Discorso pronunciato dall’Ambasciatrice Mariangela Zappia, Rappresentante Permanente dell’Italia presso le Nazioni Unite, all’Evento Onu su “Improving Peacekeeping Performance: A Year Since UNSCR 2436” —
I thank the United States for organizing this meeting. I also want to thank our friends from Vietnam, Uruguay, Senegal, Portugal and India, and of course the Secretary General for his observations this morning, and the Secretariat, because we have noticed an increased commitment precisely on performance of the peacekeeping operations and I think we have to underline that. Thank you for that.
Let me first remind that Italy is the largest contributor of peacekeepers in the group of Western Europeans and other groups. We are very proud of our important contribution, we are proud of our peacekeepers. We also provide the command of UNIFIL, which is an important mission in a very delicate area. Also for this reason, we are fully committed to improve the performance of the peacekeeping operation.
Looking at resolution 2436, I would like to focus my remarks on three aspects to enhance the performance of UN PKO: Protection of Civilians, Training, Technology.
Also, I want to say that I could really support many of the very interesting observations that have been made by colleagues up to now.
On Protection of Civilians, the Kigali Principles and the Vancouver principles should be fully implemented by peace operations, especially with regard to child protection. This must be a priority.
Member States and the Secretariat should ensure accountability mechanisms are set up for effective POC implementation, notably through revised terms of reference, appraisal/evaluations systems, and reporting and investigation mechanisms on POC implementation.
Member States should also support initiatives aiming at mitigating the risk of civilian harm and serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. In particular, Member States should mandate resource missions to regularly issue protection of civilians’ reports.
Training and capacity-building activities should not be viewed as one-off activities, but rather as tools to enhance operational effectiveness throughout the mission life-cycle, calibrated to the specific context of every mission.
Italy welcomes the multiform mechanisms established by the DPO to coordinate and share information on training activities and gaps. Tools such as the “light coordination mechanism’’, the Peacekeeping Capabilities Readiness System, and the Uniformed Capabilities Requirements go in the right direction
Steady dialogue between the UN Secretariat and TCCs and PCCs as well as among TCCs and PCCs, and their own training centers.A fruitful and articulate cooperation is already in place with the UN and several Member States. Over the past years, our military training centers, like the CoESPU in Vicenza, the Post-Conflict Operation Study Centre in Turin and the Security Force Assistance Centre of Excellence, located near Rome, have provided specialized training and capacity building to well over ten thousand military and police officers from 118 Countries and 17 International Organizations. The Italian training pledges for 2019 encompass a wide range of courses for more than 700 military and police units.
And lastly, Technology. As the Secretary General said this morning in his remarks, technology is also key to increase the safety and security of peacekeepers and their performance.
As a Troop Contributing Country, we are very concerned about the safety and security of the Blue Helmets, and we consider the Santos Cruz’s Report and its action plan, as well as the independent mission review, timely and opportune measures.
The use of UAVs in MONUSCO has provided enhanced situational awareness to the mission, and played a fundamental role for the safety and security of the peacekeepers, as well as for the protection of civilians and humanitarian actors.
Let me also recall the creation by Italy and Bangladesh of the Group of Friends on the management of the environmental impact of field missions throughout their lifecycle as an example of innovative approach to the PKO performance on the ground.
Finally, we should not forget logistics. The capacity for operations to deliver and accomplish their mandates is closely related to the swiftness of deployment and to the operational effectiveness of field missions. Italy provides full support to the UN Global Service Center located in Brindisi, which is a fundamental hub providing logistic support to peacekeeping around the world.
I thank you.
