(Check Against Delivery)
Statement by H.E. Mr. Motohide Yoshikawa
Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations
At the General Assembly Plenary Meeting
On agenda item 122: Strengthening of the United Nations system
Report of the Secretary-General (A/70/357) and Document (A/70/95)
12 October 2015
Mr. President,
I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation for your leadership in convening today’s timely meeting. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his report (A/70/357) as well as his briefing today. My gratitude also goes to Mr. Jose Ramos-Horta, Chair of the High-level Independent Panel on U.N. Peace Operations and other Panel members for their excellent report (A/70/95).
Two weeks ago, leaders of more than 50 countries and organizations, including my own, discussed United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) here in the U.N. under the chairmanship of President Obama of the United States. My hope is that the momentum created by the Leaders’ Summit on the issue will give a strong impetus to our upcoming inter-governmental discussion on the two reports on U.N. Peace Operations which are in front of us.
Mr. President,
Let me start by discussing U.N. Peacekeeping Operations. Although not stipulated in the U.N. Charter, Peacekeeping Operations has been an integral part of the U.N. activities on peace and security. High expectations on Peacekeeping Operations expanded its roles and responsibilities. In fact, over the last decade, the number of deployed peacekeepers has doubled from approximately 65,000 to 123,000. The peacekeeping budget for 2004/2005 was approximately $4 billion, but the budget ten years later (2014/2015) has reached a historical high of $8.5 billion.
While acknowledging the excellent work done by Peacekeeping Operations in maintenance of international peace and security, the challenge we face now is how to make Peacekeeping Operations sustainable with limited available financial and human resources.
Mr. President,
Fifteen years ago, we were all involved in finalizing a very comprehensive review on Peacekeeping Operations called the Brahimi Report. I believe the most important sentence of the report is the following: “(Military) force alone cannot create peace; it can only create the space in which peace may be built.” The primary role of military operations is to create space for the political process to achieve a viable peace.
We should conduct a thorough review of Peacekeeping Operations on the necessity of each mission based on this criteria. In this context, military missions which have been deployed for a long time are called into question. I would like to point out that 6 of the current 16 peacekeeping missions have had military troops deployed for more than a decade; 3 of these missions have had troops deployed for more than three decades. Are these many years of military presence not sufficient to give political leaders of the parties to various conflicts the space to build peace? If not sufficient, then how many years more do the peacekeepers have to continue their work?
We should continuously check whether the current configuration of peacekeeping missions and other U.N. instruments for international peace and security, including Special Political Missions (SPMs), is most effective to best achieve sustainable peace.
The two reports requested each mission to be more adaptive to the situation and needs on the ground. To this end, we need to ensure that the mission’s mandate is elaborated on the reality of the field and is responsive to the changing field situation. The Secretary-General should keep a close eye on developments on the ground and make timely and realistic recommendations to the Security Council. The Security Council should review each mission’s mandate in a timely manner to ensure the effectiveness of the mission’s activities. The automatic renewal of mission mandates should be avoided and mandates of prolonged missions should be thoroughly reviewed.
Mr. President,
We also need to enhance our human resources. Even though highly qualified personnel are necessary for today’s Peacekeeping Operations, we very often struggle to meet that requirement. It is a pressing task to increase the number of qualified personnel.
Training is an indispensable tool to creating qualified peacekeepers. The two reports welcomed capacity-building initiatives through “triangular partnership” arrangements between the Secretariat, troop contributors, and third party countries with specific capabilities. The Department of Field Support and Japan jointly launched a pioneering project while Japan contributed approximately $40 million for funding the project as well as trainers. From September, the project started trial training in Kenya and full-scale training will follow next year.
Before closing, I regret to touch upon one negative issue of U.N. Peacekeeping Operations. Recent reprehensible allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, particularly the latest allegations in the Central African Republic, damaged the Organization’s integrity and credibility. The bad news is that this is not the only nor the first such case. Such unacceptable misconduct ruins noble contributions by more than 100,000 peacekeepers being deployed today. Concrete and robust measures against this unacceptable behavior are necessary. To this end, Japan strongly supports the Secretary General’s zero-tolerance policy and calls for immediate implementation of the measures recommended in his report.
Mr. President,
Finally, I would like to mention one point regarding the budgetary issues on all categories of U.N. Peace Operations including Peacekeeping Operations and Special Political Missions. Although the two reports include numerous important initiatives, we are concerned with the possible cost implications. Every single dollar spent by the United Nations comes from taxpayers of the Member States. Therefore, we urge the Secretariat to absorb add-ons, if any, within the existing resources, to the greatest extent possible.
In line with the points that I spoke about today, my delegation will proactively contribute to subsequent discussions on recommendations of the two reports in the relevant bodies of the General Assembly such as the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34), as well as the Fourth and Fifth Committees.
In closing, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all field personnel serving in U.N. Peace Operations and offer my deepest condolences for those personnel who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
I thank you, Mr. President.
