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 India,
which holds this month’s rotating presidency of
the 15- member Council, noted that total expenditure
for UN peacekeeping in the last two decades was
under $50 billion, reportedly less than the annual
outlay for the International Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
Yet ISAF has roughly the same number of personnel
as the UN is fielding in 15 operations around
the world for a total outlay this year of less
than $8 billion.
In a presidential statement read Aug 27 by India’s
permanent representative Hardeep Singh Puri, the
Council also stressed the role of the United Nations
peacekeepers in supporting efforts to promote
political processes and peaceful settlements of
disputes.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for greater
flexibility and funding to meet the ever more
complex needs of missions that currently field
some 100,000 blue helmets in hot spots around
the world.
“We may be entering a new phase, with diverse
and multifaceted situations where peacekeeping
may play a role,” he said, noting that the number
of uniformed personnel in UN peacekeeping operations
has doubled in the past 10 years, reaching a high
point of more than 101,000 last year.
“Peacekeeping will need to evolve to meet specific
demands in a variety of environments and to flexibly
and nimbly bring together multiple capabilities
in a coherent and effective manner.”
“Peacekeeping is one of the most visible, difficult
and critical roles played by the United Nations.
It is also a role which only the UN can play in
a truly global sense,” he observed.
(IANS)
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