UNITED NATIONS, Mar 27 (APP): Pakistan has called for enhancing the capabilities of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers deployed in hotspots around the world to enable them counter the threat posed by improvised explosive devises (IEDs) as they work to maintain global peace and security amid a recent spike in casualties among ‘blue-helmets.’
“The disruptive potential of IEDs is huge: They restrict force mobility, spread fear across communities and undermine the efforts of host government to restore state authority,” Mohammad Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told a UN Security Council Arria-Formula meeting on Friday.
Kenya, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, co-sponsored the meeting on “Protecting the Peacekeeper: Suppressing the Deployment of Improvised Explosive Devices Against Peace Operations”, held under the format named after Diego Arria, a former Venezuelan UN ambassador. It is an informal consultation process which affords the 15-member Council the opportunity to hear persons in a confidential setting.
In his remarks, the Pakistani representative said an effective counter-IED strategy depended on taking a holistic view of the safety and security of UN peacekeepers, and that a new ‘preparedness paradigm’ must shape a response.
Pakistan has been one of the largest contributors of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. Since the 1960s, Pakistan has contributed over 200,000 troops to 43 missions. In its service to the cause of peace, Pakistan lost 157 of its bravest who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Aamir Khan, the Pakistani delegate, said that a counter-IED strategy also involved modernizing equipment, capacity- building and adequate medical support, and that these three areas should be at the forefront of an integrated planning process.
“We must harness technology, consistent with the basic principles of peacekeeping, to enhance the capabilities of peacekeepers — in mobility, situational awareness and quick reaction.”
While working on a counter-IED strategy, he said the UN Secretariat must involve the Troop- and Police- Contributing Countries. Enhancing consultations with host countries and respecting their ownership should be part of a comprehensive approach to counter the IEDs threat.
The Pakistani representative also underlined the importance of building partnerships, including with regional organizations, to address the training and capacity-building needs of host countries and troop contributing countries.
“Such synergies can play a critical role in denying the illegal armed groups and terrorists the access to explosives and other materials used to manufacture and detonate IEDs.”
Pakistan, he said, has the experience in the development and implementation of a national counter-IED strategy and would like to offer the necessary trainings for Troop- and Police- Contributing Countries at its school and peacekeeping training centers.
