Peacekeeping is about supporting “political processes towards durable solution”

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Published Jun 22, 2024

Peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said peace operations need to be tasked “with what they can make a difference on, where they have their better added value, and the other tasks need to be carried out by others.”
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Talking to reporters in New York on the occasion of the International Day of Peacekeepers, Lacroix said peacekeeping is about supporting “political processes towards durable solution,” but for that to happen, it needs “a stronger, more united support and commitment from member states.”

He said, “a divided international community” and a divided Security Council, “affects the ability of our missions to reach the goals that are defined in the mandates.”

Those mandates, Lacroix continued, “need to be prioritized” adding that, “this is something not new, we've been repeating that over the years.”

Looking into the future of peacekeeping, he said, “we need to see how we can be better at addressing some of the emerging drivers of conflict. Peacekeeping is increasingly impacted by the impact of climate change and the resulting tension over natural resources. The illegal transnational criminal activities that are massively impacting conflict and sometimes are cause number one in some of the conflict areas in which we are deployed. Illegal exploitation of natural resources and the various trafficking in arms, human beings, drugs and so on so forth.”

The peacekeeping chief said, “when it's just about military prevailing of an entity, then it's peace enforcement, otherwise known as a war. That isn't something that the peacekeepers, the Blue Helmets can do, it has to be done by others.”

Asked about the role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Lacroix said, “should there be a cessation of hostilities and the implementation of some of the proposals that are put forward by some of our member states to both Israel and Lebanon, should there be progress towards implementation of Resolution 1701, then UNIFIL is expected to play a role by both sides.”

He said, we would certainly need to adapt to these new circumstances, but I want to make it very clear again, it is not UNIFIL which is able to implement resolution 1701. It's an enabler. Peacekeepers and peacekeeping operations are an enabler, but it's for the parties to do that primarily.”