United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed addresses the UN Security Council Open Debate on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations at the UN headquarters in New York, Aug. 29, 2017. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed said Tuesday that it is imperative to engage in strong collective action and enhance collaboration and partnerships in peacekeeping operations. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed said Tuesday that it is imperative to engage in strong collective action and enhance collaboration and partnerships in peacekeeping operations.
Speaking at the UN Security Council Open Debate on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Mohammed said sustainable development "cannot be achieved in the absence of the conditions for peace."
She added that implementing all the UN Sustainable Development Goals will make an enormous contribution to the Sustaining Peace Agenda.
"We need to deepen ties with regional and sub-regional partners, the World Bank, which is drastically increasing its involvement in conflict-affected countries, and the International Monetary Fund, which is seeking to reduce the destabilizing influence of corruption, to ensure better investment in peace," she said.
"Prevention measures and peace processes must be driven by national leadership and inclusive ownership that recognize the needs and contributions of all segments of society, including women and youth as agents of development and peace," she noted.
Speaking of peacekeeping reform, Mohammed said that "we need to improve how we review peacekeeping operations, in consultation with our development and humanitarian partners, and ensure a strong human rights and gender focus."
Mohammed stressed the role of women in peacekeeping operations, noting that "women are the first to bear brunt of conflict, endure through transition and are expected to lay foundation for peace."
In all fields of peacekeeping, women peacekeepers have proven that "they can perform the same roles, to the same standards and under the same difficult conditions as their male counterparts," Mohammed said.
The deputy secretary-general pointed out that sustaining peace "understood as a process and a goal to build a common vision of a society" underlines the "comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centered" approach of the 2030 Agenda.
Looking ahead, "we must work together to ensure that peacekeeping lives up to its full potential as an essential tool for sustaining peace -- not in isolation but as part of our new, integrated approach," she said.
