The protection of civilians is greatly enhanced when the police and civilian ...

The protection of civilians is greatly enhanced when the police and civilian components of peacekeeping missions are also involved. Hence, there is the need to strengthen the police component and integrate civilian capacities, particularly in the rule of law sector. That is indispensable to helping a country to fully resume national ownership and responsibility in the crucial area of protecting civilians. Today, there is greater attention to understanding and advancing the protection of civilians. Thanks to remarkable efforts, there have been improvements in United Nations peacekeeping operations' ability to protect, but more needs to be done to transform our ambition into realities on the ground and to establish precise benchmarks to monitor implementation. Resolution 1674 (2006) reaffirms the principle of the responsibility to protect. As we have stressed on previous occasions, that principle should not be perceived in an adversarial manner but rather as an instrument available to the international community for settling conflicts, provided that the conditions referred to in paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 Outcome Document are met. The informal interactive dialogue of the General Assembly on early warning, assessment and the responsibility to protect was an important step towards understanding and implementing the concept. We look forward to new opportunities to continue that dialogue.