Pakistan urges UN to reform peacekeeping rather than cut funding

Pakistan has urged the United Nations to protect its peacekeeping operations through strategic reform instead of deeper funding cuts.

Ambassador Syed Haider Shah, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, told the General Assembly’s Fourth Committee on Friday that the missions are an effective, economical tool for global security, APP reported.

Why does Pakistan want UN peacekeeping reformed, not cut?

Haider Shah said reform is needed but must serve a clear strategic purpose. He argued the UN should keep the capacity to deploy a credible international presence when future ceasefires, political settlements or new crises require one.

He also said growing reliance on regional arrangements and ad hoc operations shows a continuing need for UN peacekeepers on the ground. What is missing, he said, is political will in the Security Council to use the instrument.

The Fourth Committee deals with special political and decolonization issues. It began its consideration of peacekeeping operations on Friday.

How have funding cuts affected UN peacekeeping missions?

Mohamed Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General in the UN’s Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, opened the debate. He called on member states to pay their contributions in full and said peacekeeping must be adequately resourced to protect civilians.

Khiari said missions have been forced to cut spending by 15 per cent. As a result, they have repatriated 13,296 troops and 1,212 police.

Support for peacekeeping remains broad, he added, but consistent political backing is harder to secure. He said the missions still continue to protect vulnerable people.

What reforms is Pakistan proposing for UN peacekeeping?

Haider Shah set out six priorities:

• Reinforce the primacy of political solutions
• Match focused mandates with adequate resources
• Preserve peacekeeping’s distinctive institutional strengths
• Prepare for future military and police requirements
• Improve the safety and security of peacekeepers and accountability for crimes against them
• Keep peacekeeping a genuinely collective UN instrument

He said political processes and peacekeeping should reinforce one another. Missions, he said, can help stabilize environments, protect civilians, sustain ceasefires and preserve space for negotiations.

On the rationalization of mandates, he warned against letting financial ceilings dictate operational requirements. Political objectives, he argued, should determine mandates.

He named the system’s comparative advantages as universal legitimacy, predictable financing, established command and logistics structures, and the ability to draw personnel and specialist capabilities from across the UN membership. Efficiency drives, he said, should strengthen peacekeeping rather than hollow out the capabilities that give it its value.

What is Pakistan’s record in UN peacekeeping?

Haider Shah said Pakistan is both a major troop contributor and a host state. More than 170,000 Pakistani peacekeepers have served under the UN flag, he said, and 183 of them have died.

Pakistan hosts the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the Line of Control in disputed Jammu and Kashmir.

On protecting peacekeepers, he pointed to Pakistan’s role alongside Denmark in advancing Security Council Resolution 2823. He said it was adopted unanimously with a record 153 co-sponsors.