of peacekeeping should be addressed in the post-2015 agenda.

Kazakhstan stated that the peacekeeping mandate needed to shift from being purely military to include non-military, food, and energy security; the Filipino representative also desired consideration for disease control. Kazakhstan called for the participation of women and consideration of differing ideologies and cultures in missions. The Zambian Permanent Representative echoed these sentiments while paying particular attention to the protection of civilians.

The Permanent Representative of Bhutan supported India’s proposal for a memorial to honor the sacrifices of deceased peacekeepers. Bhutan called for the integration of medical technology and aerial assets in operations. The representative looked forward to the annual report of the High Level Independent Panel on Peacekeeping for practical suggestions.

The Bangladeshi Permanent Representative hoped for effective communication channels between the Secretariat, Security Council, troop contributing countries (TCCs), foreign military contingents, and peacekeepers. Bangladesh pointed towards educating peacekeepers on dealing with specific demographics, having conducted child interaction training with peacekeepers last year.

Japan highlighted the importance of financial sustainability and longer training to increase efficacy.

The Venezuelan, Nepalese, and El Salvadorian representatives stated that force should be a last resort. Venezuela stated that an offensive mandate must respect the UN charter and cannot allow peacekeepers to abuse their legal immunity. However, he also noted that sending poorly equipped peacekeepers to carry out clearly unachievable mandates is counterproductive. To that end, El Salvador called for the recruitment of new TCCs and for their involvement in all stages of mandate drafting.

Algeria and Serbia were concerned of the increasing correlation between peacekeeper casualties and terrorist activity. The former supported training on organized crime and drug trafficking. He also advocated for regional decision-making, referring to the African Union as a successful precedent.

Meeting: Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations 2015 Substantive Session – 241^st meeting
Date & Location: 18 February 2015. Conference Room 2, United Nations Headquarters, New York
Written By WIT Representative: Alis Yoo
Edited By WIT Representative: Philip Bracey