My delegation very much appreciates the emphasis in the presidential statemen...

My delegation very much appreciates the emphasis in the presidential statement (S/PRST/2010/25) adopted today on the critical issue of communication between peacekeepers and local populations. A positive two-way dialogue is an indispensable element of a comprehensive and effective protection strategy. Valuable resources, such as United Nations radio stations and town hall meetings, must be used more consistently and in an integrated and mutually reinforcing manner. Moreover, for protection strategies to work, the information gathered from dialogue with local populations must feed into effective information-management and crisisresponse mechanisms. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a case that quickly comes to mind in that regard. The production of intelligence to inform protection strategies is vital. Without intelligence, operations will be limited to reacting and responding to events.