Fiji Supports the UNSG’s Action for Peace

Fiji’s commendable contribution of over 40 years at the United Nations Peacekeeping operations continues to be highly recognised at the United Nations Security Council.

This week, Fiji upon invitation, once again took the global stage at UN Security Council in New York to deliver a statement at the debate on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. The meeting was chaired by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, His Excellency Mr Vassily Alekseevich Nebenzia.

The statement delivered by Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Satyendra Prasad emphasised that with over 40 years of experience in UN Peacekeeping, Fiji brings in highly valued expertise, and that Fiji’s commitment to supporting UN’s mission to promote peace is at the core of Fiji’s foreign policy.

Ambassador Prasad emphasised on the importance of United Nations Secretary General’s (UNSG’s) reforms and he stated that peace missions need both predictable and sustainable funding to fulfil their mandates.

“Fiji welcomes and supports the United Nations Secretary General’s Action for Peace (A4P) Initiative, to reform United Nations Peacekeeping. UN Peacekeepers today face far more complex conflicts than ever before. These call for new training, better force protection, and for highly specialised and newer skills. UNSG’s efforts to reform peace operations needs to be fully and unequivocally supported by all member states.”

Ambassador Prasad said that Fiji through its innovative strategies aspires to enhance its international and regional partnership for global peacekeeping. He thanked Governments of USA, China, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia for their assistance to Fiji in training and development of senior women officers for our UN peace engagements.

“We are working with all Permanent Members of the UNSC – Russia, China, France, UK and the US to enhance our capabilities so as to be able to meet the new requirements. Over the course of next few years, Fiji is firmly commitment to progressively increasing numbers of women across all our peace operations and especially at senior levels. Fiji is now working with Australia and New Zealand, our regional partners, to pool our expertise to better prepare for peace operations,” Ambassador Prasad said.

The UN Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations, Mr Jean Pierre Lacroix also briefed the Security Council on developments in the Action for Peace (A4P) which, was launched by the UN Secretary General H.E António Guterres on 28th March 2018. He highlighted that “peacekeeping is an essential multilateral tool for preventing conflict, reducing the risk of relapse and reaching sustainable peace. UN Peacekeepers play a crucial role, a crucial preventative role where they are deployed, protecting millions of vulnerable people around the globe.”