The challenges we face remain numerous. There have been serious breaches, not...

The challenges we face remain numerous. There have been serious breaches, notably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this summer, when massive sexual violence was perpetrated while our forces were present in the zone. But the Council and the Organization assumed responsibility for the failure and immediately took measures to strengthen its early warning and prevention capacities. One of the main perpetrators was arrested by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the help of the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo. Situations also persist where the forces mandated by the Council do not have the cooperation they need from local authorities, which undermines their action. The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), whose freedom of movement is too often hindered in Darfur, still does not have sufficient access to the population. It often arrives too late, when it does arrive, at the scenes of the crime, such as Jebel Marra. I draw three lessons from these difficulties. First, the Secretariat must develop a strategic framework for every peacekeeping operation on the protection of civilians, as well as specific training modules, and identify the resources and capacities necessary to each. Secondly, peacekeeping operations must develop closer communication with the local population in order to strengthen their ability to prevent and respond to threats posed by armed groups, which involves a linguistic component, as well as adequate logistics and communications.