MINUSMA. The arrival of UN peacekeepers from Chad in Gao concludes the UN deployment in the Kidal region of northern Mali.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, has just concluded a visit to Mali. In an interview with UN News, he said that UN peacekeeping missions in sub-Saharan Africa face more challenging political and security conditions when carrying out their operations due to the multiplication of crises in the region and the re-fragmentation of the Security Council.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) held a ceremony in the country's capital, Bamako, on 11 December to commemorate the peacekeeping operation in Mali over the past decade and to take the opportunity to officially announce the end of the Mission's mandate. At the request of the Malian junta, the Security Council terminated the mandate of the Mission in June this year.
Also in September, President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombohe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, called for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) to begin a gradual withdrawal, with a deadline of the end of the year.
Africa continues to be the main focus of peacekeeping operations, judging by the number of missions and peacekeepers deployed. The following is Lacroix's presentation on the state of peacekeeping on the African continent.
MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko. United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Lacroix visited Mali.
UN News: You have just returned from a visit to Mali, where MINUSMA is gradually withdrawing, how is it going?
La Croix: The evacuation went well. More than 10,000 of our more than 13,500 colleagues in Mali have left, and we are on track to complete the evacuation by 31 December.
I went to Mali mainly to thank our colleagues for the excellent work they have done, who have been very active in providing protection for civilians. After several visits to Mali, I have learned that where MINUSMA staff are deployed to protect civilians, the feedback from the local population is always very positive and they are grateful. If they have any demand, it's that we should stay and do more.
UN News: Is it the right time to evacuate?
Lacroix: That was the decision of the Malian authorities, and the Security Council subsequently agreed. Of course, United Nations missions, whether peacekeeping or other types of missions, cannot operate without the support of the host Government.
So we have to withdraw, and I think the key challenge is to make sure that the withdrawal takes a form that guarantees the safety of our personnel.
UN News: What about other peacekeeping missions in sub-Saharan Africa, and will they continue to operate?
Lacroix: Most of our peacekeeping missions are faced with more challenging political and security conditions when they carry out their operations. The multiplication of global crises and the intensification of divisions among Member States have made it more difficult for us to act, especially in an atmosphere of disagreement and tension in which political efforts have not made sufficient progress.
As a result, tensions at the global level are also reflected at the local level. However, we are still actively protecting civilians, and hundreds of thousands of civilians rely on our peacekeepers every day for protection.
The challenges exist. Sometimes the host Government has encountered difficulties, and sometimes people have been disappointed because of the high expectations placed on us, particularly in our mission to protect civilians.
However, due to the volatile situation on the ground and the limited resources we have, we have not always been able to meet these expectations.
UN News: In addition to these political and security issues, peacekeeping operations are under financial pressure. You have just attended the UN Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in Accra, Ghana, have you received the support of the Member States you are seeking?
Lacroix: Absolutely. The Accra Conference was the first of its kind to be held in Africa, and it was a great success. We have received a large number of pledges from Member States, which are just in line with our needs. This shows that peacekeeping, as a United Nations activity, enjoys broad support from Member States.
This is probably one of the most supported activities of the United Nations, as most Member States are stakeholders, whether they are troop- or police-contributing countries, members of the Security Council or the United Nations General Assembly, or countries interested in the situation where we deploy our peacekeepers.
I think everybody recognizes the added value of peacekeepers and understands that without our peacekeeping operations, the situation in these countries and regions could be much worse.
UN News: Insecurity in Africa is changing rapidly. How have UN peacekeeping operations adapted to this change?
Lacroix: It's important to note that peacekeepers have greatly mitigated the effects of widespread insecurity in many parts of Africa. By looking at some countries or regions where peacekeepers are no longer deployed, such as Darfur in Sudan, we can gain a deeper understanding of the added value of peacekeepers.
Safety and security challenges are indeed increasing, and we absolutely need to step up our efforts to address them now. There are many ways to address the challenge, including increasing engagement with the community and building trust with the community.
It is important to explain to the public what we do, what we exist for, and to carry out our duties effectively, especially in the fight against the growing spread of fake news and disinformation. This is because some groups, out of their own vested interests, do not want peacekeeping operations to succeed, and some groups may even want them to fail.
They want to keep the chaos alive because it benefits them and their vested interests.