[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-76px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.19.5″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
21 February 2023<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
Mr. USG<\/i><\/p>\n
Mme. USG<\/p>\n
I am delighted to join you for the opening of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations\u2019 substantive session.<\/p>\n
I congratulate Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad Bande and the Bureau on their election. I think its is a good choice and I wish them all the best.<\/p>\n
As we begin today, allow me to give tribute to all Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ peacekeepers who have paid the ultimate price in our collective pursuit of peace since 1948.<\/p>\n
To honor their sacrifice, let us do our part to maintain the peace they courageously worked to uphold.<\/p>\n
Dear Friends,<\/p>\n
It is often said that peacekeeping is international solidarity in its truest form.<\/p>\n
Nations from around the world, represented here in the \u201cC34\u201d, put forward their most precious resource \u2013 their people \u2013 in support of peace.<\/p>\n
Peacekeepers are the most visible aspect of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ\u2019s work \u2013 the human face of its ideals in the darkest corners of conflicts.<\/p>\n
They also embody crisis management and transformation on the ground.<\/p>\n
Peacekeepers enter a conflict setting, help to manage a crisis, and, ideally, leave behind a society transformed.<\/p>\n
They go where no one is wishing to go, often becoming targets for attacks themselves.<\/p>\n
Not a single month passes without an attack on a blue helmet.<\/p>\n
Excellencies,<\/p>\n
Dear colleagues,<\/p>\n
This year, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ marks the 75th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of its flagship enterprise.<\/p>\n More than seven decades of supporting political processes and local communities, protecting civilians, and promoting human rights.<\/p>\n If this history has taught us\u00a0anything<\/i>, it is that we have the capacity to adapt and innovate.<\/p>\n The \u201cAction Plan for Peacekeeping\u201d initiative and its implementation strategy are two prime examples.<\/p>\n Let us use this anniversary to take stock of where we are headed \u2013 and change course, where needed.<\/p>\n Along the way, I encourage you to ask the tough questions.<\/p>\n Let me mention you some:<\/p>\n How you answer these questions in the \u201cC34\u201d today will determine whether Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ forces are ready for the emergencies of tomorrow.<\/p>\n In this context, I look forward to the Secretary-General\u2019s elaboration of the New Agenda for Peace.<\/p>\n Dear Friends,<\/p>\n The Special Committee has a great responsibility: to carry out a comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations.<\/p>\n This is no easy task, we know. So, I am asking you to set aside your differences as much as you can, as much as possible, or maybe beyond that. Build upon areas of common understanding and prioritize consensus.<\/p>\n To adopt an ambitious report, you may spend hours on a chapter \u2013 even a sentence.<\/p>\n As you do so, I implore you to remember the more than 87,000 men and women from 121 countries who are proudly serving the cause of peace today.<\/p>\n Dag Hammarskj\u00f6ld, who presided over the creation of the first Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ peacekeeping forces, said \u201cthe\u00a0pursuit of peace \u2026 can never be relaxed and abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n I stand ready to assist you in any way as you undertake this critical endeavor.<\/p>\n Thank you very much, and many thanks Mr. Chairman.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 21 February 2023 Mr. USG Mme. USG I am delighted to join you for the opening of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations\u2019 substantive session. I congratulate Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" 10 November 2022<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\r\n Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\r\n Afghanistan is in crisis. It is in many crises.<\/p>\r\n It has been 15 months since the Taliban consolidated control over the country.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Its economy is in ruins. The humanitarian situation is disastrous.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Two-thirds of the population is hungry.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Girls and women are banned from learning, having a job or getting proper medical care.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The country is awash with heroin and opium.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Organized crime and terrorist organizations are thriving once again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Afghanistan is facing complex and interlinked challenges that the Taliban have shown they cannot \u2013 or would not \u2013 solve.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\r\n It is time to support the Afghan people with concrete solutions that place their needs front and center.<\/p>\r\n It is true that some problems will require some time to resolve.<\/p>\r\n But there are actions the Assembly can take to change the paradigm now.<\/p>\r\n I would like you to consider one solution through solidarity.<\/p>\r\n The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan \u2013 which requires $4.4 billion US dollars \u2013 is only half funded.<\/p>\r\n With winter weather just weeks away, I encourage Member States to provide urgent support to help reduce the $2.3 billion dollar shortfall.<\/p>\r\n Let\u2019s remind ourselves of the old saying from Afghanistan: \u201cA real friend is one who takes the hand of his friend in times of distress and helplessness.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Excellencies,<\/p>\r\n Afghanistan has a rich history of scientific achievement.<\/p>\r\n I encourage the country\u2019s reengagement with the international science community.<\/p>\r\n And\u00a0to allow women who used to be respected members of the country\u2019s science community to resume their research and their studies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Afghanistan is now the only state in the world that would deny girls their full right to education.<\/p>\r\n The prospect of girls\u2019 education has been left to uncertainty amid seemingly random edicts from the Taliban.<\/p>\r\n This time last year, Fawzia Koofi, the first woman Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Parliament, recalled her dream of one day addressing the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ as the President of Afghanistan.<\/p>\r\n She said:\u00a0\u201cWith me, millions of girls and women in Afghanistan had this dream that now they think will never come true.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Dreams of becoming President have been replaced by the reality of child marriage. Arrests if women and girls leave their home without a male chaperone.<\/p>\r\n I reiterate my call for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of all Afghans, especially women and girls.<\/p>\r\n Similarly, I urge the Taliban to ensure the safety of all Afghans, regardless of gender, ethnic background, religious belief or political affiliation.<\/p>\r\n To protect journalists and civil society members.<\/p>\r\n To allow unhindered humanitarian aid, and to cooperate with humanitarian workers.<\/p>\r\n We expect the Taliban to make good on the commitments they made to the international community.\u00a0To show honesty through\u00a0concrete action.<\/p>\r\n Excellencies,<\/p>\r\n The dramatic changes of 2021 have taken a massive toll on Afghanistan\u2019s economy and profoundly widened many security risks.<\/p>\r\n\n