Distinguished Secretary-General,
Distinguished Under-Secretary Lacroix,
Peacekeeping is often referred to as multilateralism in action.
Since it joined the United Nations, Italy has championed this idea by dedicating constant support, top-level peacekeepers and state-of-the-art technologies to UN peacekeeping missions worldwide, becoming the largest contributor of troops among Western countries to UN peacekeeping.
Italy’s commitment to peacekeeping is rooted in the belief that peace operations must aim not only to preserve, but also to build peace.
Today, we are urged to adapt peacekeeping to new security threats and a different geopolitical context, but the success of over 75 years of missions must give us the courage to look to the future with confidence and to ask ourselves not “if”, but “how” UN peacekeeping will continue to play a decisive role.
Our work should focus on two major dimensions.
The first is the “political” dimension of peacekeeping, as a peacekeeping operation is effective and sustainable as long as it is supported by a shared political will, starting with the Security Council where we sit today.
The second dimension concerns the operational effectiveness of peacekeeping.
Resources and objectives must be up to task in the face of the new security challenges in highly complex scenarios.
Adequate consideration needs to be given to modern threats to the conduct of peacekeeping operations and the security of peacekeepers, with particular reference to hybrid threats (including disinformation and cyber threats), emerging and disruptive technologies (such as drones), and, potentially, artificial intelligence, making more and more essential the implementation of intelligence and analysis capacities at both strategic and tactical levels.
We commend the Secretariat for the effective efforts it has undertaken to this end, also on the technological and digital front.
At the same time, we believe it is important to continue working on several dimensions including: revision of contingent organization in response to modern threats, to be increasingly credible and dissuasive towards actions hindering the implementation of mandates; adjustment of operations to new scenarios, also to avoid space for non-state actors; enhancement of defense capacity building activities in stabilization processes, based on common quality standards; standardization of peacekeepers’ training and performance measurement; adaptation of training processes, including during operations, to improve the adaptive capacity of contingents; adaptation of training cycles, taking into account that a large part of the activities carried out by an operation may develop in “urban” environments; integrated planning at the UN HQ level, possibly including through a strengthening of functions of the UN Office of Military Affairs, which could operate as an Operational HQ.
In this spirit, Italy has allocated growing voluntary financial contributions to UN Peacekeeping.
To conclude,
Reconciling these two dimensions – political sustainability and operational effectiveness – will be one of the main challenges for the future of peacekeeping operations.
Focused mandates, tailored to specific situations, may help to match goals with the resources that are actually available, also facilitating synergies with host countries.
At the same time, we should not lower our level of ambition, nor hesitate or give up on the prospect of launching new peacekeeping operations whenever they are necessary.
With the right adjustments, and an effective integration with peacebuilding activities, peacekeeping can continue to be a key engine of peace and stability, as it has been since the birth of the United Nations.
And Italy will continue to be its resolute and relentless supporter.
Thank you.
