Peacekeeping

United Nations peacekeeping has saved and protected tens of millions of lives around the globe. It helps shattered communities and neighbourhoods rebuild themselves. It replaces strife with harmony. Brave women and men in the peacekeeping missions have made tremendous sacrifices in the cause of peace. More than 3,000 peacekeepers have laid down their lives to save the world from the scourge of war. Today we collectively pay homage to them.

The contribution of women in peacekeeping operations requires special acknowledgement. Often, women in peacekeeping missions serve as a source of inspiration to women and girls in conflict-ridden parts of the world. On its part, Namibia has heeded the Secretary-General's call by nominating women to serve in various United Nations peacekeeping missions.

I also want to underline that women have to be included as active participants in peacekeeping missions and in all peacebuilding activities, including in decision-making roles, because we know that peacekeeping and peacebuilding processes involving the participation of women have a better chance to succeed.

Peacekeeping operations are at the heart of the work of the United Nations. Today, they are more complex and diverse, working in increasingly difficult environments and in situations that can suddenly change. In order to meet that reality and given the fact that security, development and the rule of law are intrinsically linked, the great majority of peacekeeping operations are now multidimensional.

A multilateral dimension requires that United Nations peacekeeping activities should effectively respond to arising conflicts, new political challenges and threats to peace. Today, we can definitely say that the potential of United Nations peacekeeping activities has significantly increased in both quantitative and qualitative terms.

The fourth point concerns gender. There is a crucial element common to peacekeeping and peacebuilding that is conspicuous by its absence in the concept note for today's debate (S/2013/4, annex). Perhaps the single most transformative step towards ensuring the success of peacekeepers as early peacebuilders would be the deployment of more women on missions.

This debate provides us with yet another opportunity to look into an important tool in the architecture for the maintenance of international peace and security: peacekeeping operations. Those operations, in a changing international situation that is increasingly complex, have had to adapt and now function in a different way to how they were originally conceived.

Two areas that we believe are central to peacekeeping and peacebuilding are the protection of civilians and women, peace and security.

Argentina supports peacekeeping operations taking on a multidimensional character when specific circumstances justify it, as long as their mandates include support and assistance for Governments of the countries in which missions are operating.

The United States remains deeply concerned about violence targeted at women and girls, especially sexual violence. Not only is it horrific for the victims, but it tears apart the fabric of societies. As Secretary Clinton has said, these acts are not cultural but criminal.