ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday warned that United Nations peacekeeping efforts were at a crossroads, strained by widening geopolitical rifts and financial pressures, even as they remain one of the most cost-effective means of maintaining international stability and require urgent multilateral support.
The remarks were made by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during the closing session of a high-level peacekeeping preparatory meeting co-hosted by Pakistan and the Republic of Korea in Islamabad.
UN peacekeeping, a flagship effort to help countries navigate the path from conflict to peace, deploys over 70,000 personnel worldwide. Pakistan has long been one of its top troop contributors, with over 235,000 personnel having served in 48 missions over the past six decades.
“The threat to multilateralism, rising unilateralism and financial pressures are straining the sustainability and effectiveness of UN peacekeeping operations, underscoring the urgent need to revitalize multilateral cooperation and adapting peacekeeping to a rapidly evolving global landscape,” Dar said.
“The Security Council must provide unified and consistent support to all peace operations,” he added. “Mandates must be clear, focused and grounded in field realities.”
Dar also called for greater inclusion of troop-contributing countries in mission design, better resourcing aligned with mandates, accountability for attacks on peacekeepers and stronger regional partnerships, including with the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Over the two-day conference, participants explored the use of advanced technologies, such as drones, counter-improvised explosive device (IED) systems and simulation-based training, to enhance the safety and performance of peacekeepers.
Dar said credible deterrence and accountability were necessary to protect personnel in increasingly complex and hostile environments.
He also paid tribute to the 4,423 peacekeepers from over 130 countries who have lost their lives in the line of duty, including 181 Pakistanis.
Dar reiterated Pakistan’s support for the UN Charter and the need for peacekeeping to be part of a broader political strategy that addresses the root causes of conflict.
He emphasized that without inclusive political solutions, peacekeeping can only offer temporary relief.
Pakistan says UN peacekeeping at a crossroads, urges revitalized multilateral action
https://arab.news/2kb5g
Pakistan says UN peacekeeping at a crossroads, urges revitalized multilateral action
- Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar asks Security Council to provide unified support to all peace operations
- He describes UN peacekeeping as one of the most cost-effective means of maintaining international stability
Rating firm S&P says it won’t rush Iran war downgrades, sees risks for countries like Pakistan
- Agency says it is monitoring indebted energy importers as higher oil prices strain finances
- Gulf economies seen better placed to weather shock, though Bahrain flagged as vulnerable
LONDON: S&P Global said it would not make any knee-jerk sovereign rating cuts following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, but warned on Thursday that soaring oil and gas prices were putting a number of already cash-strapped countries at risk.
The firm’s top analysts said in a webinar that the conflict, which has involved US and Israeli strikes against Iran and Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, was now moving from a low- to moderate-risk scenario.
Most Gulf countries had enough fiscal buffers, however, to weather the crisis for a while, with more lowly rated Bahrain the only clear exception.
Qatar’s banking sector could also struggle if there were significant deposit outflows in reaction to the conflict, although there was no evidence of such strains at the moment, they said.
“We don’t want to jump the gun and just say things are bad,” S&P’s head global sovereign analyst, Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, said.
The longer the crisis was prolonged, though, “the more difficult it is going to be,” he added.
Sifon-Arevalo said Asia was the second-most exposed region, due to many of its countries being significant Gulf oil and gas importers.
India, Thailand and Indonesia have relatively lower reserves of oil, while the region also had already heavily indebted countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka whose finances would be further hurt by rising energy prices.
“We are closely monitoring these (countries) to see how the credit stories evolve,” Sifon-Arevalo said.
