Madam President, 

I wish to thank Under-Secretary-General Lacroix, MINUSMA Police Commissioner Madam Boughani and UNISFA Police Commissioner Ms. Lusala for the briefings. I wish to take this opportunity to pay my highest tribute to all peacekeepers and peacekeeping police officers who work on the frontline delivering the mandates. I wish to also congratulate Superintendent Malla of Nepal on being presented the award of the UN female police officer of the year 2021. 

Police are an important force in ensuring the safety and security of citizens and maintaining social order. Over the past decades, the role of the UN police in UN peace operations has gained more and more prominence, and its place in the UN peace and security architecture has become increasingly important. At present, the international security situation is more complex, and security threats are much more diverse. The UN therefore should make better use of the UN police components. And in this connection, I wish to make the following points. 

First, it is important to have the positioning right. The A4P initiative launched by the Secretary-General makes the political solution of hotspot issues a top priority. When designing the police mandates of the peacekeeping operation, it is always necessary to bear this point in mind and reflected throughout the actual work. China hopes that MINUSMA’s police component will continue to assist with the implementation of the agreement of peace and reconciliation in Mali for the restoration of the Malian Government's state authority in the central region. UNISFA’s police component has made outstanding contributions to the maintenance of local public order. Efforts should continue to promote Sudan and South Sudan in the establishment of joint police service in Abyei. The ultimate goal of UN police work is to get the local counterpart ready to resume the policing responsibility rather than acting as the substitute. In Haiti, the UN, for nearly three decades, has made significant efforts. However, as the host government did not take on its responsibility, the relevant efforts failed for some time to achieve the desired results. The international community should learn lessons of the past, and conduct more robust training for the Haitian police so as to assist them in effectively fulfilling their responsibilities and progressively addressing the problem of local gangsterism.

Second, it is essential to strengthen capacity building. The Secretariat, the host states, as well as troop, police and financial contributors, in accordance with the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations, should effectively honor the commitments, shoulder their respective responsibilities, provide full fledged training, and secure sufficient resources to ensure that each and every member of the UN police has the skills and equipment needed for mandate implementation and self protection. The ultimate purpose of a performance assessment is also to improve capabilities. The Comprehensive Performance Assessment System (CPAS) is being rolled out to all peacekeeping operations. We hope that on the basis of the assessment, targeted measures will be taken to address weaknesses and shortcomings. When it comes to protecting vulnerable groups, promoting women's participation and strengthening community engagement, female police peacekeeping officers have the unique advantage. PKOs should provide equal opportunities for women in terms of training, recruitment and promotion. In logistics and security, women-focused arrangements should be made so as to gradually increase the number of female police officers. 

Third, it is imperative to ensure the safety and security of personnel. as Under-Secretary-General Lacroix often says, one death is one too many when it comes to peacekeepers. Like other peacekeeping personnel, the security risks faced by UN police have increased significantly in recent years. China calls for full implementation of the Security Council Resolution 2518 to enhance safety and security support for peacekeepers in a comprehensive way. China welcomes the establishment of a focal point for safety and security of peacekeepers by the Secretariat, as per this request by the special committee on peacekeeping operations. We believe this will help the Secretariat strengthen internal-external coordination and improve emergency response capacity. As the chair of the group of friends on the safety and security of UN peacekeepers, China will convene a meeting of the group this month to discuss how to better strengthen camp security in peacekeeping missions. 

Madam President, 

Since the initial deployment in PKOs in 2000, Chinese peacekeeping police officers have accomplished various mission tasks under difficult circumstances. They set the record for no rule violation, no repatriation, and no combat casualty. Since 2015, through the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center, China has also assisted other PCCs train thousands of peacekeeping police officers. China stands ready to continue to support, promote and participate in UN peacekeeping operations and work together with all peace loving countries around the world to make its efforts and contributes to maintain international peace and security, and build a world secure for all. 

In conclusion, I have a question that I would like to put forward to the two police commissioners. The mandate of the peacekeeping police is different from that of the peacekeeping forces, and the associated risks are also very unique. The specificities of Mali and Abyei are somehow representative. What do you think are the weakest links in enhancing the security for the peacekeeping police? What are the areas that need to be further strengthened the most? And what measures should be taken?

I thank you, Madam President.