S/PV.9475 Security Council

In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the following briefers to participate in this meeting: Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under- Secretary-General for Peace Operations; Mr. Christophe Bizimungu, Police Commissioner, United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic; Ms. Christine Fossen, Police Commissioner, United Nations Mission in South Sudan; Mr. Faisal Shahkar, United Nations Police Adviser, Department of Peace Operations; and Ms. Karin Landgren, Executive Director, Security Council Report. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The intention of this meeting is to be as interactive as possible. We look forward to questions from Council members to the Commissioners and from the Commissioners to the Council. I now give the floor to Mr. Lacroix. Mr. Lacroix: I thank you, Sir, for convening this briefing. I am very pleased to be joined today by the Police Adviser Advisor and the Police Commissioners from our peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic and South Sudan, as well as the Executive Director of Security Council Report. We deeply appreciate the Security Council’s recognition of United Nations peacekeeping as one of the most effective tools available to the United Nations in the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security. All of us gathered here today — Member States, Council members, host countries and military, police and financial contributors — have a stake in the performance and success of peacekeeping operations. At a time when multilateralism and peacekeeping are facing significant challenges, the onus remains on all of us to continue to be proactive to enhance and adapt the tool of peacekeeping. Many challenges to global peace, security and development today, such as a global decline in respect for the rule of law, corruption, disregard for international law, transnational organized crime, attacks on human rights and the shrinking of the civic space, call for unique and specific policing responses. We must work collectively to ensure that the United Nations police (UNPOL) is properly prepared, equipped and resourced to address those challenges. I salute the service and dedication of women and men police officers deployed in our peace operations, who work relentlessly to serve communities in increasingly challenging contexts. And I would like to honour the memory of the five police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty over the past year. Their courage and sacrifice will not be forgotten. As noted in the report of the Secretary-General on the overall performance of peacekeeping operations (S/2023/646), the gap between peacekeeping mandates and what the missions can, in practice, actually deliver has become quite significant, particularly in some of the mission settings. We are doing, and will continue to do, our utmost to strengthen the effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping through the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative, and particularly the areas that we have prioritized within Action for Peace Plus (A4P+) initiative. We have made significant strides in advancing our commitments under the A4P initiative and in fulfilling the priorities of the A4P+ initiative. Rigorous and transparent monitoring of the performance and impact of peacekeeping operations provides the foundation for improving our operations. We recently released the third A4P+ progress report, which, in turn, ensures that we remain on track in the fulfilment of our commitments. The forthcoming report will be provided to the Council in the coming month. However, there is only so much that United Nations peacekeeping operations can achieve alone. Violent conflict is increasing in many parts of the world, and the number, intensity and length of conflicts worldwide are at their highest level since before the end of the Cold War. This is all taking place amid heightened geopolitical tensions, including divisions within the Council. In that context, United Nations peacekeeping operations can only achieve in many cases what I call the intermediate goals of peacekeeping, which include preserving ceasefires, protecting hundreds of thousands of civilians, mediating local conflicts and strengthening institutions whenever possible. Those are very important goals, of course, but the ultimate objective of United Nations peacekeeping is to achieve durable political solutions to conflict. Without the unified political support of Member States — and particularly the Security Council — for political solutions where our missions are deployed, we can serve only to mitigate rather than resolve conflicts. We will nonetheless continue to do our utmost to support political solutions despite being hamstrung. We must also manage our expectations and recognize that those intermediate goals of peacekeeping are important ends in and of themselves. The United Nations police play a notable role in achieving many of the goals. The first priority of A4P+, which is ensuring coherence behind political strategies, acknowledges that entities across the United Nations system bring to bear varied resources and leverage that can support and influence a country’s political trajectory. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations police has been involved in various national and local-level engagements, as part of a political strategy, in cooperation with regional and subregional partners, and transition planning. The United Nations police is supporting national electoral processes by training the Congolese National Police on public order management to help ensure the security of elections and, more generally, further build its capacity. The second A4P+ priority focuses on strengthening synergies through greater strategic and operational integration across mission components. The United Nations Police Division continues its efforts to utilize the Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System, including the development of police-related impact indicators to improve accountability for performance. The next priority of A4P+, which is ensuring the highest levels of accountability to peacekeepers, is critical in improving the safety and security of our personnel. In support of the implementation of the Action Plan to Improve the Security of United Nations Peacekeepers, the United Nations police has conducted in-mission performance assessment and evaluation team visits to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan this year, and we are working with police-contributing countries to address any shortfalls, in particular those related to contingent- owned equipment or command and control. The peacekeeping ministerial meeting in Accra, Ghana, next month will be an important opportunity to help to ensure United Nations peacekeepers are well trained and well equipped. The United Nations police continues its efforts to create an enabling environment and foster a gender- responsive working environment and accommodation. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, multiple projects have been implemented for the benefit of women military and police peacekeepers, including an increase in the ratio of shared ablutions, the refurbishment of living accommodations and the construction of dedicated recreational areas. The United Nations police also continues to enforce zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse through enhanced predeployment and in-mission training. Regarding strategic communications, which is the sixth priority of A4P+, the United Nations police contributes to the efforts by the Department of Peace Operations to proactively counter misinformation, disinformation and hate speech. That includes more recently a French-language training course on countering hate speech and disinformation during the electoral cycle, which was developed by the Standing Police Capacity and conducted recently in the Central African Republic. The women and peace and security agenda is infused in all aspects of A4P+. To enhance the protection of women and girls in vulnerable situations, the United Nations police remains focused on strengthening engagement with civil society and women’s rights organizations. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, long-standing community-based partnerships with disabilities-focused organizations have improved the effectiveness of police services and outreach to disabled women and girls in communities. In South Sudan, to address protection risks for women, UNPOL has conducted several gender-responsive patrols informed by an analysis of threat levels to women, based on the information collected from the community and intelligence sources. Furthermore, with the support of Member States, the United Nations police has already achieved its gender parity targets for 2025 in most categories of personnel, with women currently comprising almost one in five United Nations police officers, including 30 per cent of individual police officers and 16 per cent of members of formed police units. A4P+ is part of a renewed collective engagement to strengthen peacekeeping as an invaluable instrument for peace and security and an expression of international solidarity. Through it, we are better though not sufficiently placed to address today’s challenges to peace and security and, ultimately, to improve the lives of the people we serve. This annual briefing to the Council is an opportunity to reaffirm the vital role that the United Nations police plays across the conflict-prevention spectrum, from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. It provides a forum to discuss some of the key priorities for United Nations policing, through which we aim to support the Member States in fostering representative, responsive and accountable police services that serve and protect people. We are very grateful for Council members’ continued and strong support for A4P commitments and A4P+ priorities and for their generous contributions of highly qualified police personnel to serve with the United Nations police.

I thank Mr. Lacroix for his briefing. It will be very helpful and valuable to our discussion at this meeting. I now give the floor to Mr. Bizimungu.

It is a great honour for me to present to the Security Council the work of the police component of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in building the capacity of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), that is, the police and gendarmerie of the Central African Republic, in support of the implementation of the Mission’s mandate and political strategy. In that context, the United Nations police (UNPOL) performs three essential types of activities  — training and technical assistance for the ISF, infrastructure and equipment support, and institutional assistance  — in order to establish a professional police and gendarmerie capable of serving the people of the Central African Republic on the basis of democratic principles. I will limit my remarks to two essential points. First, I will summarize the work undertaken by the United Nations police component of MINUSCA as part of efforts to reinforce ISF capacities. Secondly, I will present the tangible impact of those efforts on the ISF. First, the achievements of MINUSCA police in ISF capacity-building are numerous and useful. In terms of training, UNPOL has contributed effectively to the selection of new ISF recruits to ensure a transparent and inclusive recruitment process, as provided for in the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic. UNPOL also has participated in the training of recruits and provided logistical support for the trainings. Since 2019, 3,476 new elements have been recruited and trained with UNPOL support. In parallel, since 2018, UNPOL has given 371 specialized training courses, namely, in dealing with cases of gender-based violence or hate speech for a total of 10,493 ISF members. Many of the courses were trainer training courses, so that UNPOL-trained ISF members could, in turn, train their colleagues. UNPOL also provides training to ISF members during joint patrols. In 2022, 7,663 joint patrols were conducted with the ISF. UNPOL has also provided considerable support to the ISF in terms of infrastructure and equipment support. Since 2018, MINUSCA has supported, through the police component, the building or rehabilitation of 68 police and gendarmerie stations and air transport for the deployment of ISF in the interior of the country. Over 1,300 ISF members have benefited from such transport in 2022 alone. In terms of institutional support, UNPOL has contributed to the drafting of key texts essential to the existence of a professional police force and gendarmerie. Those include the draft decree on the organization and functioning of the Office of the Inspector General of the National Gendarmerie. It is important to mention that all those achievements have been facilitated by the excellent cooperation that exists between UNPOL and the Central African ISF. Having briefly presented the achievements of the United Nations police component of MINUSCA in terms of ISF capacity-building, I will now illustrate the tangible impact of those achievements on increasing the capacity of the ISF. The impact of MINUSCA police efforts on building the capacity of the ISF is significant. In 2018, the ISF was virtually absent in the country and unable to provide basic services to the population. Today, thanks to the joint efforts of the Central African Government and MINUSCA through its police component, the ISF are present and operational both in Bangui and across a large swathe of the country. We have seen a real improvement in public order and crime control in the country. UNPOL’s efforts are also having a major impact on respect for human rights within the ISF, thanks to the various training courses provided with the support of MINUSCA’s Human Rights Division, as well as to the effective collocation of UNPOL and ISF in virtually all police and gendarmerie stations, where we provide continuous advice on the handling of legal cases. Thanks to that action by UNPOL, the concept of human rights is gradually being internalized by the ISF. Let me take the Central African Office for the Suppression of Banditry as an example. In the past, that Office was characterized by gross human rights violations. In May 2022, UNPOL began co-location with the Office after demanding strict respect for human rights. During the first seven months of co-location, the Office had released 186 persons who had been illegally detained. The Office also resolved the situation of 20 other persons who had been detained without trial for more than a year, releasing nine and referring 11 to the public prosecutor. Today the Central African Office for the Suppression of Banditry has been completely transformed into a service demonstrating much greater respect for human rights, thanks to the goodwill of the Central African police authorities, mutual trust and the joint efforts of the MINUSCA police component and the human rights division. It is also important to mention the impact of UNPOL co-location at the Special Criminal Court. UNPOL advises and supports national judicial police officers in the investigation and preparation of Special Criminal Court cases, transmitting to them invaluable expertise. Through its co-location, UNPOL contributes significantly to the fight against impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Central African Republic. It is encouraging to note that the authorities of the national police and gendarmerie continue to publicly express their satisfaction with the impact of UNPOL’s support, as well as with the state of good relations of trust and mutual respect among UNPOL, MINUSCA and the ISF. In conclusion, MINUSCA has carried out many ISF capacity-building projects through its police component, which has produced a significant impact. Today the ISF has more capacity to provide police services to the Central African population. Moreover, the national police and gendarmerie authorities are very grateful to UNPOL for its crucial support. However, much remains to be done. The police component of MINUSCA will continue to expand its footprint in the Central African Republic for the implementation of the Mission’s mandate, in particular the protection of civilians, the strengthening of the rule of law and the restoration of State authority.

I thank Mr. Bizimungu for his briefing. I now give the floor to Ms. Fossen. Ms. Fossen: I thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to brief the Security Council. Twenty-three years ago, on 31 October, the Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security  — the first to recognize the impact of conflict on women and girls and to address the urgent need to mainstream the gender perspective into our peace and security interventions (see S/PV.4213). Over two decades later, as we acknowledge the hard-won gains, we must also remain cognizant of the gaps and challenges that lie ahead. The New Agenda for Peace notes that the United Nations is now at an inflection point. Indeed, peacekeeping and United Nations policing are at a critical juncture where we must interrogate, assess and adapt if we are to continue to positively impact the lives of the people that we are called upon to serve. Amid a challenging global geopolitical environment, threats such as gender discrimination, adverse climate events such as flooding and droughts, climate-related conflict and food insecurity have become more entrenched and disproportionately affect women and girls. It is therefore imperative that our interventions to protect civilians continue to take into consideration the gender dimensions of new and emerging threats. For example, in Bentiu, South Sudan, four years of incessant rainfall, flooding and the resultant limited access to firewood and livelihood opportunities for women coincided with a spike in reports of sexual and gender-based violence. As we continue to experience clear linkages between extreme weather patterns and gender, it is apparent that we must enhance our understanding of those new dimensions, as well as the nature of our policing response, including training, sensitization and trust-building. In Renk, in Upper Nile, which has seen the arrival of more than 350,000 returnees and refugees — predominantly women and children — from the Sudan, an argument over access to resources resulted in armed clashes between two communities. A similar scenario played out inside the Malakal protection of civilians site. A disagreement at a water point led to fighting between the Nuer and the Shilluk peoples, which resulted in at least 17 deaths. The Nuer community subsequently departed the site for Malakal town, giving rise to additional protection challenges. In both Renk and Malakal, United Nations police (UNPOL) played a critical role in quelling tensions, protecting civilians and providing safe passage to women and children by supporting United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) forces in the extraction and relocation of civilians under threat. In addition to violence between communities, alarmingly, sexual and gender-based violence continues to be a pervasive threat across South Sudan. In the third quarter of 2023, the UNMISS human rights division documented at least 50 incidents of sexual violence classified as sexual and gender-based violence. Compared to the second quarter, that represents a 150 per cent increase in incidents and a 122 per cent increase in the number of victims. While that spike may be a result of more women coming forward to report, the scale and the extent of those crimes remains behind a shadow of stigma, silence and taboo. It is clear that UNPOL can no longer conduct business as usual. New, innovative and enhanced interventions related to gender-responsive policing are required. The New Agenda for Peace provides a road map for that transition, which validates our ongoing interventions on the ground. Please allow me to reflect on the ongoing work of UNMISS and UNPOL in South Sudan, from which valuable lessons may be drawn by others. They are linked directly to the approaches and priorities identified in the New Agenda for Peace. First and foremost, we must continue to insist on and support women’s representation and participation in all decision-making. That participation has to be meaningful and include women from all communities and groups. South Sudan’s national action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) is a good starting point that enables UNPOL to strengthen the participation and leadership of women. As the transitional period envisioned by the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan nears conclusion, with elections foreseen in December 2024, the Mission has continued to facilitate efforts to promote the participation of women in national, State and local institutions and mechanisms. Secondly, while establishing the legal and logistical framework for the parties to conclude the transitional period with credible elections is critical, equally important is the requirement to unify the security architecture through the necessary unified forces, including the South Sudan National Police Service. As stated by Special Representative of the Secretary-General Haysom in his briefings to the Council, a stable security environment, including the deployment of the necessary unified forces, is essential for creating a political and civic space that is conducive to both elections and future sustainable development. For UNPOL, that means a strategic shift towards increased capacity-building for the SSNPS to respond to any pre-electoral and electoral violence, taking into consideration the specific threats to women and girls. In parallel, UNPOL has prioritized building the capacity of women officers through our SSNPS women’s network initiative. An environment conducive to fostering sustainable peace requires the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, young people and marginalized groups in all aspects of governance. I believe that trust- building, as a foundation for improved relationships between those groups and law enforcement, is a vital first stepping stone, and women officers will continue to play a critical role in that endeavour. Despite the recognition that women play an important role in achieving sustainable peace, the lack of women in SSNPS leadership positions remains a challenge, especially as we move towards elections. The national action plan clearly identifies female leadership as an overall goal. To support that, UNPOL is exploring the possibility of a project-funded, competence-building initiative for women officers, qualifying them to compete for leadership positions. Thirdly, with the renewed mandate underlining the Mission’s responsibility to protect civilians across South Sudan  — and not only in our area of operation  — an expanded geographical footprint, accompanied by proactive, robust deployment, continues to be pivotal. In my briefing to the Council last year (see S/PV.9189), I described the efforts made to enhance the physical protection of civilians, with addressing sexual and gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence at the forefront. Since then, our project- based specialized police team has continued the close cooperation with SSNPS trainers to deliver training to the SSNPS Special Protection Unit on sexual and gender- based violence and conflict-related sexual violence. The train-the-trainers programme is considered a success, already yielding results through cascading training and skills within the SSNPS. The specialized police team is also evolving those efforts through the conduct of customized training of our own UNMISS individual police officers across all field offices, taking into consideration the specific context and nuances of each of the 10 states and three administrative areas. Those trained individual police officers will then further impart local training, thereby significantly expanding the outreach and scope of sexual and gender-based violence investigations. At the national level, that will enable the specialized police team to redirect resources towards enhanced monitoring, advising and mentoring of the local police. UNPOL also continues to maintain close cooperation with the UNMISS military component, including in the field, through integrated patrolling and co-location. UNPOL is therefore able to reach women across the country, especially the those living on the outskirts, and increase the monitoring and investigation of sexual and gender-based violence. The New Agenda for Peace highlights the importance of addressing impunity for perpetrators while facilitating services and protection for survivors. Experience shows that a continuous presence is critical in order to exact societal changes related to cultural behaviour and reporting. The Mission is therefore working towards a rotation-based UNPOL presence in all field bases, including temporary operating bases and all team sites. UNPOL and the UNMISS Human Rights Division have established a practical framework for operational coordination and cooperation towards enhancing information-sharing, human rights reporting, early warning and joint monitoring of human rights incidents, including conflict-related sexual violence and sexual and gender-based violence. Joint field visits by UNPOL and the Human Rights Division are effective and beneficial to both entities. The close collaboration between UNPOL, the Rule of Law Advisory Section and the Human Rights Division has further enhanced the implementation of the UNMISS Accountability Strategy for South Sudan. Joint technical assistance and capacity-building provided to rule-of-law institutions at the national and state level continue to strengthen accountability for human rights violations and abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence, while ensuring access to justice for victims and their families. Other efforts across the Mission, such as the training of civilian and military justice actors on the investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence, as well as support to the deployment of court martials and circuit and mobile courts to remote areas without a permanent presence by justice actors, have also strengthened the capacity of the justice chain. As Council members can surmise, UNMISS is committed to doing more with less. The Mission has continued to explore new interventions and approaches. For instance, recently in UNMISS, UNPOL welcomed the deployment of additional Arabic-speaking women police officers, who have allowed us to have a deeper reach within communities. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that gender- responsive policing continues to be a central part and approach of the UNMISS mandate. I am proud of the work and initiatives undertaken by UNMISS. We continue to make a difference every day. I thank the Council for the opportunity to share my experiences.

I thank Ms. Fossen for her briefing, which helped us to understand more about the work of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. I now give the floor to Mr. Shahkar. Mr. Shahkar: I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this meeting. I am pleased to join Under- Secretary-General Lacroix, the police commissioners from our peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic and South Sudan and Ms. Karin Landgren, the Executive Director of Security Council Report. Allow me to begin by highlighting some key challenges facing the United Nations Police (UNPOL) and reflecting on our accomplishments in contributing to the advancement of the Action for Peacekeeping initiative and the New Agenda for Peace. When it comes to challenges, our work continues to be affected by varying relationships and levels of trust between host-State government institutions and missions. Let me stress that successful police capacity- building and development efforts are undermined and, in fact, impossible, when host-State consent is lacking or withdrawn. According to the discussions of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, there is also a need to align contingent-owned equipment with the new statement-of-unit requirements, which reflect changing operational realities on the ground, such as the increased threat from improvised explosive devices, especially in settings such as that in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We would also welcome increased support from police-contributing countries, including through the timely deployment of capacities, without caveats, enhanced welfare arrangements in collaboration with the Secretariat and, importantly, the endorsement of the Fifth Committee to match mandated policing tasks with adequate resources. With respect to accomplishments, United Nations police have continued to improve the lives of the people we serve. For example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo police component supported capacity-building efforts of the Congolese National Police, including on the protection of civilians, the identification and investigation of incidents of sexual and gender-based violence and training on interviewing and investigation skills. In Mali, despite the difficult political and security context, the United Nations police continued its activities in accordance with resolution 2640 (2022) until 1 July, before the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali ended. Within the framework of implementing the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali and the central stabilization strategy, UNPOL provided support to the Malian security forces in their gradual redeployment to the central and northern regions of the country. That support included projects aimed at constructing or rehabilitating facilities and supplying equipment and fuel for specific civil protection operations. As part of the logistical support, United Nations police supported the deployment of 57 Malian police officers to Ménaka from Gao. To support the extension of State authority in the Central African Republic, the United Nations police notably deployed 14 individual police officers to Sam Ouandja and Mobaye in February and April respectively, extending its footprint and allowing it to adjust its layout in coordination with the force of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic and other sections to improve early-warning systems. Building on its mandate to support wholesale reform efforts in several settings, United Nations police continued to advocate for the inclusion of women in police-reform stakeholder arrangements, ensuring their representation and therefore their ability to take decisions on police-reform steering boards, and to promulgate policies on gender equality in the various police services and provide gender-responsive policing training, as established in the Strategic Guidance Framework for International Policing. The Standing Police Capacity sustained and reaffirmed the increased relevance of United Nations policing in helping to prevent conflict and respond to emerging policing requirements for our current peace operations where mandated. This rapidly deployable operational asset also regularly assessed the existing capacities and capabilities of missions and host-State law-enforcement agencies, with a view to further improving the way United Nations police work in order to enhance their pivotal role within United Nations peacekeeping and beyond. The United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing, which is co-chaired by the Department of Peace Operations and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, made progress in enhancing policy coherence and dialogue. Building on General Assembly resolution 77/241, which recognized the work of the Task Force, we launched a communications campaign to highlight the positive multiplier effect of United Nations policing, while the Task Force’s joint efforts resulted in the development of a manual on non-coercive investigative techniques, capping a year-long effort to establish international norms on human-rights-compliant policing and investigations. At Headquarters, we continue to strengthen trilateral collaboration, including through the biennial United Nations Chiefs of Police summit. Efforts are under way for a fourth summit, which will be convened in 2024 and will contribute to triangular cooperation between the Security Council, police-contributing countries and the Secretariat on all policing matters. Throughout this year, we have also continued to enhance our United Nations police performance regime, based on the Strategic Guidance Framework. We have made significant strides in operationalizing the United Nations Police Training Architecture Programme and hope to reduce the gap between policy and practice through the now mandatory Strategic Guidance Framework online course. Furthermore, our regular performance assessment and evaluation team helps us identify and certify the evolving capabilities and capacities required for deployment in specific mission contexts, as well as verifying the in-mission performance of units and individual police officers. To help us achieve our goals, we would appreciate Council members’ further support. We have a critical need for individual police officers with expertise in countering organized crime — including environmental crime — terrorism, forensics, crime analysis, community- oriented policing, sexual and gender-based violence, gender mainstreaming and improvised-explosive-device risk awareness and mitigation. For formed police units, we require francophone and mixed-gender units that are available for rapid deployment and equipped with state-of-the-art capabilities, including special weapons and tactics, rapid reaction, canine and riverine elements. In addition, we seek police teams specializing in community- oriented policing, environmental crimes, public-order management, border policing and forensics. If we are to further the digital transformation of peacekeeping, we will require social-media monitoring and analysis tools for use as early-warning mechanisms, live high- resolution video-feed capabilities and personnel who are proficient in data analytics and management, cybercrime investigations and cybersecurity. I would like to conclude by reiterating that the sustained leadership and continued political engagement of Member States are indispensable to the success of the United Nations policing.

I thank Mr. Shahkar for his briefing. I now give the floor to Ms. Landgren. Ms. Landgren: On behalf of Security Council Report, I thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to address the Council on United Nations policing in the context of the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace. United Nations policing is a profoundly valuable tool in United Nations efforts to strengthen the rule of law and protect populations in vulnerable environments. It merits prominent discussion by the Security Council and the General Assembly as part of the reflection on the future of peace operations that the New Agenda for Peace recommends. The New Agenda for Peace also takes up the linkages between conflict and criminal interests in a context of resurgent inter-State conflict and the internationalization of conflicts. Strikingly, it notes that between 2015 and 2021 organized crime was responsible for as many deaths as all armed conflicts combined. That is what my remarks will focus on today  — United Nations policing in connection with organized crime. Most United Nations peace operations, both peacekeeping and special political missions, work in environments affected by organized crime. Criminal groups can play significant spoiler roles in peace processes. Illicit activities  — particularly trafficking in narcotics, gold, timber and other natural resources, armaments, human beings, financial flows and more  — fuel armed groups and drive instability. Indeed, a well-known saying has it that many conflicts are now more about greed than grievance. The Council has referred to organized crime in several contexts, including the challenge that organized crime poses to State authority. Council resolutions have especially linked criminal activities to non-State armed groups. In establishing the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali in June 2013, for instance, the Council spoke of the urgency of addressing the serious threats posed by transnational organized crime in the Sahel, including its links to terrorism. Non-State actors may also compete with the State and even co-opt it as they acquire political influence. Organized crime can become embedded in State institutions. One United Nations study suggests that organized crime may be best understood as a strategy adopted by a range of conflict actors, including the State, to achieve their objectives. The Security Council has highlighted the important role that United Nations police components can play in building the capacity of host-State policing and other law-enforcement institutions to address organized crime, particularly by supporting immigration and maritime security and crime prevention, response and investigation. The United Nations and its peace-operations partners have brought a range of policing responses to organized crime. In settings such as Timor-Leste and Kosovo, United Nations police have had executive policing mandates in which they assumed responsibility for law enforcement. In Haiti, the United Nations acted robustly against gangs and gang violence, notably during the deployment of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, using its troops and police, including formed police units, as well as intelligence. In Mali, the United Nations component established a specialized serious and organized crime unit. For police actions to be effective in this sensitive area also requires a functioning and brave judiciary. In Guatemala in the 1990s, to address that, the United Nations supported bringing in external judicial capacity. Although the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti is not a United Nations police (UNPOL) mission, its task of supporting the Haitian National Police to address gang violence will benefit from United Nations experiences and lessons learned in that regard. In its adoption of resolution 2699 (2023) last month, the Council acted under Chapter VII, having determined that the situation in Haiti continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security and to stability in the region. One year earlier, on 21 October 2022, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2653 (2022), establishing a sanctions regime on Haiti whose designation criteria include engaging in or supporting criminal activities, and violence involving armed groups and criminal networks. Let me mention in that connection that the work of United Nations Panels of Experts is notably valuable in shining light on the murky topic of organized crime. There are two more peace and security contexts in which policing responses to organized crime may prove important. The first context is that of transitions. Speaking at this meeting in 2021 (see S/PV.8901), Under-Secretary-General Lacroix pointed out that UNPOL contributes to host countries’ post-conflict transitions, noting its role in facilitating the drawdown of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur and the transition to the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan, providing interim policing, police-planning capacities and knowledge transfer. It seems vanishingly rare for United Nations police to remain on the ground once troops have left, but is it logical that they should depart at the same moment as other uniformed personnel? Moreover, while organized crime is also a matter for development actors, the departure of United Nations peacekeepers, often when national institutions remain fragile, is a high-risk moment for the independence of the judiciary and for the security sector. Some criminal actors will view that as an opportunity. In short, the role of United Nations policing in transitions probably merits greater focus. The second circumstance that could also benefit from further Council consideration is that of the type of enforcement action discussed in the New Agenda for Peace. In situations where conflict continues, it is necessary to understand the political economy of the war  — who benefits from it, and how  — and to establish strategies for addressing that particular driver of conflict. Lucrative criminality can strongly disincentivize peace, but it can be challenging for partners to agree on a context analysis; that is one lesson learned from the Hybrid Operation in Darfur. Questions for the Council here could be: where enforcement or peacekeeping action is conducted by a regional organization or a coalition authorized by the United Nations, what is the role of United Nations policing, and who will be responsible politically for taking up the sensitive issue of organized crime? In the discussion to date of enforcement by regional actors, it is not clear that there has been any discussion of the potential policing role. That would now be timely. A further question is the extent to which United Nations country teams are truly able to take on the spectre of organized crime that threatens a sustainable peace — for which the Council’s engagement has provided such important political backing. United Nations police make up some 12 per cent of United Nations uniformed personnel but play critical roles the justice chain, in the protection of civilians and in interfacing with communities. I am fortunate to have worked with United Nations police officers and formed police units as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General at the United Nations Mission in Liberia between 2012 and 2015, and to have observed the work of United Nations police in Bosnia and Herzegovina when I served with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the early1990s. United Nations policing faces high expectations, as mandates make clear, and an ever-toughening political environment for peace operations. Also, addressing organized crime is high-stakes work. The Council’s anticipated reflection on the future of United Nations peace operations could provide the opportunity for the Secretariat to present on, and for Member States to consider in depth, organized crime and the role of the United Nations police with other actors in supporting stabilization and longer-term peace.

I thank Ms. Landgren for her briefing. The views shared by Ms. Landgren in her statement represent a unique perspective with regard to the role of United Nations police and the issues to be addressed going forward. She provided us with a great deal of food for thought, which will certainly be very helpful for our deliberations in this meeting today. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of China. At the outset, I would like to once again thank Under-Secretary-General Lacroix and our Police Commissioners —Commissioner Bizimungu, Commissioner Fossen, Adviser Shahkar  — and Ms. Landgren for their respective briefings. United Nations police (UNPOL) are an important component of United Nations peace operations and have played an essential role over the years. I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to pay high tribute to all United Nations police officers serving in United Nations missions across the world. Today’s annual dialogue represents an important opportunity, not only for the Security Council and the Police Commissioners of various missions to discuss policing-related topics but also for deliberation on the overarching and fundamental issues facing United Nations peacekeeping operations. Currently, United Nations peace operations are confronted with unprecedented situations and challenges, and United Nations peace operations are in need of reform and transformation. In that context, United Nations policing should continue to play its role, only better. In support of United Nations efforts to respond to new situations and challenges, in his New Agenda for Peace, Secretary-General Guterres laid out important recommendations on strengthening peace operations. The Secretary-General’s report on the comprehensive assessment of the overall performance of United Nations peacekeeping operations, issued this past August (S/2023/646), offers a valuable reference in that regard as well. In the light of the situation we currently face and of the Secretary-General’s recommendations, I would like to make the following points. First, there is a need to make peacekeeping mandates more realistic. For many long-standing United Nations peace operations, their mandates have become increasingly complex and unwieldy over the years, with blurred priorities. The number of tasks is increasing, but the priorities are no longer that clear. In some cases, mandates have even become divorced from reality. In his New Agenda for Peace, the Secretary- General proposed that United Nations peace operations be given clear, prioritized and achievable mandates that can be adapted to the changing situation on the ground. We believe that, as a critical link of peace operations, peacekeeping policing must resolutely serve the core mandate of promoting a political settlement and constantly explore new ways to leverage its own advantage to facilitate the performance of United Nations missions’ overall mandates. Secondly, stable partnerships with host countries should be established. Host country relations are a major challenge facing many United Nations missions today. United Nations missions must maintain close communications with their respective host Governments and take feedback from local communities seriously. United Nations police should give full play to their unique advantages in strategic communication and enhance local communities’ understanding of, and trust in, United Nations missions through, inter alia, community-oriented policing activities. In their statements, some briefers used the term trust-building. In my view, trust-building and confidence-building are precisely the kind of activities that we need in order to enable United Nations peace operations, including peacekeeping police, to play a critical role. I would like to put a question to all the Police Commissioners present here today: in terms of increasing the trust between their missions and host countries, what better and practical suggestions and recommendations do they have in that regard? Thirdly, we must reinforce the capacity-building of host countries. Past experience shows that supporting the capacity-building of host countries is a sure way to maintain the flexibility and effectiveness of United Nations missions and ensure their ultimate success. To that end, support for host country capacity-building, including sustainable development capabilities, should be integrated into United Nations missions’ transition and exit planning and performance assessment. United Nations police are also duty-bound to support the building of the law enforcement and judicial capacity of host countries. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic have both accumulated useful experience in that regard, and it is important to take stock of their best practices with a view to replicating them in other contexts. I also hope that, on the basis of today’s exchange, we will be able to promote some of the good practices in other missions. Fourthly, we must ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers. The recent spate of attacks reminds us that the security risks confronting our peacekeepers remain acute. It is crucial to fully implement resolution 2518 (2020) so as to provide more targeted protection for peacekeepers. United Nations police, especially individual police officers, have limited equipment and are subject to significant security risks. All parties concerned must maintain close communication and coordination to promote the timely and full deployment of police officers with adequate equipment to ensure the self-protection and emergency response capabilities of United Nations police. Fifthly, we must give full play to the unique role of female peacekeepers. As Ms. Fossen mentioned in her statement, indeed more and more female peacekeepers are contributing to United Nations peace operations. China welcomes that development. United Nations missions must provide equal opportunities for women in training, recruitment and promotion, and make appropriate arrangements in terms of logistics and security to facilitate the performance of duties by female police officers. At the same time, the imbalance in geographical representation has been a persistent issue. We hope that other nations will recruit more talent from developing countries and assign such recruits to mid- and senior-level positions in the Department of Peace Operations and in field missions. Sixthly, we must respond to the challenges posed by emerging technologies. The disruptive development of emerging technologies continues to have a complex impact on United Nations peacekeeping operations. The Secretariat and field missions must keep abreast of such developments, maximize benefits while avoiding harm and steadily promote digital transformation. In that process, it is vital to respect the sovereignty and ownership of host countries, and ensure that the technologies adopted are safe and reliable. At the same time, there is a need to establish and improve an accountability mechanism to avoid the abuse, misuse and malicious use of technologies. On that basis, United Nations police should effectively leverage the enabling role of emerging technologies to improve such capabilities as situational awareness and strategic communication. We hope that, during this meeting, members of the Council will have an in-depth exchange of views. By highlighting the strengthening of United Nations policing, the Council may wish to explore ways to design mandates and manage peace operations in a more united and efficient manner so as to make greater contributions to the maintenance of international peace and the realization of common security. I now resume my functions as President of the Council.

Let me begin by thanking Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations; Mr. Christophe Bizimungu, Police Commissioner, United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic; Ms. Christine Fossen, Police Commissioner, United Nations Mission in South Sudan; Mr. Faisal Shahkar, United Nations Police Adviser; and Ms. Karin Landgren, Executive Director, Security Council Report, for their insightful briefings on different aspects of United Nations policing. Over the years, the United Nations has demonstrated its capacity for maintaining social order in fragile and conflict contexts through the provision of effective, efficient and accountable policing across different United Nations peacekeeping missions. On this occasion, we deem it appropriate to pay tribute to all United Nations peacekeepers, especially police personnel, for their commitment and continuing efforts. For those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, we pray for the continued peaceful repose of their souls and for their sacrifice not to have been in vain. Since Ghana first deployed police personnel for international peacekeeping duties to the Congo in the 1960s, we have continued to hold firm the norms required for international policing, as demonstrated throughout the peacekeeping cycle in our pre- to post-deployment practices. Apart from providing physical protection for civilians and ensuring law and order in conflict areas, our contributions have supported the United Nations policing in restoring hope to distraught and displaced civilians. It has also contributed to building confidence in fragile communities through intelligence-backed surveillance and community policing, and has facilitated accountability through investigations of incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, human rights abuses and other serious crimes. With 468 police officers, comprising formed police units and individual police officers at various United Nations mandated missions, we recognize the importance of constructive deliberations in order to build consensus on measures to boost preventive diplomacy, shape the prevention and sustaining peace paradigm within countries, transform gender power dynamics in peace and security and strengthen peace operations and partnerships. Within the context of the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace and the Action for Peacekeeping and Action for Peacekeeping Plus initiatives, allow me to make the following points, which are germane to the work of the United Nations police (UNPOL) and have the potential to contribute directly to the realization of the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace. First, amid the growing challenges facing United Nations peace operations, we call for a key role for UNPOL in peace operations to rebuild trust and solidarity with communities in ways that can strengthen the social contract of citizens with their governance institutions and leaders, protect and empower citizens, and foster trust within distrustful societies. As we have noted before, United Nations policing has a demonstrative effect, especially on host communities, and, working with host States and local communities, we must leverage that unique advantage to undermine some of the grievances that violent extremist groups and terrorists have used to prey on many fragile communities. Ghana will encourage the sustained engagement of the Department of Peace Operations and field missions in that regard. Secondly. Ghana supports stronger national ownership of preventive measures and stresses the responsibility of Member States to sustain the national peace infrastructure in a professional way to work with regional organizations in implementing prevention strategies. In that regard, we hold that, even as peace operations may impose tailor-made solutions to address the drivers of instability in host States, a strong push should always be made to implement bottom-up approaches drawing out community and national ownership for the investments in peace, which will also interlock with regional early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms that can sustain and support peace efforts. In conclusion, we encourage the further deployment of innovative and technological solutions to address the challenges of peacekeeping and support the performance of UNPOL within the mandates of United Nations peace operations. We also underscore the importance of ensuring adequate financing and resourcing of all mandated United Nations peacekeeping operations to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities and support peacebuilding activities throughout the life cycle of peacekeeping operations, especially during transitions.

We thank the speakers for their briefings. Switzerland would like to express its gratitude to the police officers who are committed, day after day and sometimes in very difficult conditions, to maintaining law and order, protecting civilians and developing the police capabilities of their host countries, and we pay tribute to all who have lost their lives working for a safer and more peaceful world. Let me highlight three points. First, the development of local police capabilities is essential. The host State must be able to ensure the safety of its citizens. In particular, a substantial effort is required to develop capabilities for maintaining public order, for example in the run-up to elections, as we expect to see in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. Special police teams can play an important role in that training, as well as in areas such as forensic science, community policing and the fight against gender-based violence. In the context of transitions and military reductions of missions, the Council should consider the possibility of temporarily increasing the police component on a case-by-case basis in order to ensure that the host State has the best possible support as it takes over police and judicial functions. That increase in the strength of non-military bodies should also be coordinated with the agencies, funds and programmes that continue to carry out United Nations activities after a mission’s withdrawal, thereby enhancing the sustainability of initiatives undertaken during the lifetime of the mission. Secondly, the police have a crucial role to play in protecting civilians as part of their engagement with the population. Their network is a key element of the early- warning system, and it is therefore essential to have personnel able to communicate, independently or with assistance, in local languages. The police component’s involvement with community protection committees in the Abyei context is an example of that, which we welcome pending the formation of the Abyei Police Service. In that respect, police-contributing countries should ensure that the personnel they deploy are adequately trained, so that the information obtained can be translated into effective planning, including with regard to protection operations. It is also important that commanders are well prepared for such challenges. That is why Switzerland is hosting the United Nations Police Commanders course that began yesterday in my country. Thirdly, the work being done to improve the police component’s performance is positive, and we welcome efforts to integrate the various components of a mission, including at the level of joint operations and analysis centres. However, that integration must be accompanied by a clear delineation of each component’s functions. The functions of the police are different from those of the military and civilian components, and dilution should be avoided. The systematic implementation of the Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System is an important step towards measuring the performance of a mission as a whole. In that respect, we feel it is important for missions to focus not just on numbers but on qualitative assessments. For example, the impact of patrols, rather than just their numbers, should be assessed. A systematic feedback process would enable us to identify successes and failures and draw lessons from them. That also goes for reviews of the quality of equipment and staff training. Among other things, police components can play a key role in strengthening the rule of law and preventing and combating arms proliferation, which are important elements of the New Agenda for Peace. The Council’s recent authorization of the Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti (see S/PV.9430) takes that role into account. Switzerland will continue to contribute to the efforts of the United Nations police by providing it with police officers with the requisite expertise and language skills needed to increase the impact of peace missions.

I thank Under-Secretary- General Lacroix and Police Adviser Shahkar for their briefings, and Commissioners Fossen and Bizimungu for their remarks and for their valuable work. I also want to express my appreciation to Ms. Landgren for her insights. The police component of United Nations missions has continued to carry out increasingly complex tasks. Working in areas where State institutions are weak or non-existent, United Nations police personnel may be called on to re-establish order and protect civilians in very challenging environments. In that context, it is a great advantage that police components are especially well positioned to engage with local communities, which is key to any mission’s success and to promoting sustainable peace. Due to the nature of their mission, police also act as partners in transitional periods, when the security of communities is at risk and the State cannot perform its functions adequately. The police contingents in United Nations missions are also very relevant in peacebuilding. There, the institution-building aspect is central to supporting the political processes aimed at achieving normalization and social stability. The United Nations police can and should promote the women and peace and security agenda. The deployment of female police officers has a positive impact on engagement with communities, where women are likely to be in more vulnerable positions. Female officers play a special role in building trust and confidence with communities, contributing to a more efficient implementation of missions’ mandates. More women should occupy command and leadership positions in order to advance those gains. The performance of missions and their police components depends on proper capacities and resources. In his New Agenda for Peace, the Secretary-General rightly recommends that mandates should be adequately resourced and adapted to changing circumstances and political developments. To that end, police personnel should both receive adequate training so that they can respond flexibly to changes on the ground and be given tools that are adequate to the fulfilment of a mission’s mandate. Brazil continues to be committed to promoting capacity-building in peacekeeping, including for police components. In September Brazil hosted a United Nations certified instructor development course for three training programmes on community-oriented policing, police monitoring, mentoring and advising, and police capacity-building and development. We should also ensure the security of police personnel as they discharge their tasks. Investing in strategic communications can dispel mis- and disinformation and curb threats arising from such malicious practices. Having open channels of communication with local communities, national authorities and relevant stakeholders is also crucial to explaining mandates and calibrating expectations of missions. The police personnel in United Nations missions act to fulfil one of peacekeeping’s most fundamental tasks — re-establishing order and normalcy in conflict-affected societies, either directly or through cooperation with local institutions. In doing so, they contribute to respect for human rights and a resumption of economic activities. They are therefore an essential part of the peace and security architecture to which Brazil is proud to contribute with some of its best law- enforcement professionals.

I thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this meeting, giving us an opportunity to address the issue of the contribution of United Nations police forces to the New Agenda for Peace. My thanks also go to Under- Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Mr. Christophe Bizimungu, Ms. Christine Fossen, Mr. Faisal Shahkar and Ms. Karin Landgren, whose enlightening briefings have given us a framework for today’s meeting. The theme of this meeting takes us back to the crucial role that peacekeepers play in a global context that is more than ever marked by multiple crises and new threats to international peace and security. More than 60 years after the deployment of the first Blue Helmets, peacekeeping operations have unquestionably become an essential tool for United Nations action in support of international peace and security as time has gone on. At the third United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit, the Secretary-General called for the need to strengthen the capabilities of our police forces with a view to ensuring that exceptional performance becomes the norm. To achieve that, United Nations police forces need to adapt to the increasingly complex and changing environment of operational theatres and develop the capacity to continually reinvent themselves in order to provide responses commensurate with the security challenges they face. It is therefore important for them to develop strategic communications that enable them to establish a constructive dialogue with the host country, thereby creating the climate of trust needed for the effective implementation of peacekeeping operation mandates as peacekeeping operations cannot be effective without the support of local populations and communities. At the same time, efforts to improve the performance of the United Nations police on the ground must include the promotion of gender parity, which must go hand in hand with the strengthening of women’s leadership, supported by flexible missions, clear mandates and precise tasks in order to enable the adaptability to take on the new challenges the peacekeeping operations face. My country is firmly convinced that the United Nations police forces will be able to contribute fully to the implementation of the New Agenda for Peace by putting into practice its Action 5 by transforming gendered power dynamics in peace and security. As we all know, women police officers are a great asset in our efforts to communicate and build relationships of trust with women and girls in local communities, thus ensuring that the real needs and perspectives of the most vulnerable are taken into account. Furthermore, in conflict and post-conflict situations, victims of sexual violence are more likely to confide in female police officers. Policewomen thus play a leading role in operations to combat impunity and promote accountability in order to strengthen the rule of law, recovery and, above all, reconciliation. My country would like to take this opportunity to salute the winner of the 2023 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year award, First Sergeant Renita Rismayanti of Indonesia, deployed in the Central African Republic, who, through her capacity for innovation, has made a significant contribution to strengthening the security of vulnerable communities, particularly women and girls and, at the same time, has conveyed a message of hope for all the women and girls of the world. Her example, imbued with force and hope, pushes us to reaffirm our commitment to the full implementation of the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace and the normative framework built around resolution  1325  (2000), including resolution 2242 (2015).

I would like to thank Mr. Lacroix and the heads of the police components for their briefings. I would like to highlight three points. First, the United Nations police (UNPOL) has a particular responsibility in the implementation of mandates. Acting in a highly coordinated manner, UNPOL operates at the crossroads of the missions conducted by the military and civilian components. More specifically, UNPOL helps to strengthen the capabilities of the host State’s internal security forces and thus plays a decisive role in helping the host State’s authorities to carry out security sector reform. In that respect, it is essential for UNPOL to be an example of respect for human rights and gender mainstreaming. It is also critical that UNPOL address some of the root causes of conflict. The plunder of natural resources and its effects on the environment are two causes which are of particular importance to France. Secondly, France supports the empowerment of the United Nations police, which must be adapted to the objectives of its mandates. France has contributed to the work of the New Agenda for Peace. UNPOL must therefore acquire all the skills needed to handle new threats, such as those related to digital technologies. The initiatives currently being developed to further strengthen predeployment training and selection contribute to the performance of individual police officers. Those initiatives must be encouraged, closely monitored and enjoy the active participation of Member States. The United Nations police are the first to stand alongside the host State to promote the protection of civilian populations. In the face of the suffering of victims, UNPOL must show that the United Nations meets all the requirements of its mandates. France is doing its part by allocating nearly €800,000 since 2021 and nearly €400,000 again this year for the development of the light coordination mechanism, including its police-civilian component. Thirdly, the United Nations police must be a model of respect for cultural diversity and multilingualism. That is why UNPOL must continue to tirelessly promote the presence of women among its ranks. UNPOL has exceeded the targets set in the Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy. Those excellent results must be further improved upon. France is delighted that the sixth UNPOL Women Command Development Course, scheduled for December, will be held in French. The strong presence of women among uniformed United Nations personnel demonstrates that women are key players in conflict resolution. Finally, France strongly encourages the Secretariat to undertake an analysis of the ongoing transformation of UNPOL. The last report presented to the Council on the activities of the United Nations police dates back to the end of December 2018 (S/2018/1183). It therefore seems particularly important now to re-examine the reality of those activities, without delay.

I would like to thank all of our briefers today. United Nations police (UNPOL) are uniquely placed to contribute to meeting the aims of the New Agenda for Peace — preventing the recurrence of conflict and sustaining peace. United Nations police play a critical role in mediation and protection and can build trust and understanding with communities. Moreover, United Nations police support host nation capacity-building for the longer-term. They should carry out the full range of activities that they are mandated to fulfil, in line with the 2016 UNPOL external review, in order to help establish rule of law, protect human rights and sustain peace. Given the time that has passed since the most recent report of the Secretary-General on UNPOL (S/2018/1183), the United Kingdom encourages the Secretariat to consider preparing a new report for the Council on UNPOL activities and governance. The United Kingdom welcomes the closer integration of police into United Nations peacekeeping, in line with the emphasis on strategic and operational integration as part of the Action for Peacekeeping Plus priorities. Missions are stronger and safer when police are treated as an integral part and are able to contribute their community intelligence and apply their unique set of skills. Commander Fossen highlighted how important the women and peace and security agenda is for successful policing. Ensuring that police forces reflect the communities they serve is not only the right thing to do, but leads to better mission performance and can have positive impacts for the role of women in host State security institutions. The United Kingdom continues to support initiatives to increase the participation of women in peacekeeping, including the Senior Women Talent Pipeline and the Elsie Initiative Fund, to which we have given more than $8.5 million since its inception. Finally, I want to reiterate our thanks to UNPOL for the brave and important work they carry out in such challenging environments. The United Kingdom looks forward to continuing to work with UNPOL on achieving its reform priorities.

I thank Under-Secretary- General Lacroix and the other briefers for their insightful briefings. I also express our appreciation to the peacekeeping personnel, including the Police Commissioners here today, for carrying out their enormous responsibilities in a challenging environment. The United Nations police play an essential role in United Nations peacekeeping operations, particularly by providing capacity-building for national law-enforcement agencies. Strengthening host States’ rule-of-law capacities and institutions is not only crucial to ensuring short-term post-conflict stability but also to facilitating long-term peacebuilding. In that regard, progress during the deployment of peacekeeping missions also enhances the humanitarian-development-security nexus, which lays the groundwork for achieving sustainable peace. In that context, I would like to highlight three essential aspects vital to the effective functioning of the United Nations police. The first is respecting and promoting national ownership. Law-enforcement agencies in conflict- affected or post-conflict States frequently face the challenges that result from operating in conditions marked by prolonged turmoil and limited capacity and resources. Such circumstances can make it difficult for agencies to maintain the public’s trust and confidence. It is vital to ensure that host Governments can take proactive ownership and demonstrate a firm commitment to bringing about change within their institutions. Conversely, when host States receive capacity-building assistance from the United Nations police or other organizations, there is a risk that they will become excessively reliant on it, which can lead to a weakened sense of national ownership. That is a risk that peacekeepers have to be aware of. In that regard, we encourage the United Nations police to continue to respect and promote host countries’ ownership when providing capacity-building. The second essential aspect is deploying capable personnel. Capacity-building is best accomplished by those who possess the necessary qualifications and competence. Only when highly qualified and competent personnel provide capacity-building support can law- enforcement agencies be developed to be more effective. For that reason, personnel selection and predeployment training are fundamental. In that regard, we welcome United Nations initiatives such as the development of the Strategic Guidance Framework for International Policing and the United Nations Police Training Architecture Programme and their related materials. In particular, the roll-out of three job-specific courses, including police capacity-building and development for end- users, holds great promise. Additionally, leveraging the right coordination mechanism can enhance the training of every police-contributing country and lead to the deployment of more capable personnel. The third is the proactive use of strategic communications. We are concerned about the growing influence in recent years of mis- and disinformation in peacekeeping settings, as it poses a threat to the safety and security of peacekeepers and hampers the effective implementation of all peacekeeping components’ mandates, including the United Nations police. We continue to encourage missions to develop integrated strategic communications to disseminate accurate information regarding mission activities, with a focus on progress achieved through the United Nations police’s capacity-building efforts. We believe that can also help national law-enforcement agencies win the trust of the public in the host State, as well. In conclusion, we welcome the continuing efforts of the United Nations police, which we hope will be further improved and strengthened.

I thank you, Sir, for convening today’s meeting. I also thank Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Police Commissioners of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations Police Adviser and the Executive Director of Security Council Report. At the outset, I want to acknowledge the work of the Police Commissioners in peacekeeping missions, who work in difficult conditions to fulfil the mandates that the Security Council confers on them. Ecuador supports their work, pays tribute to all United Nations police (UNPOL) personnel deployed around the world and expresses its gratitude to the police-contributing countries. In his New Agenda for Peace, the Secretary-General reminds us that peace operations are a vital part of the diplomatic tools of our Organization, as they enable a response on the ground and an ability to marshal and fund collective capabilities beyond that of any single actor. The Secretary-General has also pointed out that peacekeeping operations must take advantage of the range of capabilities and expertise of the United Nations system and its partners, as part of an interconnected multilateral system. In that regard, we believe that transnational organized crime represents one of the greatest challenges to maintaining international peace and security and that police components have a critical role to play in combating it. Transnational organized crime is a deadly, corrupting system that permeates society and the State, threatens countries’ democratic stability and spreads rapidly. We see the same problems increasing in many parts of the world, including trafficking in drugs and arms, human trafficking, forced migration and illegal mining. For the sake of States’ future survival, we must be able to rely on lasting, robust and effective mechanisms for confronting transnational criminal organizations. To that end, the role of UNPOL will be increasingly important. In conclusion, I would like to ask the Commissioners the following questions. Concerning UNMISS, we acknowledge the work of the Mission’s police component, especially its support role in the camps for internally displaced persons, where a high percentage of the personnel are female police officers who have helped improve physical security and build trust there. We would like to know what the Council can do to improve the working conditions of that police component. With regard to MINUSCA, given the overcrowded and precarious conditions in prisons in the Central African Republic, as well as the need for police training in criminal investigation techniques, we would like to know if the police component has been able to help strengthen capacities in those areas at the local level.

I would like to thank all the briefers for their comprehensive insights into crucial aspects of the United Nations police (UNPOL) in United Nations peacekeeping operations. I also want to express our gratitude to the troop and police-contributing countries and pay tribute to all who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. We appreciate the commendable efforts that UNPOL has made to enhance its performance, champion the women and peace and security agenda and strengthen strategic communications against disinformation, misinformation and hate speech. The United Nations police, a crucial instrument in the arsenal of the United Nations, plays an important role in promoting global peace and advancing the Action for Peace and Action for Peace Plus initiatives. Nevertheless, as the briefers also mentioned earlier, there are obstacles to peacekeeping operations’ ability to fulfil their mandates. The surge in complex conflicts that we have witnessed for more than a decade means that we must implement a renewed peace agenda if we are to confront the evolving challenges. Addressing violence, particularly violence involving non-State armed groups, demands a comprehensive, politically centred approach. Relying on security measures alone without addressing the root causes of problems can have counterproductive outcomes. The key to shaping a future where diplomacy wins over discord lies in our unwavering commitment to international cooperation, building trust and addressing root causes. However, the United Nations police and United Nations peacekeeping operations cannot achieve that alone. They require the robust support of the international community, especially the Security Council. As the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace underscores, Member States must move beyond rhetoric and commit both politically and financially to prevention efforts. Successful prevention needs holistic approaches, political courage, robust partnerships, sustainable resources and national ownership. We urge UNPOL to build trust with local populations and commend the establishment of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing. A holistic approach to policing, addressing the nexus of terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organized crime, is imperative. UNPOL must enhance its cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, while focusing on training, sharing experiences and exchanging information about policing. When mandated, United Nations policing plays a vital role in enhancing the rule of law and reforming the security sector in conflict areas, including emphasizing the role of national authorities in the renovation of police and law enforcement agencies. Strengthening national institutions is crucial for effective violence prevention, which encompasses political, security, justice, rule of law and socioeconomic aspects. In the context of conflict, societal resilience is vital, with women playing a crucial role in building trust. Recognizing the role of women in United Nations peacekeeping is essential, and we emphasize the need for their complete, equal and meaningful participation in decision-making. We applaud efforts to increase women’s representation, particularly in senior roles, and address recruitment challenges. In conclusion, Albania reaffirms its support for UNPOL’s vital work and recognizes its important role in addressing security threats.

We welcome this exchange with Under-Secretary-General Lacroix and the Heads of the police components of United Nations operations — Mr. Christophe Bizimungu, Ms. Christine Fossen and Mr. Faisal Shahkar — as well as Ms. Karin Landgren. We acknowledge the men and women police officers who have served and worked in communities with the utmost dedication and honour the memory of those who lost their lives in the line of duty. Now more than ever, the United Nations police (UNPOL) are an essential component of peacekeeping. As we speak, 10,000 United Nations police officers serve on the front lines in 16 United Nations peace operations globally. Their efforts not only help us to reinforce security through patrolling and other operational support, but — as we have heard today — also to increase compliance with international human rights standards and uphold the rule of law. UNPOL have demonstrated its capacity to operate in an integrated manner in peacekeeping missions. In South Sudan, they have supported prevention efforts on sexual and gender- based violence and promote human rights by engaging directly with the communities they serve. In the Central African Republic, they have provided support to national security forces, providing capacity-building for the national police and gendarmerie to facilitate the efficient exercise of their missions. UNPOL operates in challenging and dangerous settings. For them to be effective, we must pursue meaningful performance assessments to address deficiencies and promote their effectiveness on the ground. Furthermore, we must work to ensure UNPOL are properly prepared, equipped and resourced to address the challenges on the ground. The New Agenda for Peace represents a valuable opportunity to reinforce and strengthen United Nations peacekeeping capacities to operationalize rapid responses to emerging crises. We also echo the Secretary-General’s call for a networked multilateralism. That would enable a more effective and universal approach to peace and security and an expanded use of the peacekeeping tools at our disposal to respond to the new and emerging threats. We must ensure that the existing tools will continue to improve UNPOL’s performance and accountability. Better trained and equipped uniformed personnel will enhance safety and security for civilians and will strengthen accountability for peacekeepers. Malta welcomes the women and peace and security agenda as a cross-cutting theme within the Action for Peacekeeping Plus initiative. As a result, UNPOL has achieved its gender parity targets for 2025, and five out of the nine police components in United Nations peacekeeping operations are led by women. We must continue to fully implement the women and peace and security agenda, increase the number of women in United Nations peacekeeping and make sure that they can continue to participate and contribute in a meaningful manner. In that regard, I would like to thank Ms. Fossen for sharing her experiences in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. The upcoming United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting, to be held in Accra in December, will provide an opportunity to achieve concrete outcomes to improve peacekeeping operations in line with ongoing reform efforts. Malta remains committed to supporting United Nations police and to help to meet the challenges that lie ahead. In conclusion, I would like to pose the following questions on three issues raised today. How can training and capacity-building be improved to obtain the results needed on the ground? What are the current shortcomings? On gaining the trust of local communities, what are the lessons learned that could help other missions? The speakers can of course share their experiences in that regard. And, on new and emerging threats, something to which each speaker has referred, how are the speakers able to adapt to evolving situations in their respective missions?

Mozambique wishes to thank the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations and the other briefers for the information shared in this meeting. We also wish to pay tribute to the women and men of United Nations police (UNPOL) who lost their lives while on duty in the service of the United Nations around the world. We recognize that, in contemporary multidimensional peace operations, the United Nations police mandate includes an array of critical tasks, including supporting the re-establishment of law and order, providing operational support to host-country police, protecting civilians and United Nations staff and facilities and assisting with capacity-building, among other pressing activities. It is worthwhile to note that UNPOL has already achieved its gender parity targets for 2025, and women now head five of the nine police components in United Nations peacekeeping operations. It is self-evident that more women in peace operations translates into more effective peace missions. It is also encouraging to note that the United Nations has identified some of the greatest challenges of our time to global peace, security and development, which include, among others, expanding conflicts in high population areas; the expansion of transnational organized crime and violent extremism, as highlighted by Ms. Landgren; growing climate and cyber insecurity risks; and greater demand for comprehensive national capacity-building and police reform. If not addressed, those challenges may potentially endanger international peace and security. We therefore welcome the efforts to strengthen the performance of United Nations Peacekeeping Police Commissioners, with a particular focus on the Action for Peacekeeping Plus implementation strategy 2023–2026. Guided by this noble goal, Mozambique has participated in UNPOL missions. Its first police force served in East Timor in 1999 under the provisions of resolution 1236 (1999). In 2012, members of the Mozambican police were part of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau, aimed at helping to stabilize the country and promote security and the rule of law. Important insights and lessons learned from Mozambique in the UNPOL missions clearly demonstrate that, among other factors, peacekeeping operation effectiveness depends on local legitimacy. It is therefore important to understand how local populations perceive United Nations peacekeepers. While acknowledging important steps undertaken by UNPOL missions, we express our deep concern over continuous challenges affecting international peace and security — terrorism, organized crime, cyber security, arms trafficking and proliferation, transnational organized crime, radicalization and extremism. Addressing those challenges depends on enhanced intelligence-sharing on terrorist activities, organized crime networks, cyber threats, as well as specialized training on intelligence-gathering, investigation techniques and digital forensics, as well as enhanced border control measures. In that context, Mozambique believes that it is important to continue to enhance collaboration and information-sharing among police agencies, intelligence services and other relevant international organizations. It is also important that those dimensions are taken into account in the current discussions on the financing of African Union-led peace support operations, including police components. In conclusion, we believe that a shared commitment by all Member States has the power to enhance the im­ portance and role of UNPOL missions around the world.

I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Lacroix, Police Adviser Shahkar, Police Commissioners Fossen and Bizimungu, and Ms. Landgren for their briefings today. Around the world, we are seeing an increase in the number of conflicts, a deterioration of the rule of law and eroding trust in United Nations police operations. Despite those challenges, United Nations policing capacities remain an important contributor to protecting civilians, ensuring the safety and security of communities and bolstering fragile national institutions. I would like to acknowledge all fellow officers serving in their stations around the world. The United Arab Emirates supports the Secretary- General’s New Agenda for Peace and the United Nations 2.0 Quintet of Change initiative, which is aimed at modernizing the United Nations peace and security architecture, including policing, so that it is better equipped to handle current and emerging challenges. In that context, I would like to make four key points. First, the application of United Nations police performance standards remains critical to ensure that they are not only fulfilling their missions, but also perceived as doing so by their host communities. Increased transparency and incident reporting and the utilization of data can be critical enablers of policing work within the framework of the Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System and the Integrated Peacekeeping Performance and Accountability Framework. The early declaration of caveats, trainings and other pre-deployment elements can decisively contribute to operational readiness and boost the performance of United Nations policing. That is why, in September, in support of the Police Division’s efforts, the United Arab Emirates hosted for the second time a United Nations police performance workshop in Abu Dhabi. We brought together the leadership of police components, peace operations and special political missions to exchange views on questions of performance and accountability. Secondly, United Nations policing can benefit from regional partnerships. The United Arab Emirates believes that collaborative mechanisms with regional policing organizations — such as the African Police Cooperation Organization (AFRIPOL), for example — can be critical to ensuring context-informed policing. The work of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing is an important opportunity to assess the effectiveness of United Nations policing assistance efforts, identify gaps in support and develop the kinds of synergies among United Nations, regional and subregional policing mechanisms. Thirdly, United Nations peacekeepers must be good stewards of the environments in which they serve. In addition to the long-standing drivers of conflicts, climate change is increasingly becoming a contributing factor to instability, as noted by Police Commissioner Fossen in her briefing. The changing climate affects agricultural patterns, fuels confrontations between communities and provokes competition over scarce natural resources. The United Nations must lead the way in walking the talk and ensuring that its peacekeeping missions do no harm to the environment. The United Arab Emirates has been spearheading efforts to support the United Nations Secretariat in its transition towards more renewable energy use in its peacekeeping operations, including through the energy compact on renewable energy in United Nations peacekeeping. As a patron of the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate and in support of the environmental strategy of the United Nations Secretariat, the United Arab Emirates is working closely with the United Nations Police Division and other stakeholders. Our partners include the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL, the Environmental Systems Research Institute, the Police Community of the Americas, AFRIPOL, the Association of Heads of Police of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council Police, the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Joint Environment Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The United Arab Emirates is pleased to collaborate with those organizations in order to enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies to prevent and combat crimes that affect the environment and climate change. Furthermore, through the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate, the United Arab Emirates facilitated the launch of five initiatives to combat environmental crimes across the world: an INTERPOL- led climate operations unit; a global preparedness assessment; research by UNODC on environmental crimes; an eco-readiness initiative; and a global training centre emerging in Abu Dhabi. This year, the United Arab Emirates will host for the first time a ministerial forum on climate resilience, entitled “Empowering Law Enforcement for a Greener Future”, on the margins of the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Dubai at the end of the month. Finally, increasing the participation of women in United Nations policing and police forces across the world is vital to achieve less violent, more peaceful and more inclusive societies. The United Arab Emirates commends the Police Division for achieving its gender participation target in such a short time frame, but we must also recognize that the current target of 13 per cent is far from representing parity. Increasing that ambition and raising the target beyond the current 13 per cent goal for uniformed gender parity is critical to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peace efforts, including in the field. Before concluding, I would like to reiterate our gratitude to Commissioner Fossen for the warm welcome during the recent visit of the Military and Police Advisers’ Community to South Sudan. We commend the United Nations Mission in South Sudan’s engagement in support of the country and the critical role that United Nations policing capacities continue to play within the Mission. As the United Arab Emirates is the sponsor of the 2024 United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit, I would like to express my country’s renewed commitment to working closely with the United Nations Police Division and the Department of Peace Operations in the roll-out of the New Agenda for Peace.

We are grateful to the briefers for the information provided. Through the Police Commissioners present, we thank all police peacekeepers for their conscientious fulfilment of their mandated duties in the maintenance of peace and security in complex conflict situations. Police components occupy a special place in United Nations peacekeeping efforts. Depending on the mandate of a particular mission, the scope of the Blue Berets’ activities may vary from advising local colleagues to taking full charge of ensuring law and order. The majority of peacekeeping missions are deployed in countries in which national law enforcement agencies are significantly weakened or indeed altogether absent. In such circumstances, crime-related issues may increase manifold, including with regard to organized crime, trafficking in persons and drugs, sexual violence and violence against children. Therefore, United Nations police officers, who are better prepared to deal with such circumstances, can make a significant contribution to the critical task of protecting civilians from direct security threats, as well as assisting or even temporarily replacing national law enforcement officers. At the same time, it is important to avoid situations in which the long-term presence of missions essentially leads to the long-term substitution of the efforts of local police officers by those of United Nations personnel. In that connection, another important task that the Blue Berets successfully perform is providing assistance in the post-conflict reform of law enforcement institutions and improving the national capacity of host States. We refer here to the transfer of experience, the organization of activities and training personnel. The more effectively those tasks are carried out, the faster the responsibility for maintaining law and order can be fully handed over to national forces. Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that, following the withdrawal of a peacekeeping mission, the capabilities of national law enforcement forces and the infrastructure that has been created do not deteriorate or fall into disrepair. It is therefore necessary, even while the peacekeeping mission is still present, to take into account lessons learned from other peacekeeping operations and the specific conditions of the host State in question, as well as factors that could subsequently weaken the infrastructure created. Measures must be put in place to ensure that the capacities of law enforcement agencies and rule-of-law institutions are robust and long- lasting. The Blue Berets are one of the faces of peacekeeping, as police officers are often the first to interact with the population. The perception of the mission as a whole largely depends on their ability to build effective communication with local authorities and residents and to ensure that cultural and national specificities are taken into account, as well as possible ethnic, religious and other conflicting factors. Women police officers can play an invaluable role in such efforts. At the same time, the priority here should not be the achievement of any percentage-based gender indicators, but rather the effective implementation of mandated tasks, the actual circumstances of the deployment and the assessment of the security situation. Moreover, when deploying women to United Nations peacekeeping missions, including for leadership positions, the principle of broad geographical representation must be strictly observed. United Nations police unquestionably play an important role in the efforts of peacekeeping missions to prevent the resumption of conflict within the scope of their mandate in each specific mission. However, it is difficult to envision police peacekeepers’ potential contribution to the prevention of a conflict or the Secretary-General’s mediation efforts before a crisis has begun and a mission has been deployed. We believe that discussions on all aspects of peacekeeping, including police issues, should be transparent. The platforms best suited to such discussions are the Security Council Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations and the General Assembly’s Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, in which all troop-contributing countries are represented and which are mandated to discuss issues related to peacekeeping comprehensively. United Nations police officers unquestionably need to be professionally trained and appropriately equipped. They must also be highly motivated to carry out their duties. In that regard, we support the work being done through the Secretariat, bilateral intergovernmental cooperation and many regional organizations, especially the African Union, to improve the training of peacekeeping police officers. Russia is actively contributing to that common endeavour. Since 2000, hundreds of foreign peacekeeping police officers — a large number of them women — including commanders, from more than 50 countries, most of them in Africa, have undergone United Nations-certified training at the All-Russian Advanced Training Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in Domodedovo. Russia has unique experience in the area of professional peacekeeper training that we are ready to share. Hundreds of Blue Berets from Russia have also contributed to the maintenance of peace and security all over the world. Russian police officers, more than a third of whom are women, are currently serving in five United Nations missions. They include specialists in forensics, criminal investigation, administration and public-order management. We are ready to continue to contribute to the work of peacekeeping police officers.

I thank Under-Secretary-General Lacroix for his briefing and extend a special welcome to the Police Commissioners, the Police Adviser and the Executive Director of Security Council Report. I want to begin by recognizing the critical work of the United Nations police, from the protection of civilians to the deterrence of violence and the enabling of other military and civilian mission components. Their work is challenging, dangerous and essential, and I want to add how crucial it is to ensure that the perspectives of United Nations police are included in decision-making in peacekeeping missions, including mission planning and resourcing. Their insights make a critical difference. The United States remains committed to supporting the United Nations police and helping them meet the challenges ahead. To that end, I want to touch on three areas. First, it is essential for United Nations police to have the correct training. Over the past four years, the United States has invested more than $4 million in police-training programmes for the United Nations. The time has come for United Nations police to fully leverage those investments and make job-specific training mandatory. Secondly, as we have heard, we must continue to accelerate the inclusion of women in all areas of policing. Women police play leading roles in rebuilding communities and trust between citizens and the security institutions that serve them. To put it simply, accelerating the women and peace and security agenda in the policing context is essential to achieving peacekeeping missions’ objectives. Thirdly, policing plays an important role in responding to the complex and multifaceted challenges threatening international peace and security more broadly. For example, United Nations police are already present in special political missions and provide support to United Nations country teams in non-mission settings. As climate change creates destabilization and conflict across fragile contexts, new needs have emerged in the security sector. We encourage the United Nations to look at future needs and opportunities for United Nations policing and would welcome an update to the Secretary- General’s 2018 report on United Nations policing (S/2018/1183). In conclusion, community-oriented policing de-escalates tensions and helps communities protect themselves. It is an essential ingredient in both peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and we are committed to working with United Nations police on the future of policing.

I now give the floor to Mr. Lacroix to respond to the comments and questions raised. Mr. Lacroix: I will be very brief. I thank all the briefers for their very informative and enlightening statements on many important issues, such as the role of capacity-building, including for transition purposes, the role of women in United Nations policing, the importance of adapting to new technologies and of course the critical issue of safety and security. But I want to emphasize more specifically what many have alluded to, which is the evolving nature of conflict — which we face in many peacekeeping environments — and the need to better respond to the major drivers of conflict, such as the role and impact on conflict of climate change, transnational criminal activities and, of course, global terrorism. I think it is important to note, as many have, that those drivers of conflict largely require a police-style response. I therefore believe that the role of police in the field in multilateral peace operations will gradually increase so that we can better respond to such challenges. In its sections dedicated to peace operations, the New Agenda for Peace highlights the importance of promoting a more networked multilateralism in the context of peace operations, which means that our field operations in the area of peace and security should be better equipped to respond to the drivers of conflict I mentioned. I believe that will involve an enhanced role for the United Nations police, better cooperation and coordination with other agencies or entities within and beyond the United Nations system and an enhanced ability to create and implement adequate plans at the national, regional and global levels to address those important drivers of conflict. As far as the additional questions are concerned, I will defer to my colleagues, the Police Commissioner of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, the Police Adviser and, of course, Ms. Landgren. I look forward to their comments. I will stop there.

I thank Mr. Lacroix for the clarifications he has provided. I now give the floor to Mr. Bizimungu to respond to the comments and questions raised.

With regard to the question asked by the representative of Ecuador about the contribution of the police component of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) to training on criminal investigations, I will answer by saying that we in MINUSCA contribute in two ways to training the gendarmerie and the police on criminal investigations. First, we provide the internal security forces with specialized courses focused on various topics, especially in the area of criminal investigations, including technical policing, judicial policing and conducting investigations into sexual violence. All of those training courses help enhance the criminal-investigation capabilities of the national police and the gendarmerie. The second way that we strengthen the capacities of the national police and gendarmerie is through co-location. We work alongside them in their police stations and gendarmerie brigades, where we advise them on investigations and other areas of policing. And  — going back to the initial issue that was raised about overcrowding in detention facilities — that allows us to ensure that, if there are people who are being illegally detained, we provide advice about the steps that should be taken to secure their release. That is part of the solution to the issue. As we work with them, in their police stations and brigades, day by day, we help them, provide advice and ensure that investigations are carried out in a professional manner and, above all, in a way that respects human rights. That is what I can say briefly about that issue.

I now give the floor to Ms. Fossen. Ms. Fossen: I thank all Council members for the support clearly given here today for the role of United Nations police (UNPOL) and through the New Agenda for Peace. I will address first the question from the representative of Ecuador, which was very concrete. As far as I understood, it was, what can the Security Council do to support the protection of civilians? First, I would like to say very clearly that the support we heard today, along with the recognition of the role of the police, is the most important step that the Security Council can take. It is crucial to recognize the role of the police alongside the force, as the United Nations military comes first. It is then important to strengthen the role of the police to ensure sustainable peace. When we work in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), we are working in accordance with the UNPOL principle of the protection of civilians. We do it through gender-responsive policing. The support we will need from the Security Council is continuous strong support from police-contributing countries and the deployment of qualified women and men, especially women, who will walk the extra mile, engaging with local communities, IDPs and vulnerable women, creating the space for them so we can support them in moving forward. We see this very clearly in South Sudan. I would also like to mention that, as we recognize the role of UNPOL and the importance of gender-responsive policing, it is also important to create the space for us to have an adequate budget for the equipment that is needed for women to go out on long-distance patrols. It is easier for our male UNPOL officers to join the force. Female UNPOL officers have made several requests for more gender-sensitive equipment that is needed when we go out deep in the field and deploy for several weeks. I have discussed the issue with the Elsie Initiative Fund and UN-Women, so we are working on it. But, if we are sending women out there, we will need gender-sensitive equipment so that we can take care of their security and other needs. I would also like to mention what the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and I often discuss. The Force Commander says that it is important to recognize that police officers all over the world are trained to interact with the community. That is why we have seen the advantage of deploying UNPOL officers with the force, and in a very efficient way in UNMISS. There was also a question from the representative of Malta, which was along the lines of how we can increase our capacity-building on the ground and create good sustainable programmes. My response to that is that we are working very closely with the host Government, which is important, so we create the space and possibilities for the host Government to work side by side with us. But the Government must run the programmes when we leave. We are there at the invitation of the host Government, so we have to create the space and ensure that we have sustainable programmes that can develop the local police and the chain of justice. Special Representative of the Secretary-General Haysom, Head of UNMISS, often says that the question is one of what we leave behind. That is all we think about. What do we leave behind so that South Sudan can manage itself and have good governance? In that regard, in conclusion, I would like to say once again that I am glad for the offers of support I have heard today. I can assure members that our capacity-building from the UNPOL side, with regard to UNMISS, is always done from the perspective that we do it in our role as police, but with respect for human rights and the rule of law. That is so we can see the whole chain of justice working together. It does not help if we train good police officers in South Sudan if there are no prosecutors, courts or detention facilities that can manage the whole chain of command if there are people to be convicted of sexual and gender-based violence, for example. We have to work on the whole chain of command. I am proud to say that we are doing that as best as we can, under the strong leadership of Special Representative Haysom.

I now give the floor to Mr. Shahkar. Mr. Shahkar: First of all, I thank you, Mr. President, for the Council’s great support and the time it dedicates to these discussions. I will briefly touch on a few points that were raised. The first one is the role of United Nations police in transitions, which is critically important when we end and withdraw, and institutions are still fragile. We should be expecting a longer United Nations police presence in some capacity to keep things rolling for sustainable programmes. The second point relates to organized crime, which Ms. Landgren touched upon. It has global connotations. It is not restricted, like a peacekeeping mission, to one area, but it affects all areas. We are therefore focusing on a very coherent response through the United Nations inter-agency task force on policing and through cooperation with regional police set-ups. The point was also raised about early engagement by United Nations police with regard to conflict situations. We might avoid some conflicts if United Nations police were involved earlier in potential trouble spots that are likely to fall into conflict. Sometimes we receive requests from our regional coordinators and the United Nations Development Programme, and we also provide support through United Nations police deployments. Our two Police Commissioners touched upon the issue of capacity-building. And as Ms. Fossen pointed out, the problem is budgeting. The issue in capacity- building is, as we say in policing, that no capacity- building is possible without two things  — political will and money. Policing is an expensive business. We therefore seek the support of the Council in budgeting, where police reform is expected to take place. The last point that was raised in the discussion is the sustainability of whatever efforts we make when we leave. We are thinking about it and will seek the support of the Council and Member States to work out how we can remain sustainable once we leave. It will mean that we have to leave some police capacity even when missions end, be they peacekeeping or political missions.

I now give the floor to Ms. Landgren. Ms. Landgren: I did not pick up particular questions pertaining to my statement, so I do not wish to add to it.

There were no questions directed to you, Ms. Landgren, but the questions you posed in your intervention are certainly worth deep reflection. That will help us going forward and guide us in discussing relevant activities. I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Lacroix, the Police Commissioners of the two missions, the Police Adviser and Ms. Landgren for their presentations, for discussing with us their activities and for providing us with their comments and reservations. That information will certainly be very helpful and valuable in terms of improving the police component work of United Nations peacekeeping operations. The police work of peace operations will continue to receive strong support from the Security Council. Police Commissioner Fossen mentioned that there should be gender-friendly equipment, and that is something that we have taken on board. There are certain Permanent Representatives who, although they are not at this meeting, are also engaged in very important work and will continue to provide substantial support to peace operations. Through the briefers, I would like to convey our admiration of, and pay tribute to, all their colleagues currently working on the front lines.