Peacekeeping

As the concept note puts it, the experience of the past 15 years offers many challenges and opportunities for modern peacekeeping operations with protection-of-civilians mandates. We believe that such protection can be achieved only through the concerted efforts of integrated civil, military and police components with peacekeeping operations.

When it comes to protection, international humanitarian law should be respected by all parties to a conflict. That is why, in January in Kenya, the Netherlands organized a training course for military and civilian representatives from 11 African countries on gender awareness and the prevention of sexual violence in peacekeeping.

Peacekeeping missions must be better prepared and outfitted for that part of their mandate, and we must all chip in. The Netherlands is sending a peacekeeping unit to Mali, and we deploy experts in the protection of civilians and sexual and gender-based violence in various United Nations missions

Civilian protection is complex and requires multidimensional provisions and different competencies and skills for each vulnerable group: women and children subject to horrific atrocities; child soldiers; survivors displaced by force or, for lack of choice, taking refuge in camps where they are often defenceless against armed attacks and harassment; victims maimed by mines and other indiscriminate munitions; and those dying of the indirect effe

This year we are marking the twentieth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. It is also 15 years since the adoption of resolution 1265 (1999). During this period, we have seen a number of positive developments relating to the role of United Nations peacekeepers in protecting civilians.

Furthermore, as peacekeeping has grown to encompass the broader humanitarian approach, it is worth underlining the importance of strengthening our efforts to increase the number of female peacekeepers in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Their role and presence in United Nations peacekeeping missions have been critical, including in supporting peacebuilding and protecting civilians.

In the past two years, we have had the privilege of having contributed to the development of the evolving conceptual framework behind the protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict.

We therefore welcome actions such as taken by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to break the cycle of violence, rape and death affecting thousands of civilians and in particular women and children.

We strongly support the Secretary-General's “Rights up front” initiative and call for its swift implementation. The initiative, if taken seriously, has the potential not only to help peacekeeping missions to better protect civilians, but also to place the overall goal of protecting people at the centre of the Organization's policies throughout the system.

Whatever the strength of the protection-of-civilians mandates given to peacekeeping operations, they will be effective only if the operations themselves are beyond reproach. That is why we welcome the policies implemented by the Secretary-General to ensure that the work of the United Nations fully respects human rights.