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UN / PEACEKEEPERS TRAINING
STORY: UN / PACEKEEPERS TRAINING
TRT: 1:55
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 07 MAY 2019, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
07 MAY 2019, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, ambassadors speaking prior to meeting
4. Wide shot, Indonesian Foreign Minister presiding over Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“Training saves lives. Our peacekeepers are deployed to increasingly complex and often hostile environments. Training prepares them for their vital peacekeeping tasks and improves their performance. And as we know, improved performance reduces fatalities. As such, training is a necessary and strategic investment in peacekeeping – and is a shared responsibility between Member States and the Secretariat.”
6. Wide shot, Guterres addressing Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“We are encouraged that the number of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping appears to be decreasing. But we are also mindful that we must be vigilant in our prevention efforts and seek accountability whenever the zero-tolerance policy has been violated. We must continue to do so in strong partnership with Member States.”
8. Med shot, ambassadors
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Retno Marsudi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Indonesia:
“Female peacekeepers are more effective in winning the hearts and minds of local population, providing comfort for those traumatized from conflicts. There is strong evidence that women’s participation in peace processes increased the likelihood of sustained peace by 20 percent, contributed to longer, more resilient peace. We must therefore make peacekeeping more conducive for female peacekeepers by working in partnership.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
UN chief António Guterres said improving peacekeepers training “saves lives,” adding that it is a “necessary and strategic investment.”
The Secretary-General spoke today (07 May) at the Security Council’s open debate on peacekeeping training, as well as capacity building. He noted that improving training is a major shared commitment of his Action for Peacekeeping initiative.
With peacekeepers deployed to “increasingly complex and often hostile environments”, Guterres said training prepares them for “vital peacekeeping tasks and improves their performance” which in turn reduces fatalities.
The Secretary-General said one of the UN’s key priorities is strengthening conduct and discipline, noting his encouragement that the number of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping “appears to be decreasing.” But, Guterres stressed that we must be “vigilant in our prevention efforts and seek accountability whenever the zero-tolerance policy has been violated,” in strong partnership with Member States.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the new political and security realities have created enormous challenges for peacekeepers. She stressed that one-size-fits-all approaches were not sufficient and avodacted for mission-specific approaches. Marsudi said engaging local communities was also essential and underscored that peacekeepers’ capabilities should go beyond basic soldiering skills and must be complemented with soft skills such as communication and trust building.
Marsudi highlighted the importance of women in peacekeeping. She said, “Female peacekeepers are more effective in winning the hearts and minds of local population, providing comfort for those traumatized from conflicts. There is strong evidence that women’s participation in peace processes increased the likelihood of sustained peace by 20 percent, contributed to longer, more resilient peace. We must therefore make peacekeeping more conducive for female peacekeepers by working in partnership.”
The Indonesian Foreign Minister also noted that training should be adaptive based on the challenges peacekeepers face adding that this required proper investment and partnership among member states.
The Security Council endorsed a Presidential Statement which represents the first document by the Council focusing on training and capacity building. The document aims to promote the performance, safety and security of peacekeepers and support the Secretary-General’s ‘Action for Peacekeeping’ initiative, which has been supported by 151 countries and four international and regional organizations.
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