US admits to losing confidence in the results of UN peace missions

Na debate by the Security Council on UN peacekeeping operations, US diplomat Jeffrey Bartos defended rigorous assessments of missions, accountability for the defined results and realistic and achievable goals, focused on security functions that support a political plan.

“The United Nations is stuck in bureaucracy and processes — including long reviews and declarations — when conflict resolution actually requires concrete and timely adaptations. Peacekeeping operations are no exception,” Bartos argued, arguing that “decisive diplomacy, supported by real power of influence, is what actually puts an end to wars.”.

He also criticized the UN Secretariat, led by António Guterres, for not producing specific reports for the transition and demobilization of missions.

“The Secretariat must tell the Council what it needs to know, not what it wants to hear. ... That frankness includes specific recommendations from the Secretariat, so that the Council can reconfigure or terminate missions with low performance when necessary,” he said.

“ Good management of American taxpayers’ money requires greater efficiency and accountability in the way the Secretariat manages funds for peace operations,” said Bartos.

In the intervention, the United States also advocated strict application of the zero tolerance policy to exploitation and sexual abuse by members of peace-keeping operations.

In the same debate in which Guterres urged the Member States to finance the peace missions in a predictable and appropriate manner, Bartos classified these operations as “failed instruments that need fundamental reform”.

Portugal participated in the debate, with Ambassador Rui Vinhas, recalling that the country “contributed more than 20,000 agents to UN peacekeeping missions over the past 65 years”.

Vineyards also acknowledged that peacekeeping operations need a greater focus and adaptable mandates, as well as greater agility.

“ But flexibility should not mean shutdown. When a crisis breaks out, we must act sooner and adapt faster,” the Portuguese diplomat said.

“ In short, peacekeeping operations should become more policy, more strategic, more adaptable and better equipped for increasingly complex and challenging environments,” he added.

On the other hand, António Guterres outlined five priorities for peace operations: putting peace consolidation first, building stronger partnerships with host states, adapting mandates to current realities, empowering peace operations with adequate resources and technology, and strengthening cooperation with regional organizations.