UNITED NATIONS, New York:Pakistan urges UN to upgrade peacekeeping operations by adopting advanced technologies to improve the safety and effectiveness of missions while maintaining the human presence needed to sustain peace on the ground.
Speaking at a UN Security Council debate on peacekeeping, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said peacekeepers were operating in increasingly complex and hostile environments while facing expanding responsibilities and limited resources.
He said effective peacekeeping required political support, clear and credible mandates, sustainable financing, adequate capabilities, cooperation from host countries and a sustained commitment from UN member states.
Pakistan Urges UN to Upgrade Peacekeeping Operations
Ambassador Ahmad highlighted Pakistan’s longstanding contribution to UN peacekeeping, saying more than 170,000 Pakistanis had served under the UN flag over more than six decades, with 183 Pakistani peacekeepers losing their lives in the cause of international peace.
Pakistan also hosts the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which is mandated to observe the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring to Pakistan’s experience at the Security Council, Ahmad said the country had contributed to the adoption of presidential statements and resolutions on peacekeeping over the past two decades.
Pakistan Warns Against Resource-Driven Cuts
The Pakistani envoy said UN peacekeeping was under significant pressure, noting that no new peacekeeping mission had been established since 2014, while several existing missions had been closed amid political and financial constraints.
He cautioned against viewing the reduction in missions as a decline in international support, noting that UN peacekeeping had gone through periods of expansion and retrenchment since the 1960s.
Ahmad stressed that focused mandates should result in more effective peacekeeping rather than fewer peacekeeping capabilities. He also urged member states not to determine the size and scope of missions solely according to financial ceilings.
He warned against dismantling capabilities that could become essential in future crises.
Guterres Calls for Reset of UN Peace Operations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said peacekeeping should remain a political instrument that supports political solutions rather than replacing them.
He warned that conflicts were becoming more complex, peace agreements less common, and attacks on civilians and peacekeepers more frequent. He also pointed to emerging challenges posed by drones and AI-driven disinformation, alongside declining resources.
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Guterres called for a comprehensive reset of UN peace operations and identified five priorities: putting peacemaking first, strengthening partnerships with host states, adapting mandates to current realities, providing adequate resources and technology, and enhancing cooperation with regional organisations.
He said the UN could not sustain peace where there was no peace to preserve and urged the Security Council to remain united in preventing conflicts and advancing political solutions.
