ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Ministerial preparatory meeting in Islamabad on August 30 and 31, Pakistan’s Foreign Office announced in a press note.
The meeting will be arranged under the title of “Safety and Security of UN Peacekeepers.”
Japan is co-host of the gathering being organized at the Centre for International Peace and Stability, Pakistan’s premier training institute offering workshops, courses, and seminars to UN peacekeepers from all over the world, Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press note on Monday.
The foreign minister and the defense minister will deliver keynote addresses in the meeting.
Member countries represented in the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations – comprising 156 states – will participate along with local and international experts, besides top officials from the UN Secretariat, including the Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, and the UN Police advisor.
Panel discussions will be held during the 2-day meeting on different sub-themes to deliberate on capacity-building requirements, safety and security of UN peacekeepers from the perspective of international law, boosting medical capacity of UN peacekeeping missions, and leveraging technology and strategic communication. The gathering will also feature an expert discussion on the threats posed by improvised explosive devices and a briefing on the system of pledging.
The UN Peacekeeping Ministerial is the seminal high-level event for UN peacekeeping, organized biennially with the participation of defense and foreign ministers.
The 2023 ministerial will be organized in Ghana in December, preceded by a series of 4 preparatory meetings, including one being organized by Pakistan, with a focus on specific areas to facilitate concrete results for improving UN peacekeeping operations.
Pakistan’s Contributions
Pakistan is an active player in the area of UN peacekeeping, both at the policy and operational levels. It is among the largest forces contributors and, since 1960, has contributed more than 230,000 men and women peacekeepers to forty-six UN peacekeeping missions in almost all continents of the world, the spokesperson said.
