NAM welcomes the Action for Peacekeeping Initiative

Non-Aligned Movement has highlighted the role of the United Nations Peacekeeping in achieving peace and post-conflict reconstruction. However, UN Peacekeeping Operations face a number of challenges such as peacekeeping fatalities and security for peacekeeping personnel. To address such challenges, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres launched the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) Initiative on 28 March 2018. In his remarks to Security Council High-Level Debate on Collective Action to Improve UN Peacekeeping Operations, the Secretary General stated that A4P aimed at mobilizing all partners and stakeholders to support the great enterprise of United Nations peacekeeping.

The A4P initiative aims to strengthen peacekeeping by spurring collective action by all peacekeeping stakeholders, including all Member States, the Security Council, the General Assembly, financial contributors, troop and police contributing countries, host countries, intergovernmental and regional organizations and the UN Secretariat. A4P is working towards the fulfilment of 45 mutually agreed commitments within the following eight areas: Politics, Women Peace and Security, Protection, Safety and Security, Performance and Accountability, Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, Partnerships and Conduct of Peacekeepers and Peacekeeping Operations.
Non-Aligned Movement has underscored the value of the A4P Declaration of Shared Commitments adopted during the High-Level Meeting held on 25 September 2018, on the margins of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly, which is aimed at ensuring collective efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of UN Peacekeeping, in order to address the changing realities.

The Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations affirms the primacy of politics in the resolution of conflict and the supporting role of peacekeeping operations therein, and reaffirms the basic principles of peacekeeping, such as consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force, except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

NAM has also welcomed the gendered dimension of the A4P initiative. The Declaration commits to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda and its priorities by ensuring full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all stages of the peace process and by systematically integrating a gender perspective into all stages of analysis, planning, implementation and reporting.

NAM Member States have commended the launch of the Action for Peacekeeping initiative. The Philippines commended the leadership of the Secretary-General for the launch of the Action for Peace or A4P initiative, lauded the Secretariat for the comprehensive consultations and recognizes the efforts of the Member States for producing a balanced coherent, concise and strategic political document on the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations. Through the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative, the Philippines has expressed its steadfast committed to contribute to UN Peacekeeping Operations, cognizant of their strategic contributions to sustaining peace.

India has endorsed the Declaration of Shared Commitments on Peacekeeping. India views partnerships as a useful tool to build capacities of Troop and Police Contributing Countries. As a tangible demonstration of this. India also highlighted the important role of women peacekeepers. India deployed the first ever all-women formed police unit in Liberia, whose professionalism has inspired many Liberian women. India has also reached the target of contributing 15% women military observers.

NAM Member States have also expressed their keenness to translate the Declaration of Shared Commitments into a practical, balanced, integrated and mutually reinforcing implementation framework. NAM welcomed, in this regard, the “High-Level Regional Conference on Enhancing Performance of Peacekeeping Operations: From Mandate to Exit”, held from 18-19 November 2018, in Egypt, which resulted in the “Cairo Roadmap”.

The Cairo Roadmap places the issue of peacekeeping performance in a balanced, concurrent and comprehensive framework of shared responsibilities by all stakeholders, including the Security Council, the UN Secretariat, troop and police contributing countries, financial contributors and host nations, from the early stages of mandate design until the mission’s exit. NAM has also acknowledged that all relevant stakeholders need to redouble their efforts in translating their commitments into practices, including in all relevant UN bodies, as well as at field level, including the General Assembly and the Security Council in their consideration of peacekeeping, and to meet periodically in relevant UN formats to review progress, including at field-level.