October 22, 2006	Sunday	Ramazan 28, 1427

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UNITED NATIONS, Oct 21: Pakistan on Friday warned the international community that any peacekeeping deployment envisaged without the support of national governments could be “dangerous and could erode the universal support for UN peacekeepers.”

Noting that “the UN appears to be venturing into a new kind of peacekeeping where deployments are envisaged without the support of national governments”, Pakistan’s UN ambassador Munir Akram told a UN meeting on peacekeeping operations:”We believe the primary focus of the efforts of the UN and the international community should continue to be on conflict prevention and pacific settlement of disputes.”

“In complex crises, this requires addressing underlying causes of conflict, including poverty and underdevelopment; political, social and economic exclusion; ethnic and tribal rivalries; inequitable power sharing, illegal exploitation of natural resources, weapons proliferation and use of mercenaries. We should consider how the UN, including through its peacekeeping capacity, the PBC and other mechanisms, can play a more active role in conflict prevention and conflict resolution.”, Akram stressed .

He told the UN delegates’ meeting on the ‘Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects:’ In our view, this issue together with the concept of a robust mandate; the use of force and the use and deployment of peacekeepers are issues that need to be discussed in more detail by the Special Committee.

Reflecting the nature and scope of UN peacekeeping has evolved progressively over the past five decades, Mr Akram observed: “These integrated operations have diverse mandates, robust rules of engagement and large military, police and civilian components.”

“Complex missions pose complex challenges. Foremost among the challenges is the growing requirement for professional and well-equipped peacekeepers. No less formidable are the challenges of better and effective management, organisation, planning, deployment and logistics, and design and execution of mandates and exit strategies,” he added.

Mr Akram said:”In Pakistan’s view, effectively addressing the challenges and evolution in UN peacekeeping requires action on four fronts: One, ensuring the political commitment of the member states to UN peacekeeping and specific operations; two, provision of adequate and timely resources, both human and material; three, continuing reform and modernisation, both in the field and at UN headquarters; and four, a comprehensive approach to conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace-building.