International Day of UN Peacekeepers - Press Conference (27 May 2021)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "International Day of UN Peacekeepers - Press Conference (27 May 2021)"
The topics: Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix today (27 May) said “this is a time of extreme challenges and danger for all Mali and the region,” expressing concern that the arrest Monday of President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane along with other leaders of the transitional government, “might further undermine jeopardize the joint efforts that we absolutely need to make to address those key challenges in Mali.” Lacroix said, “what we are facing is a severe disruption of the transitional mechanisms, the transitional institutions that were put in place after the coup last year with the joint efforts of the region, ECOWAS together with the African Union, the UN, and many other partners.” During a virtual press encounter ahead of Peacekeeping Day, the UN official said, “One year ago, we were not certain that peacekeeping missions could continue to operate because of the risk pandemic. And there were many efforts made collectively by our colleagues in the field, here at HQ, with a very collaborative work with the various departments, Department of Operational Support, and many other colleagues from other departments. But also with our member states, particularly our troop and police contributing countries. As a result of that, our missions were able to continue the work to take all the needed measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mission, but also to help communities.” Peacekeeping Day this year has a focus on youth. Lacroix said “most peacekeeping operations are deployed in countries where young people are the majority, and therefore it is increasingly and extremely important to do whatever is possible to engage, empower young people in the communities, and this is what our colleagues are doing in the field together with other partners. And I strongly believe that if we do not involve young people in our peace efforts, in protection of civilians, in building more resilient and credible and strong capacities, including state capacities, then we are less likely to succeed.” The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, 29 May, offers a chance to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilian personnel’s contribution to the work of the UN and to honour more than 4,000 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 130 last year.


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