Conferenza stampa del capo delle operazioni di pace ONU, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, in vista della Conferenza Ministeriale di Berlino di maggio

TRANSCRIPT

Moderator: Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson of the Secretary-General

Briefers:

· Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations

· Nils Hilmer, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Defence, Germany

· Ambassador Dr. Katharina Stasch, Director-General for International Order, the United Nations and Arms Control, Federal Foreign Office, Germany

Stéphane Dujarric: We are delighted to have our guests who are Nils Hilmer, Germany State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defence, Katharina Stasch, Germany’s Director-General for International Order and Disarmament in the Federal Foreign Ministry and of course Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. Jean-Pierre will start things off and then we will go to our two guests and then we will go to you.

OPENING REMARKS

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations

Thank you very much. A very good afternoon to all of you.

Thank you for joining, I am delighted to be joining State Secretary Nils Hilmer from the Federal Ministry of Defense of Germany and Dr Stasch, Director-General for International Order, United Nation Arms Control at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

And of course, I want to start by really expressing our gratitude to Germany for hosting the upcoming Peacekeeping ministerial-level meeting on peacekeeping in Berlin. It will be held on the 13th and 14th of May, so it’s really around the corner, in three weeks. And of course, it’s a very timely meeting,

a unique opportunity to highlight the added value of peacekeeping, to display what I believe will be a strong level of support and commitment from Member States to Peacekeeping, but also a common determination to address current challenges and to work together to deal with those challenges, to adapt existing Peacekeeping Operations and make sure that we, as what I call the family of Peacekeeping, the UN and the Member States, will remain ready for any new occasions or any new peace operations that may eventually be created.

Now, we are obviously in a context that is challenging – needless to say, we are facing more conflicts within and between states than at any time since World War II. Also, the nature of these conflicts is rapidly evolving. These are obviously important challenges to us, Peacekeeping. The conflicts are increasingly complex and intertwined. We are facing drivers of conflict with an increasingly important influence and impact on peacekeeping, such as organized crime or the impact of climate change. And of course, we’re also facing the challenges posed by the evolving enablers, digital technologies, which of course are positive, and so it can have a positive impact, but also have negative ones, including mis- and disinformation.

Of course, all of this is happening against the backdrop of an increasingly divided and polarized international community, which obviously, is, I believe, our major challenge when it comes to not only Peacekeeping but anything that the UN does on Peace and Security.

However, I think that it’s important to look at the added value, in spite of all these challenges, of what our peacekeepers do every single day in the field: every single day they protect hundreds of thousands of people, sometimes – very often actually – making a difference between life and death for these civilians. Every single day they prevent resumption of hostilities in ceasefire contexts and they do many other things such as supporting political efforts and helping build capacities for host governments.

The Ministerial meeting will be a very important opportunity for the UN and Member States to determine how going forward, we can address all these challenges and make sure that we collectively work so that Peacekeeping remains one of the important, viable, credible and effective tools of the United Nations and multilateralism in the future.

Of course, we also discuss how we can make peacekeeping more cost-effective, because we are aware that we are operating, and we will be operating under increasingly severe financial constraints.

So, I just want to end by again thanking Germany and looking forward to a high-level participation of Member States, I think the information that we’re getting in terms of level of attendance is very encouraging, and from our point of view, of course, we’re delighted to know that our Secretary-General will be participating in the Berlin meeting in three weeks’ time.

Thank you for your attention.

Nils Hilmer, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Defence, Germany

Thank you, Mr. Lacroix for hosting us just a few weeks ahead of this year’s UN Peacekeeping Ministerial. I’m extremely grateful for the fruitful exchange we had in preparation of the big event, the new German government, I would say, will host in Berlin on May 13th and 14th, just a few days after its constitution.

We expect approximately 1,000 guests, many delegations being led by foreign and/or defense ministers. The aim of this conference is to discuss the future of peacekeeping and to generate substantial pledges. Germany took over the baton from Ghana in December 2023, I would like to use this opportunity to thank the UN Secretariat and the group of co-chairs for supporting us in our preparations on the road to Berlin. UN Peacekeeping is effective multilateralism and action. It is active burden-sharing and the embodiment of partnership. We are convinced that UN Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most important tools the international community has in international crisis management.

However, we still face many challenges with regards to changing conflict dynamics, disinformation campaigns or targeting missions. Hence, it is all the more important to discuss about the future of peacekeeping. By hosting this high-level political forum for exchanging and pledging, we continue to take on responsibility in crisis management around the globe. We want to provide a forum for Member States to discuss how we can continue making UN Peacekeeping strong, effective and fit for the future.

By participating at the Berlin Ministerial, delegations can underline their political support for UN Peacekeeping, contribute to closing critical capability gaps and reinvigorate UN Peacekeeping reform efforts. To that end, we combine the traditional element of pledging with interactive elements of discussions. On the first day, foreign and defense ministers will have the opportunity to discuss the future of peacekeeping and peacekeeping reform. At the end of the first day, we will invite guests to the Ministry of Defense for an exhibition and evening reception that will showcase peacekeeping in action and German support to UN Peacekeeping. On the second conference day, the heads of delegation are invited to announce substantial pledges. In parallel, delegations can also engage in dedicated, high level breakout sessions. For you, the media, we will set up a press center where you will have a base for the two days of the conference. The media note with all detailed infos has been distributed. The results of our discussions will provide important input to the UN Secretary General’s review on the future of all forums of peace operations mandated and the Pact for the Future.

Through the Berlin Ministerial, we will ensure UN Peacekeeping remains at a sufficient level of preparedness for both current and potential future missions, and we want to increase overall mission effectiveness while enhancing safety and security of our personnel deployed. Germany is both a large financial contributor to the United Nations and UN Peacekeeping as well as a troop and police contributing country. Germany has been involved in peacekeeping since the 1970s and is currently contributing with military personnel to mission missions such as UNIFIL in Lebanon, UNMISS in South Sudan, and MINURSO in Western Sahara. We also support peacekeeping reform projects, for instance, on digital technologies, on medical support and UN peace operations, on women in peacekeeping, as well as on operational resilience and environmental management.

We therefore have first-hand experience, and look forward to the exchange with fellow troop and police contributing countries, with host nations of UN peace operations, with thought leaders and civil society representatives.

Thank you very much. Let me now hand over to my colleague, if I may, just from the Federal Foreign Office.

Ambassador Dr. Katharina Stasch, Director-General for International Order, United Nations, and Disarmament, Federal Foreign Office, Germany

Thank you very much. Many people around the world, and I can certainly speak for my own country, associate the Blue Helmets with the UN as such. And indeed, peace and security – peacekeeping is at the very core of the UN and this is exactly why we are proud to host the Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin in May.

Let me now briefly outline the reasons why we are hosting the Peacekeeping Ministerial, which guided us throughout the preparation process.

Number one: with the Peacekeeping Ministerial, we want to send a strong signal in support of the UN and certainly, in support of peacekeeping. We are, as Germany, ready to take on responsibility, and for a very long time, we have been a reliable pillar of the UN.

Number two: this is about peacekeeping. And you all remember the pact of the future, which was co-facilitated by Germany and Namibia, and this is really to provide a follow-up to the pact of the future: actions must follow us. This is about peacekeeping, and yes, the world has changed, there are new challenges to peacekeeping. We want to discuss them. We also want to contribute to the Secretary General’s report on the future of peacekeeping.

And number three: this will be about pledges. And we are hoping for substantial pledges, financially, but also content-wise.

This is also an opportunity to say again thank you for those who are organizing the peacekeeping ministry together with, first and foremost the UN, but also our co-hosts and those who hosted the preparatory meetings, this is really teamwork. It’s also about civil society who have been contributing to the process and will continue to do so.

And this is just to briefly highlight, you would have heard, the Global Alliance on peace operations, which is a consortium of more than 50 civil society organizations generating policy recommendations to the Peacekeeping Ministerial. And there is the intention to hold an online symposium later this month, and there will also be an event on the eve of the ministerial itself.

And delivering a little more information on the details, let me highlight that we intend to deal with issues such as enhancing the cooperation between the UN and the regional organizations, the role of technologies in safety and security, effectiveness of promoting information integrity, integrating peacekeeping, peacebuilding and conflict prevention, operational resilience and environmental management, women in peacekeeping, as well as achieving more responsive and accountable peace operations.

And with this, we are, I can confirm again, very excited and proud, and looking forward to interesting discussions and meaningful pledges.

Q&A SECTION

Edith Lederer – AP: Mr. Lacroix spoke about the polarized world and the challenges that peacekeeping faces, including the financial challenges, especially from the Trump administration. Are you expecting either the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at this meeting on peacekeeping, and if not, are the Americans going to be participating at all? Have you gotten any indication of whether they plan to pay any of their past and present peacekeeping dues, and what kind of an impact is this going to have on peacekeeping operations. I know that’s a lot but I know that’s all we’re interested in – thank you.

Jean Pierre Lacroix: When it comes to the attendance by US, potentially other countries, I think I will leave it to my German friends, because you are the inviting party, you are the host of this meeting. But what I can tell you is the following, first, obviously, I mean, the United States is, and has always been, a very important partner, I should say, also a very important supporter of peacekeeping operations throughout the years. And we look forward to continuing cooperation with the United States. Now when it comes to finances, I think that in any case, we are looking at times where financial resources will be limited, so we know that. I think that a very important challenge to all of us, really, is how we can improve the cost-efficiency of peacekeeping. And there are a number of things that we can do as the Secretariat, as the UN, but I think there are a number of things that the Member States will have to do, including, I believe, making sure that the mandates are well prioritized, but also having a look at the rules under which we operate, the rules governing the use of financial resources, the use of posts and I believe that we could use some more flexibility when it comes to these rules.

Nils Hilmer: I think it’s not decided yet on which level the United States will attend, but they will attend.

Michelle Nichols – Reuters: A follow up there… the White House Budget Office has proposed eliminating funding for all peacekeeping missions, and it was citing failures in Mali, Lebanon and DRC. Obviously, there’s a longer path for this process to go along, but how concerned are you by this? What are you doing to try and reach out to the Americans, to try and allay their

concerns, obviously, the biggest contributor to peacekeeping. And then, State Secretary, the story of the day, Ukraine, President Trump’s efforts to get a peace deal. What does Germany think about that? What’s your assessment of the peace deal at the moment, should Ukraine accept?

Nils Hilmer: As you know, as I said, we are right now finding a new government. So I would prefer to not answer that question at this moment, but we’re happy to discuss that in the next weeks.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix: On the US domestic process, I think it’s better not to prejudge, because as you said the processes will have many, many steps ahead. So, it would not be really useful to speculate. But again, I think in any case, we have to look at how we make the best possible use of our financial resources, moving forward. But I think the Berlin meeting will also be an important opportunity to highlight the added value of our peacekeepers.

Yes, we are operating under the challenges that I mentioned. I think the most important one is the division of our Member States, because if we want to achieve the kind of final success to peacekeeping, where ultimately a political solution is implemented and leads to stability, and then a supporting peace operation can withdraw, that requires a much more united Security Council and international community than we currently have.

But that doesn’t mean that our peacekeepers do not really make a huge difference. In terms of protection of civilians, which you just have to go to the field and meet with hundreds of thousands of people, who are being protected by the peacekeepers. And it’s also in terms of the terms of making sure that those ceasefires, for example in Cyprus, where – it’s just an example – so many incidents occur between two parties that will not speak to one another, and if there is no peacekeeping operation to liaise with them and it escalates, then what can happen so and many other things need to be really highlighted again, like all UN presence in the field, like our humanitarian colleagues in the field, we want to achieve more than we can achieve, we’re facing like them many challenges. But I think it’s important to really emphasize the difference that our peacekeepers make every single day. And I believe that the Berlin meeting will be an opportunity to highlight this added value.

Michelle Nichols – Reuters: Sorry, just a quick follow up, are you trying to reach out to people in DC about this? Are you having any difficulties?

Jean-Pierre Lacroix: Of course we’re in touch. I have been in DC a couple of weeks ago and we have regular contact with them.

Pamela Fauci – US News and World Report: A bit of a follow-up to some of the previous questions, assuming some US budget cuts, where do you think you can make up the shortfall? China’s Defense Ministry said today that they’re willing to pick up some of the funding. I can send you the statement if you want it! There’s a pledge right there. But where do you expect the money to come in? Or do you foresee large cutbacks?

Jean-Pierre Lacroix: It’s all very hypothetical, but what I can tell you is that we really count on our Member States to pay their dues in full, on time, and there has to be consistency because we operate on mandates. Those mandates are getting given to us by Member States, by the Security Council. We keep telling our Member States: “please prioritize those mandates. Make sure that we know what are the key mandated tasks from your point of view that we have to implement. And then please give us an adequate level of resources, and please pay on time and in full.” We have a responsibility to be accountable, yes, for what we do and how we use the resources, and we have a responsibility to work very hard to be more cost-effective and find efficiency. We’re absolutely determined, as I was saying, I believe that the Berlin meeting will also be an opportunity to discuss how we can better achieve these objectives, but it’s a collective responsibility.

Joseph Klein – Canada Free Press: This question is for anyone on the panel, there has been discussion in some quarters about if there is a ceasefire in a settlement in Ukraine for some kind of a peacekeeping-type force in Ukraine, post-conflict. There’s also mention of something along those lines in Gaza. I’m wondering whether any of you would comment on the capacity of UN Peacekeeping to meet such a challenge, should there be a Security Council mandate to that effect, and whether you anticipate that subject to come up at the Berlin meeting to plan for possible contingencies?

Jean-Pierre Lacroix: I will again use the word hypothetical, because it is hypothetical, and I want to really emphasize that the UN is not planning anything at the moment. Of course, we’re all aware that this is a question that has come a bit more frequently lately, and I believe that you could imagine a scenario, again very hypothetical, where they could be on a ceasefire, and maybe an agreement between the parties for some sort of third-party ceasefire monitoring mechanism. And then you can imagine all kinds of sub-scenarios, including one that would involve the UN one way or another. But at this stage, it’s hypothetical. We’re not planning anything. We’re thinking of it, of course, but that is really what I can tell you for now.

Joseph Klein – Canada Free Press: I know it’s going to be described as hypothetical at this stage, but wouldn’t part of the responsibility and peacekeeping be to look at contingencies and analysis of whether what we would take to be ready should be such a mandate and rather than be reactive after the fact?

Jean-Pierre Lacroix: I hear you, but at the same time, with the UN we have a membership itself, it is what it is. And I believe that if we were to engage, at this stage, in planning that would inevitably expose us, because all of this is associated with a high level of political sensitivities. So, I do take your point, of course, none of us can completely rule out a scenario where at some point we work on any possible sort of mechanism that maybe we have to do it quickly, but I think it’s better to see how things will evolve. The UN can be quite reactive, I think, but at this stage, again, it would not be appropriate for us to engage in any kind of planning.

Stefano Svaccara – New York Italian Press: Assuming that this press conference is watched not only by the missions here, but also by the people that actually need the protection of those peacekeepers. Could you explain exactly the rules of engagement in a situation where there is two-part fighting, for example, what happened recently in Lebanon, and people were basically in the crossfire, and was there a mission inside the base, and they were saying, basically, who will come here will be protected, but of course, people couldn’t leave their houses because there was a crossfire. So in this conference, would be this addressed to explain very well to the people that need to be protected how they can have the help of the Blue Helmets, and then to the Minister of Germany, is the European Union coordinating the way to help those peacekeeping missions or your country as well, Italy, Spain and so on, are going, you know, is there like a competition, a race, to be the first one… and there is no coordination at all?

Nils Hilmer: No, there’s no race. I think it’s a collective effort, as USG Lacroix said, that’s a common understanding of what we are doing. And so, the spirit is good between countries. There’s no race, no.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix: I think on your first question it is important to understand what peacekeeping is and what it can do and what it cannot do. In the case of a Lebanon, at some point you had a situation where there was not anymore an agreement within the two parties to preserve or to keep the ceasefire, we had these hostilities, and what we did, and the credit goes to the UNIFIL peacekeepers and the leadership of UNIFIL, General Lazaro, is that we make sure the peacekeepers remain in their position, in spite of the massive pressure under which we were. And the reason for that was that we wanted to make sure that UNIFIL would continue to play its role, post-hostilities, which is what currently UNIFIL is doing. UNIFIL is working very hard today with the Lebanese Armed Forces to help the LAF recover positions in Southern Lebanon. More than 120 positions were recovered. We’re helping LAF in finding out weapons caches so that the LAF can take care of those, we’re helping clearing the roads, demining, leasing the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli Defense Forces, working with the mechanism. All of this wouldn’t have been possible if our peacekeepers had abandoned their position during their hostilities. And yes, I do understand that it might have created a sense that, you know “why aren’t we fighting one party to protect the civilians”, but that is not what UNIFIL is and was about. On the other hand, you would have noted that our UNIFIL peacekeepers did actually shelter a number of civilians and also were massively helpful in helping in the relocation of exposed civilians during the hostilities.

Gabriel Elizondo – Al Jazeera English: Just three brief housekeeping questions about the meeting. One is on the background material. It said that there are 14 Member States that are co-sponsors, one being the United States. Is that still the case? Is the US still a co-sponsor as far as you know? Number two, has China indicated who they planned to send to the meeting yet? And number three, you mentioned Mrs. Stasch pledges. Do you have an estimate that you are shooting for, or at least a range, and will you be releasing the pledges received at the end of Conference?

Nils Hilmer: Yes, the US will stay co-sponsors. And yes, China is coming, and we know who is coming but I don’t know if it’s already released, so I’m sorry that I can’t answer that right now.

Dr. Katharina Stasch: Yes, on the pledges, obviously, we are in the process, and we will only know the result at the end of the conference. And I just wanted to highlight this is about substantial pledges and financial pledges, so don’t expect a number, but what is really important for us is also the substance.

Evelyn Leopold – DHFJ: First of all, are you civil servants in the Foreign Ministry or are you representing the new government coming in [CDU]? And secondly, I assume the rather strange opposition you met in Germany these days, there’s no problem with them in spending money on peacekeeping, the alternatives for Deutschland the AFD?

Nils Hilmer: Maybe I can combine those two questions, because we are civil servants on not politicians so that’s why I won’t answer the last question.

Sinan Tuncdemir – Rudaw Media Network / Kurdish News: Last week I think there was a report, news stories, actually by Hantzas Platz [unclear]. The report says Germany has halted the proposed sale of Euro fighter jets to Turkey, seeding concerns over recent political developments, notably the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. And Turkey made that statement. They said to the United Kingdom, not Germany. So, we are kind of confused. Can you just clarify what’s happening about this issue?

Mr. Nils Hilmer– I would say when it comes to exporting goods or weapons, it is not our responsibility, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economics. So, I’m sorry, I can’t answer that.

Eric Peters – Kyoto News of Japan: Do you know what members of the G7 will be represented on the ministerial level, and will Russia be represented, and if so, at what level?

Nils Hilmer: I can say that the process is still ongoing, so as I said before, I can’t talk about who’s coming at the moment because the registration deadline is not there yet. And a lot of countries haven’t talked about who they are sending, so that’s why I have to say that I don’t want to comment on who’s coming from which country.