Ambassador Djani,
Under-Secretary-General Lacroix,
Under-Secretary-General Khare,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank the Permanent Mission of Indonesia for initiating this meeting. China is glad to co-host the first Triangular Formula Meeting.
Peacekeeping is an important tool of the UN to maintain international peace and security. The Security Council, the troop-contributing countries and the Secretariat are three major parties that ensure the success of UN peacekeeping operations. Training and capacity building, safety and security, and performance are three aspects that matter to peacekeeping operations. We look forward to a discussion that helps to enhance triangular cooperation in the above-mentioned areas to make UN peacekeeping more effective.
Training should be strengthened throughout the process. Sufficient and targeted pre-deployment training and necessary equipment should be made available to peacekeeping personnel. During deployment, Missions should carry out training according to the situations on the ground. The international community needs to strengthen capacity building of TCCs which are also developing countries, through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
High priority should be placed on safety and security of peacekeepers. Their safety and security concerns the result and reputation of peacekeeping operations. The Secretariat and Missions should provide quality support to peacekeepers, ensure provision of security and medical materials, strengthen early warning and response to emergencies, and improve the ability of tackling complex conditions.
A holistic approach is needed to improve performance of peacekeeping. The UN Secretariat, Missions, and the military, police and civilian components of peacekeeping operations have a shared responsibility of improving peacekeeping performance. The performance assessment system needs to be optimized and the troop contributing countries should be fully involved.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As a permanent member of the Security Council and a major contributor of troops and funds, China firmly supports and actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations. As we speak, more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are serving in eight missions around the world, undertaking tasks including demining, medical treatment, engineering, transportation and security guard. They have proven a peace-loving force of professionalism and discipline.
China is comprehensively implementing the commitments made by President Xi Jinping to further support UN peacekeeping operations. We have established an 8,000-member peacekeeping standby force and two standby formed police units, which have completed the registration with the UN PCRS system. Some are capable of rapid deployment within 60 days.
China’s Peacekeeping Center and Peacekeeping Police Training Center not only provide quality pre-deployment training to Chinese peacekeepers, but also assist with peacekeeping capacity building of developing countries through holding international training programs and sending trainers abroad.
Since its inception, China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund has made peacekeeping capacity building and safety and security of peacekeepers as its priority. Since 2016, financial support has been given to dozens of programs, including the Secretariat’s study on improving safety and security of peacekeepers, workshops on safety and security of high-risk missions, tackling improvised explosive devices (IED) and first aid training. In 2018, the Trust fund supported eight training programs, training more than 200 people. In 2019, 15 such programs will be organized.
China will continue to work with UN Secretariat and the member states to further improve UN peacekeeping to honor its commitment to multilateralism and world peace.
Thank you.