Daily Times

NEW YORK: Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan representative to the United Nations, has told the UN Security Council that political solution must the sole objective of the peacekeeping operations.

Speaking at an open debate on “Protecting Civilians in Peacekeeping Operations”, the Pakistani envoy said that civilians could best be protected by preventing the outbreak of armed conflicts in the first place, addressing the root causes of conflicts, finding inclusive political solutions to disputes and seeking peaceful settlement of conflicts. “The protection of civilians is a system-wide responsibility, with the host country in the lead,” she said.

As one of the world’s top troop contributing countries, Lodhi said, Pakistan had proudly undertaken the task of protecting civilians. “Pakistan has shown in the UN peacekeeping operations that this can be done by a robust deterrence posture, without resorting to the use of force,” she said.

Calling it a mistaken contention that the principles of peacekeeping were somehow incompatible with civilian protection, Ambassador Lodhi said the protection of civilian mandates had traditionally been implemented by Pakistani peacekeepers while adhering to these principles. “The edifice of peacekeeping is based on these principles, and they continue to be the bedrock on which it rests,” she added.

Agreeing that robust mandates are at times necessitated by the situation on the ground, Ambassador Lodhi said that they also pose practical implementation challenges. “Questions raised fifteen years ago by the Lakhdar Brahimi report about the credibility and achievability of a blanket mandate to protect civilians still await convincing answers,” she said.

Dr Lodhi told the 15-member UN Security Council that Pakistan believed women’s participation in peacekeeping operations would help to make them more people-centred and more effective in protecting civilians.

Pakistan emphasised the need for consultations with the troop contributing countries at the time of formulation of Protection of Civilians mandates for their better implementation. The UN Security Council establishes Protection of Civilians mandates and the use of force in defence of the mandates.

Ambassador Lodhi said there was a need to provide peacekeeping missions adequate financial resources and political support. “The conduct of peacekeeping operations needs to be driven by the unique requirements of each mission, not by any political or financial consideration,” she said.

Pakistan, she said, had undertaken the task of protecting civilians, when mandated by the UN Security Council, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Cote d’Ivoire, Central African Republic and Liberia.

Arguing for a broader interpretation of the Protection of Civilian mandates, Ambassador Lodhi said these mandates were primarily interpreted in military terms – the provision of tangible protection under imminent threat. Their scope, she said, should include protection through political action as well as institution and capacity building. “The use of non-military tools such as advocacy and liaison with local communities and building the capacity of national authorities also help to achieve the same objective,” she added.