 So ladies and gentlemen good morning. Thank you very much for joining us here today My name is Bill Taylor. I'm the acting executive vice president of the United States Institute of Peace and On behalf of the Institute of Peace. I want to welcome you and the panel the UN panel To to this building as well as to Washington. We think this is a great opportunity For people in the audience also for members of the panel to have this have this discussion Some of you may be in this building for the first time a couple of you in particular on the on the first row US IP is an independent Nonpartisan government institution established 30 years ago. This is our year of 30th anniversary Funded by the Congress to increase the nation's capacity to prevent mitigate and resolve violent conflict around the world As the world knows as everyone in this room knows All too well over the past 25 years in order to prevent mitigate and resolve international conflict We need the United Nations peacekeeping and so it is a great opportunity for us to have to welcome this panel here to today Strong United Nations peacekeeping force has played a significant role at various points in violence de-escalation and in solidifying fragile peace With this in mind the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Created the high-level independent panel on peace operations to undertake a comprehensive review of the difficult issues peacekeeping now faces We are very pleased that the high-level panel has chosen to come to Washington to get your advice and to listen to your Questions and to hear from Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken later on this morning I'd also like to welcome All of our online audience participating in the webcast here They and everyone in the room can join the conversation about today's event on Twitter with the hashtag future peace ops Word about our process here this morning You have I hope index cards that have been provided to you as you as you came in we asked that you place either your question For the panel or your recommendation For the panel for their report in a succinct manner on that card And then pass it to the ends of your rows where our staff will pick these up and give them to Ambassador George moose who I was going to chair here today, and I will introduce in one moment Again, welcome to the Institute of Peace. I am pleased now to turn the event over to Ambassador moose Before I do that there is another George here at Institute of Peace which is Dr. George Lopez who is the vice president of our Academy and also well known to all people associated with the UN So George and George we have this ambassador moose You will see from his extended bio in the booklet that you have has had a long career of service Ambassador moose was a career member of the US Foreign Service He attained the rate the rank of career ambassador among his many assignments from 1991 to 1992 He was US representative to the United Nations Security Council and from 1998 to 2001 He was US permanent representative to the European office of the United Nations in Geneva in June 2007 He was nominated by the White House and again confirmed by the Senate As a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace Ambassador moose Bill thank you Thank you very much my Privilege and pleasure This morning is to be able to introduced to you Actually two people don't need introduction and indeed you have their full bios in your in your Welcome kits But we were delighted When the Secretary General decided last fall to appoint a high-level panel To undertake this comprehensive review of the UN peace operations Because UN peace operations have become vital To all of us those who are concerned about the protection of civilians those who are concerned about Ending violence and violent conflicts around the world those of us in the peace building community who cannot frankly do our work Without the peacekeepers of this world So it's my pleasure to introduce the chair and the vice chair of the Secretary General's high-level panel Again to people who need really no introduction President Jose Ramos Horta the chair of the panel Is a Nobel laureate. He's a journalist Promoter of independence for Timor-Leste He was for 30 years the central figure in a guiding force in his country's struggle for independence after more than two decades in exile he returned to home in 1999 and Where he served successively as the foreign minister's prime minister and then as head of state of a newly independent Timor-Leste Upon leaving office. He was appointed as the Secretary General's special representative and head of the United Nations integrated peace building office in Guinea-Bissau as His vice chair he has someone with more than 35 years of international service Miss Amira Huck Currently serves as the United Nations under secretary general for field support Which as we know is the the vital Foundation on which all of these operations rest she previously was the special representative of the secretary general in the United Nations Integrated mission in Timor-Leste She has held senior positions within the United Nations development program and Served as the United Nations resident coordinator in Malaysia as well as in the allow People's Democratic Republic We're delighted to have them both with us The purpose of this initial session I think is really to help inform us about the purpose of this mission And so what I wanted to do was invite the chair President almost wanted to say a few words about their purpose their hopes For this session here at the USIP this morning And you can do that here or you can do it from the podium. It's your underwear. Yes, sure Good morning It's a great pleasure to be in Washington DC again before I continue We'd like to introduce our other panel colleagues who are here with us I start from the left my left Ambassador Wang former ambassador China former China Special envoy in Afghanistan Former US UN under secretary general US ambassador Lynn Pasco sitting here Hilda Johnson Former Norwegian minister for development Formerly with UNICEF UNDP and the more recent is a special present secretary general in South Sudan She's publishing a book and I will advise you all to keep an eye And by the book I'm promoting the book for actually introducing the book to friends in the publishing industry because really tremendous experience then Alexander Illichev former Russian diplomat former top UN official mediator with the department political affairs and I think I introduce everybody and the last but not least Madeleine O'Donnell. She's the one who always write my speeches and and But I will not make the mistake like a former US Candidate running once for office and The speech had remarked like say if so and so is there In the audience you say so if and he just kept reading if he's there if he's so She just hand me over a note, but I hope I don't make that mistake I'm not new to Washington to introduce a bit of my personal chef. I first came here 75 76 And I met some young congressman One was Tom Harkin from Iowa. He had just been elected and He following Indonesia's invasion of Timur in 75. He decided to push a resolution of sense of the house in the US Congress out of some 500 people he got only 30 votes and All you know to illustrate the extent of an awareness about Timur Lester at the time Met also young congressman Tony Hall You know, you might know Great man one few years later. He went on hunger strike for 25 days To protest against the elimination of the hunger committee of which he was a chair and He is not someone that would do a hunger strike force Interest like me I know I would probably do but he was actually very elegant slim and He almost died with the hunger strike So to this is only to illustrate some of the great people in this town in the US Congress who I credit, you know for helping my own country being free and But obviously the most visible of all was president Clinton in 99. He played on critical central role In 99 I was here in Washington, I flew to Auckland for the apex summit. I Didn't have money some friends here in Washington gathered together seven thousand dollars and I went to Auckland and Arriving in Auckland. I stayed in a very humble guesthouse called Ponson be Owned by a New Zealand couple in the end after I left they didn't charge me for my state. They were sympathetic And but arriving there. I got a phone call from the White House Very, you know the towering voice, you know deep voice Saying he was the appointment secretary of the president of the United States and The president would like very much to see me right away And they understood I was busy with you watching me on CNN. I said whether I could Make the time to come straight to the hotel where President Clinton was then with my silly sense of humor I almost joke. I said well, I had to check my schedule whether I But I thought don't make any jokes. So I went straight to see president Clinton and that was the turning point the decisive of the change of US policies and paved the way for people so I'm very Infamiliar Territory and if you go to my country Dilly my street is called Robert Kennedy Boulevard. I The street had no name then When I decided to baptize The whole Kennedy family contributed after Kennedy gave me her late husband bronze bust That Kennedy sent a message Patrick Kennedy send a message. So if you go there, you will find a room full of American but particularly the memorabilia of the 50s. So that's my personal introduction. I Have read Samantha Powers speech yesterday in Brussels. I feel a bit intimidated after that speech because because it's brilliant and I would endorse Personally, you know, most of what it is argued and said there I First met Samantha many years ago in Timur. She came for a visit and She was still with Harvard and she told me Jose. I'm going to quit Harvard. I'm going to work for a new US senator and I said who is that and She said Barack Obama say who is that Barack Obama? And when you come to watch I will introduce you to him. I Well Too bad too soon. He became president of the United States. So I didn't meet him as a senator Only to illustrate extraordinary changes, you know in the wall since I first came to this country and I will now move on to my remarks. We are as a panel appointed by the secretary general Back in October November We are 17 members from across the globe We'd accumulated the 600 years of experience in different like mine that you know and Some of my colleagues present here and many others who are not so we were asked by the secretary general in a very very limited time Initially it all asked to deliver the report and recommendation by April I responded miss secretary general you realize we are not all Koreans You know the Koreans they work seven days a week 20 hours a day. I'm an islander and we are very relaxed people So he gave us one extra month end of this month. We will deliver our our report and recommendations The mandate was on to review the peace and security architecture of the UN Special political missions, which not very known to the general public Because it's more discreet. It does What everybody talked about preventive preventive diplomacy mediation it helps in peace building in countries in Transition sometimes in combination with peacekeeping while peacekeeping ongoing and then the other mechanism or well-known the peacekeeping that has taken much more different Dimension mandate and configuration as you know So our mandate is very limited on how to perfect this system the peace and security architecture We have done a lot of hearings around the world From DACA in Bangladesh Asia Pacific regional consultation to Cairo Addis Ababa Brussels and then smaller workshops organized by different governments like in Japan Islamabad Delhi Amsterdam with the Dutch In Helsinki colleagues of ours have been to Congo some are going to Mali So we have done extensive hearing We don't have a particular opinion at the moment Rightly so because we are gathering your views and by In the next few days we start drafting By end of May we deliver our draft to the secretary general. I Would like to thank Ambassador George moves Ambassador Bill Taylor Petrie of UN foundation a seasoned secretary Crocker and all of you for honoring us in inviting us here We know that since the end of the Cold War the number of violent conflict has fallen dramatically many factors contributed to this but Definitely the UN peace operations Had a significant contribution in that I could mention a number of situations that are not known But where the UN played a critical role like where I serve in Guinea-Bissau Without the need for a peace keeping of peace enforcement Only through the political mission it we were able to Return the country from a military crew 40 years of failures to constitutional order and in my own country different experience with the United Nations and if it were not for the UN active presence I don't know frankly whether we alone would be able to resolve the situation After the case of decline of in violent conflict we have now seen a slight reversal of this trend largely to the due to your conflicts in Africa and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East The nature of conflicts types of vectors involved changing and the tasks are not taken by the UN operations and the other security command-aid operations also continue to involve UN Peacekeepers officials are working in very demanding environments such as Mali Iraq Somalia and then we deal with financial constraints and And the UN has been asked to undertake more and more mission in remote dangerous places our I mentioned already our mandate we have done numerous consultations so far and Our panel has Examined other missions besides the ones I mentioned a few more less Iraq Somalia Mali In the course of liberations and one lesson that emerges is that there is no such thing as a smooth transition from war to peace Every country had experienced crisis that test the will and commitment of parties to peace They also test the resolve of the United Nations to lead To act to deliver As we walk this path we had many countries including the United States who accompany us on this path This is what the United Nations stand for if it is this it is the means by which we provide a collective response and shoulder collective responsibility for our collective present and the future We have seen a growing gap between those who mandate operations and those who carry them out These are not the principles upon which the United Nations was founded and we hope That countries with the means make Contribute more So it's a great pleasure to privilege to be here with you today. The United States has spent significant effort this year Beginning with the Biden summit on the strengths and capabilities available to the United Nations That is going to be on the end of this month a first-ever meeting of our chiefs of defense staffs from all over the world Meeting in New York. I will close by saying that the road to peace is not always a straight and Each country must find our own way and It must struggle for an inclusive peace for men women and children for all faith and beliefs But no country can do without support of the international community We live in an interconnected wall where marginalized and disaffected youth in one country may be recruited To cross the globe and fight in another a few weeks ago I was reading The internet and I came across an incredible story It's heartbreaking the story that Make me feel I would say actually When people speak highly of me or any of our doubt colleagues I actually feel small when compared with that little girl the story in Huffington post of a three-year-old girl in South Sudan Walking for four hours Through the bush risk dangers Leading her blind father to the nearest United Nations feeding center her name is Nia khat pal She was a spotted by a UNICEF registration officer these are the stories that Sometimes when I personally look at situation in Congo Endless He went presence there more than a billion dollars a year or Darfur more than a billion dollars a year no solution inside and you think you ask Shouldn't we use that money for something else? But I said no we cannot abandon These extraordinary people on the ground we cannot up and on Nia khat Nia khat pal I Told my some panel colleagues that I do not wish the our report To carry My name because usually it's like all the brahimi report. It could end up called Ramu's order report Yes, and it's a report of 17 people so it's not under so I would like to honor Nia khat pal the report will be hers and We have to answer to her Why we have failed or Or whether we can deliver peace to her to her mother her brothers and sisters So I end here The God bless you all and my colleagues are here and they will answer questions Ian Martin Just a walk-in joining us Ian Martin was In Libya special presenter Secretary Jenner was in Nepal Was into more or less in 99 in an incredible difficult situation then went again in 2006 So we would with Amnesty International was 30 years ago so My colleagues right here. They will also join in answering a question. Thank you and God bless you As you've indicated we have a bit of a contradiction here on the one hand as you indicated in your remarks the numbers of conflicts at least statistically seems to be declining and yet The demand for you in peace operations has never been greater We've added two major operations every year for the last few years and that demand Unless we figure out a better way to manage it could indeed overwhelm the UN I didn't I wanted to give you a chance also Miss help to add any introductory remarks you might want to make here Especially coming from where you are as they have the UN speed support operations Well, thank you very much and Thank you Everyone for for coming here. I think it's very important. This is precisely what I think the panel wants to do is to interact with all of you hear your views peacekeeping peace operations of the United Nations is Is something that we all do and so I think as we reflect as a panel On the kind of responsibility that is on our shoulders. I think it's very important to hear what you have to say But let me just say a few things in terms of why The secretary general I think felt it's so important and perhaps there was kind of a groundswell Within the UN as well, but within many of our stakeholders troop contributing countries police contributing countries civil society think tanks academia that the Brahimi report is 15 years ago, you know, the ground has changed considerably since then and I think there was a great need that We must Rethink we must take a relook at what defines us as the United Nations What defines peace operations? How do we work in the current environment? Are we fit for purpose? If not, you know, what is it that that that needs to be done? And I think that that is where where we are coming from in this. I Think over the years we have seen mandates of the United Nations peace operations Become more and more extensive. There is quite a bit of, you know Discussion that says these mandates have become almost like a Christmas tree that, you know, everyone sort of hangs their particular interest And if you look at mandates of some of the missions, there are 41 43 tasks is it really is it realistic to Expect that with the resources with the capabilities with everything else there that that those mandates can can can be met And I think more important in terms of whether the mandates can be met or not is the expectations of the populations in these countries their expectations are high and I think they feel that the You know the positioning of a United Nations mission In that country is going to resolve many of the kinds of you know Trauma that they've experienced and you know that life is going to be all right again But that means that you're looking at the entire Gamut of what needs to be done in a post-conflict situation So it's if there is a peace agreement maintaining the peace agreement. It means Stabilizing so that you know security elements can provide Certain space for other kinds of activities to take place and then there is the You know the eternal question of you know, how long does it take to do peace building? How long does it take to build institutions and again as I said expectations? enormous Timelines of those expectations are short not only from the people but also from donors those who are giving us the mandates Etc. So I think you know we really need to address those tensions to what is realistic. What is achievable? Do we have the means do we have the capability? Also recently because of the volatile situations, I think that we find ourselves in the Mandates have been changing in a way that some say there's been kind of an incremental doctrinal shift that has been taking place particularly with respect to the use of force and So are we you know looking at chapter 7? Mandates or are we going sort of somewhat beyond that if one were to look at the Mandate of the force intervention brigade in DRC Which had language to say that we would neutralize some of the armed groups. So where does that? Fit in with with the mandate. What is it that that's happening? You know, how do we need to resolve it then in terms of understanding whether there is a doctrinal shift or not? Protection of civilians as we all know characterized much of what the Brahimi report was all about but I think Today more than ever. I think protection of civilians looms large and again Defining what we do. What is protection of civilians? What is the expectation of troop contributing countries and police contributing countries who are in the missions? How do they define it? How do they understand it? How do they react to to incidents that happen where clearly? you know the the the safety and security and rights of Populations are are being attacked in in in many different ways We have also talked about the use in in sort of chapter 8 of the of the UN mission the increasing use of regional organizations and Particularly I would say single out perhaps more than anyone else The African Union the largest number of our missions are in Africa. How do we? Partner with them. What are their capabilities? So I think we've got a number of issues to to you know where we would love to hear your views I think these will help inform us And and help in our deliberations as as we finish our regional consultations I do want to say that in all the regional consultations that we've had thus far They've been broad-ranging so it isn't just that we met with member states But we have met extensively with academia think tanks civil society women's organizations Our work is also we're trying to dovetail our work with two other important panels that are that are concurrent One is the panel on the review of the peace building architecture and the other is the review of Resolution 1325 which deals with women peace and security. So let me stop there Thank you very much because you're in your comments actually anticipate Several of the questions that we've received from the audience One of those you touched on which is the fact that you know once upon a time peacekeeping operations We're fairly simple things about keeping peace, but increasingly we have added to that mission in those mandates Human rights components rule of law components Peace building components and one of the questions here indeed is how do we integrate these two? Sometimes very different looking missions peacekeeping and peace building Can they in fact be done simultaneously or what what are the benefits of incorporating? peace building elements into these peacekeeping operations this is and also Extending the mandates for longer periods of time are these questions that you will be looking at what you what are your sort of preliminary thoughts about About those issues Maybe if we do with your agreement to share the burden and the privilege sure with my colleagues Maybe he'll do would you like to be the first? please Do you want to look at you? It's a very good question And it's what a lot of the major peacekeeping missions have been facing for the last 15 years Where increasingly they are multidimensional including both the traditional? Blue helmet operation, but also huge peace building components in the areas you listed I'm not sure that we could say that these are contradictory In many ways a chapter 7 mandate at least from protection of civilians perspective is necessary in a classical post conflict environment For example in the case of South Sudan clearly a very critical POC element was needed at the same time you can also Not manage to only do that You also have to build institutions in the post-conflict environment or just after independence as was the case in Timor-Leste And is the was the case in South Sudan. I think the challenge is that For many of the missions is is threefold one it is about their sequencing and prioritization and there isn't enough Understanding of the situation on the ground the complexity and what the right sequencing and prioritization would be I think the second challenge that many missions face Is that peace building is not only about the peacekeeping mission. It's also about Understanding the drivers of conflict to the incentives and an analysis of what would it take to build peace among those different actors? I think that That is also part of the weakness of the system that one doesn't do that in depth and hence you get relapsed in many situations You got it in East Timor in 2006 you got it in South Sudan in 2013 I think the third element which is critical Among many is that peace building is not only about what a peacekeeping mission does It's very much about what everyone else does as well both domestic political constituencies, but also the donor community and too much I think through too many many missions dilemmas and and Where they're facing significant challenges is there isn't a comprehensive and holistic approach to that So the donors go on and do their favorite things the mission Implements the mandate and there isn't really a comprehensive approach where one sees okay We make sure that these critical elements are done because if they are not done Whether it's from the mission side or it is from donors. It is all the political leadership. It's Basically going to fail So I think that's maybe my preliminary thoughts that there are many many Issues that are not properly addressed and we are not approaching this from a comprehensive perspective based on conflict analysis Based on knowing the drivers of conflict and therefore also knowing how we can try to help the country address them and Prevent relapse and if we look at the relapse rate, unfortunately, that's increasing and more of the conflicts are now Relapsed conflicts then actually fresh ones. So maybe those few comments are very very helpful. Thank you very much sort of following up on that Suggests and this is sort of reminiscent of a conversation I was in just a couple of weeks ago about the situation in eastern Congo and the absence of a Holistic approach and the absence of an architecture for how you achieve such an approach Will you likely be addressing this in your seeking to address this? How do you achieve this more integrated? holistic approach to Peacekeeping and peace building Lynn Well, I I catch this one because I Guess we made the mistake of going to Goma a few weeks ago as part of the group that went around and checked the situation There and looked at it. I think it varies if I would look at it this way In the first instance one thing that we went to was a Village or a city which had been almost totally depopulated because the bad guys had been in one of the various groups And don't let me tell you which one it was here because I'm not quite sure but anyway, they'd come in marauding they were basically wanting to control the mines and and the peacekeepers went in and and pushed them back with the the Congolese army, which did the both of the real work in the process The transformation of that town was dramatic because everybody was so thrilled 30,000 people came back to the city and They were out there when the force commander was walking around who happened to be your Gwyan Every all the little kids wanted to get the pictures taken with him and such because this was the very dramatic these guys had really helped Now the tricky part there is that as in the Congo as you may know We moved most of the operations from the Western Congo to the Eastern Congo so that we could be where the action is and really work on it my Preliminary sense from my own thing and anything we say today I should say is really what we saw or our thoughts because we've got lots of discussions among our group to really get to what We're going to make his recommendations But it looked like some of the operations were quite good in terms of reaching out the human rights operation there was quite impressive They were out all over the country. They understood what they were doing they understood how they were going about it and this was a critical part of of the Cleaning up the the the various operation any security Reform was going to go to start from people being worried that the human rights guys might Might complain at them for the kinds of things that they were doing so that was working well other parts of it rehabilitation I thought we're not working at all frankly and And so you would look at this and you had to mix the several together one last thing that I think has really Bothered our group a lot in general and we've asked a lot of questions on it is okay We've got these missions in out there whether they're political missions the large ones or whether they were peacekeeping missions How do they work closely with the country team? Which after all was there beforehand is working on all of these projects has them going many long-term projects? Strongly supported by the donors How do they work with them very closely and actually build up their programs because they're going to be there after the after the mission leaves And I would say this is a very imperfect match at this point We've there's a lot more work there to be done, and this is one thing I think that the the panel is going to be looking at very closely So I this short answer George is we're not there yet, but I think we're looking and give questions Yeah, indeed. Thanks very much for me The UN peace operations have gotten more complex not only in terms of those the breadth of the mandate But also the kinds of challenges that UN peace operations are now being asked to take on and the example that Immediately comes well Congo comes to mind because there you have both a chapter 6 and a chapter 7 components of that mission and now in Mali You actually have a counter-terrorism component. How how? Is this is this a sustainable? Paradigm for you in peace operations and are these questions that the panel will also be looking at how one integrates or should one integrate these kinds of different purposes within the UN peace I see in Martin's going to get to Stuck with the difficult This is probably the most central question. Yeah, so that the panel has to address and it's certainly the one that divides member states most keenly To some extent divides those who mandate operations on the Security Council and more traditional true contributing countries and your You're right. It's if you go back to the Brahimi report the doctrine in the Brahimi report Was that peace enforcement was not something to be done by blue helmets by by the United Nations? Fully defined peace enforcement But the assumption was that peace enforcement was something mandated by the UN Security Council, but to be carried out by coalitions of the willing or of course time the Prahimi report the African Union hadn't been being created But since then it's become the African Union that is The earliest and most robust intervener in Africa whether itself or through the the sub regional organizations But increasingly there have been elements of peace enforcement included in UN peacekeeping mandates When the Security Council mandated the force intervention brigade in the Eastern Congo Because of the controversy Around this very issue it said in its resolution that this was not to be regarded as a precedent But of course once something happens, it always becomes potentially a precedent And the Mali mandate is not quite so doesn't specifically talk about offensive operations to neutralize armed groups as the Mandate of the force intervention brigade does but it talks about preventing the return of armed groups to Northern Mali and therefore it goes a substantial way in the same direction And of course Mali has become the operation that is seeing the largest number of Deaths and casualties among UN peacekeepers So it's a tough question And it goes to how the capabilities of United Nations Operations can be enhanced And how far the gap between Desire of the Security Council to give more in some ways ambitious mandates to UN operations can be matched with the capability not just of true contributors, but of all that surrounds that in terms of Equipment what are called enablers as well as the willingness of contributing countries to put themselves seriously at risk, so That's probably The question that that we could at least tell you where we're going But the question very reasonably simply asked whether we were addressing it and absolutely we have to address a central issue We're any other This is I think a central question and Raised in a number of contexts the question is this is the panel reviewing The accountability mechanisms in peacekeeping operations. Are you going to for example? Address questions such as a rose in Haiti with the cholera epidemic, but that's only one illustration of the problems of accountability. How How are you? trying to assess these challenges of how to ensure that The peacekeepers and those associated peacekeeping operations are in fact held to some standards of accountability Well, the issue of accountability is is something that we absolutely must address I think first of all with respect to the I think issues say of Conduct discipline you know Behavior of troops with respect to sexual exploitation abuse You know just other things that that might happen in in in their contact I think over the years, you know the trend we have been emphasizing more the training and You know building this in into pre-deployment training So that includes modules on human rights on understanding gender dimensions understanding issues related to you know as I said in sexual exploitation and violence the overall trend overall trend is that you know these these Overall is is is decreasing in the missions But you know, I think the and and of course the UN has a zero tolerance policy with respect to this But you know, even if trends are decreasing I think it just takes one You know sort of misbehavior somewhere which is you know, it's it's very difficult to to kind of Unravel from from from from that so I certainly think that the UN has to do much more In terms of the accountability. I think some of that relates to our own Internal systems of justice and the ability to deal with that The second is with respect to troop contributing countries and police contributing countries where you know There is a separate mechanism which is now in in place Through the General Assembly and the rules and regulations by which I mean those troops are not staff members The police members are not their experts on mission. So they're guided by different set of Rules and regulations, but what we do in the case so far is that we immediately inform the host government And the troops are then subject to their countries You know disciplinary measures judicial system and they inform the UN in terms of what has been You know done in regard to the resolution of these cases again I think that some of it may not be so satisfactory So I think we will address this issue and look at how we can strengthen the accountability in the system of justice I think we have time maybe just for one last question and it sort of goes to the heart of what you said the outset which is that the burdens of peace operations Are not being at the moment equitably shared We've got preponderance of troop contributors from the developing world frankly Asia Africa And there was a hope that at the end of the Afghanistan mission that perhaps some of those international troops might be Redeployed in a way or recommitted to UN peace operations. How are you? Planning to address this whole issue of how do we broaden the base of? contributions to peace operations and all their dimensions and What's the mechanism by which we we get there and and perhaps related to that is there a new? Possibility of prospect for doing what we had always wanted to do which is to have a rapid reaction kind of forced to be Ready to respond to emergency situations. Is there something else as well that you're going to be looking at I can maybe just share with you some concerns raised in our consultations in Dhaka Addis and Literally with any troop contributing country from the developing countries and that is The troop contributing countries from South Asia Africa provide the troops the Europeans US And the bargain You know, you would know that one UN peacekeeper cost of average $2,000 Month a NATO Soldier in deployment cost about $20,000 a month So you can see the And the delivery, you know the execution of the mandate Through my personal observation experience very from mission to mission depends on The troops or the police force that are recruited Sometimes the UN has vetting system, but there is also a pressure for time to deliver you know, you cannot go on and on interviewing people and Sometimes as Sanchez is on the ground very Desperate in desperate about to lack of decisions from New York. So sometimes When you have to mobilize thousands of police or troops You not always you can afford to be too shoesy. That's what we have problems over performance The problem the performer has to do with also mobility with equipment logistics, etc There have been criticism of the Europeans Americans for not contributing to peacekeeping and People say because they don't want to die. Well, I don't personal. I don't agree with that because Americans Europeans died by the thousands in Afghanistan and they didn't pack and leave, you know, the issue has more to do with the Sensitivities on the part of us or Europeans in a sense because when you deploy French troops or British troops Whatever to any theater of operation in Africa something goes wrong immediately they say well Neocolonization from the European through back door through peacekeeping. So the Europeans are genuinely reluctant to Be drawn into this control verses But there is ongoing discussion if you saw the speech by the higher president of the European Union to the Security Council yesterday We met with her in New York engineer in Brussels. So there is a renewed Review actually they're doing a strategic review the European Union to see how much more now they can contribute to UN partnership Whether with troop deployment, which they already doing the Dutch I in good numbers in Bali But particularly with the equipment with logistics with training, which the US is doing the Japanese government under car in Prime Minister Abbey I in the process of reviewing Legislation, I think 16 piece of legislation in order to enable the Japanese troops to be deployed to peace in peacekeeping but in Personal conversations with the Japanese I said in annoying a bit Japanese politics. I said why don't you focus on? logistics on training on that you know less controversial in Japan because you cannot have an effective fighting force or police force without very good infrastructures Logistics mobility for them and that's been one of the handicaps of the UN so so that's what it's obvious to Everybody as we reviewed another Criticism has been and that we are looking at is the lack of consultations Between the troop contributing countries security counselor UN secretariat There have been some informal consultation, but not something that is I say Acceptable to the troop contributing particularly when a mission is ongoing and because of development on the ground The secret the secretariat the security gun decide to change the mission mandate. That's when the troop contributing countries There are other issues of our chain of command authority Because the temptation if you are force commander from country a somewhere in Africa or Asia And you are the force commander you lead a battalion and you have other Other than the UN the special presenter tell you something and you are supposed to follow The special present if he or she is the highest authority there And only he or she may contact Secretary Jenner if you but the force commander might decide well I'm going to call my the first minister Back in my country and to see what he says Or the Prime Minister the foreign minister and these happen and if you are force commander from a particular country If you don't consult with your boss back in the capital and something goes wrong You're going back the six months later and you might be in that so these are political and human Realities that the UN has to deal with and it's not so black and white and so that requires what? real charismatic strong Leadership from the special present is of the Secretary general on the ground from the force commander and People who like any of us in any our situation our lives, you know, we influence behavior through our personality through our vision and That's what happened. Also when you are srg. You were fully committed if you are dedicated you create Respect among the people around you not only your own but the country you are serving. Yeah, you can produce miracles You know with no troops you can do it through cheer personality through three year and determination commitment And I've seen some srg's From the way and being able to do that You know, I witness that some I hear where with me in this room, you know, yeah, Martin He's a remember intimate from his carriage in 99 in dealing with incredible complex situation there a Meera Hark was special present to Secretary general in Timor-Leste and Hilda Johnson did you know the most courageous risky seeing in South to run she ordered the gates of the UN open for tens of thousands of people fleeing and What you're supposed to do and they are still there And So these are decisions that have been taken by the people on the ground who need strong backing from headquarters from strong backing from the secretary general from the powers that be and not Abandoning them when things go wrong well This has been I I think a perfect Launch to the conversations that we will be continuing now throughout the morning and hopefully we will be able To return to some of these themes and subjects in the in the breakout panels that we'll be having later on today But I want to pause here and thank Chair and vice-president of the panel for getting us off on a good start and and Would I invite you all to join me in thanking them? And now I have the further privilege and honor to introduce a good friend and assistant secretary Sheba Crocker was confirmed as assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs in September of 2014 We won't mention how long she waited before that confirmation But we're delighted to see her in that position Prior to that she held several senior positions at the State Department Including as a senior advisor to secretary of state as the principal deputy director of the in the office of policy planning And as chief of staff to the deputy secretary of state In 2007 2008 miss Crocker was the senior advisor To the assistant secretary general for peace building support at the United Nations And she's also served as deputy chief of staff to the UN special envoy for tsunami recovery It's a pleasure and honor for me to To welcome her to the podium. Thank you ambassador moose Welcome to chairman Ramos Horta and vice chair hawk and your fellow panel members and thank you to US IP a place near and dear to my heart and the United Nations Foundation for making today's conversation possible I am honored to participate in this excellent event last September in New York I participated in the peacekeeping summit co-hosted by vice president Biden the secretary general Ban Ki-moon Rwanda Japan Bangladesh and Pakistan And the enthusiasm in the room and the commitment of the summit participants to contribute to UN peacekeeping missions and to help Fill key gaps was palpable our hope is that today's event will build off that enthusiasm And that it will be one additional step on the path to strengthening and reforming UN peace Operations and UN peacekeeping Deputy secretary of state Tony Blinken will speak today about why the United States would like to see UN peace operations Reformed and what specifically we would like to see the high-level panel focus on I think it's fair to note that we are at a unique moment as the world faces a dramatic level of security challenges From political crises in Libya and Yemen to the situations in Iraq Afghanistan and Syria to the car in South Sudan just to name a few and With both major and minor crises today The United Nations is there being asked to play a role from preventing a relapse to war to addressing Extremist threats to governance to helping stave off Ebola to trying to end the abuse of children as soldiers Just to name and so much more. I'm struck by how much then we need to look at modernizing the United Nations to keep up with this demand Certainly its power lies in its uniqueness and as it brings the weight of the world's nations to bear against such Problems and with it a clear voice and legitimacy It's been as we've heard 15 years since the Brahimi report which last addressed Comprehensively the reform of UN field missions yet as our ambassador to the United Nations Samantha power noted in her remarks in Brussels yesterday We are asking peacekeepers to do more in more places and in more complex conflicts than at any time in history So we have a lot to discuss today and on that note. I'm pleased to introduce US Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken Deputy Secretary Blinken is no stranger to peacekeeping before joining the State Department in January Tony held senior foreign policy positions in two administrations spanning two decades most recently as President Obama's principal deputy national security adviser and in that capacity Tony played a key role in Helping to make the vice president's peacekeeping summit last September a success Prior to working at the White House for President Obama and vice president Biden Tony spent six years on the Hill as Democratic staff director for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee He also worked on President Clinton's national security staff including as chief foreign policy speechwriter And as his principal adviser on Europe the European Union and NATO Throughout Tony has seen or worked on every permutation of UN peace operations as well as multinational force operations of every stripe from Kosovo to Bosnia To Somalia to South Sudan Mali Iraq and Afghanistan more recently Tony is deeply versed in the needs the challenges and the opportunities He has seen where our collective efforts have worked and where they have fallen short and perhaps most pertinent to today's discussions He knows better than almost anyone what the United States can contribute to those efforts I can think of no one better to situate today's conversations than Deputy Secretary Blinken. Please join me in welcoming him to the podium Good morning It's very very good to be with all of you and Shiva. Thank you for a wonderful introduction. We've been colleagues Off and on for the past couple of decades, although you couldn't tell by looking at Shiva And it's great to be with you. It's particularly good to be here at the Institute of Peace one of the wonderful things about my Relatively new job is that I get to look out my window at this building and When I need a little bit of inspiration and a little bit of calm the day I look out the window and I look here Not just because the building is so spectacular, but because of what goes on in this building the efforts to Add to our storehouse of intellectual capital in thinking about issues of war and peace Is so important and so I'm grateful to the Institute and the United Nations Foundation For hosting this dialogue and for a long-standing commitment on this critical issue But let me begin first of all by thanking his excellency Jose Ramos Harta and the distinguished panelists for tireless work over the course of this year What you say What you write What you advise through this process will help set the course of peace For the next decade. It's hard to think of a more important charge The United States stands firmly alongside you in this effort to modernize you in peace operations and Strengthen this essential contribution to global security This is no easy task Nearly seven decades ago the first two UN peacekeeping missions were composed of unarmed military observers with the consent of warring parties They monitored ceasefires across a long contentious borders and built confidence on both sides of a conflict today as we've already heard this morning We ask our peacekeepers to face a world of far greater challenge Where sometimes there seems to be little peace to keep It's a world where heavy weaponry and drugs slip quietly across borders fomenting instability financing criminality a World where young boys can be conscripted as child soldiers and Girls enslaved as child brides a world where civilians are not the occasional victims, but often the frequent targets of unspeakable atrocities From northern Nigeria to the Somali coast state fragility and endemic violence repeatedly undermine hopes for a lasting peace and We know that extremism finds fertile ground in this vacuum of authority Threatening our security and challenging our most basic values In this world where conflict closes a danger to all of us Peacekeeping remains a responsibility from all of us We cannot close our eyes or bury our heads in the sand But we also cannot and should not have to face these global challenges and global responsibilities alone When violence erupts or political transitions break down UN peace operations are often the best tool we have to protect civilians to stop the violence to facilitate peace and Rebuild states and societies Today unfortunately Those involved in peace operations are in a growth industry The demand for their services is at an all-time high nearly 130,000 brave men and women carry out 16 missions worldwide by far the most peacekeepers that have ever been active in history Two-thirds of them serve in conflict areas where they operate under robust and demanding mandates Often at great risk to themselves Just this past weekend as you all know an attack in Mali killed a peacekeeper and injured other people a tragedy that only serves to deepen Our common commitment to peace We turn to peacekeepers to protect civilians from atrocities in the Central African Republic To disarm rebels and prevent sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help reestablish state authority and stability In Mali, we also turn to UN political missions to work for diplomatic solutions in Libya and Yemen to press for security and governance in Iraq and Afghanistan and to support efforts for peaceful transitions in Somalia and in Burundi in Virtually all of these circumstances We are asking the UN to carry out their duties in countries where governments are extremely weak and Often unable to meet the basic needs of their people So while challenges to peacekeeping have fundamentally changed The truth is that we as a peacekeeping community Largely have not and this goes I think to the heart of the challenge that we face Too often missions are deployed with long and overly complicated mandates inadequate planning Weak leadership too often staffing shortages competing change of command uneven commitments undercut success from the very beginning in the worst of cases these failings conspire To create an environment where abuses go unchecked and civilians unprotected We know we have to do better To equip you on peacekeepers with the flexibility with the capacity and the political backing to meet 21st century challenges The United States is deeply invested in this effort Since the very start of his administration President Obama has emphasized and recognized our nation's commitment to multilateral security initiatives in In 2009 he chaired an unprecedented round table meeting with top troop and police contributing nations at the UN General Assembly pledging our support for new proposals that strengthen peace operations and as Shiva referenced just a few moments ago just last year But excuse me Vice President Biden co-hosted the UN summit on peacekeeping operations and just yesterday as was referenced Ambassador Powers and Brussels to urge greater commitment from European nations In the face of volatile Asymmetric threats from Mali to the DRC. We know it won't be enough to make small changes small tweaks Around the edges of the existing system We have to embrace big bold thinking that fundamentally redefines peacekeeping for a new era That is why Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wisely convened this important panel and sought the expertise of each of you As you formulate your recommendations, I would urge you to take this opportunity to think not only strategically But also progressively About the future of peace operations and to this end with your permission I just like to outline a few areas where our administration would encourage the panel to take a close look First and foremost We believe we have to significantly strengthen the capacity of peace operations we deploy This means expanding the base of contributors facilitating rapid deployment Improving command and control and working aggressively to prevent abuses and corruption It means investing in strategic planning in a way that anticipates modern threats like organized crime IEDs suicide bombers and it means prioritizing leadership and management skills rigorously assessing the performance of senior mission leaders and Taking action to remove ineffective leaders The international community took a meaningful step forward in bolstering peacekeeping capacity in September at the UN summit Nearly one-third of the more than 30 countries in attendance announced They were considering new contributions of infantry battalions or force enablers to UN missions Some nations reaffirmed their long-standing commitments Including Bangladesh and the Netherlands and others offered to participate for the first time like Colombia Mexico announced it would deploy troops to UN peacekeeping for the first time in 60 years Indonesia announced it would increase its troops from 1800 to 4000 and create a standby rapid response force Sweden announced it would deploy 250 troops to conduct intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance in Mali Latvia has already followed through on its commitment to provide 50,000 euros to two peacekeeping initiatives in the Middle East and in Africa and China announced it will continue to expand its participation Already at more than 2,000 troops For our part of the United States will continue to do our part as the largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping We cover more than 28 percent of annual costs and provide extensive airlift Logistical support and medical services for both UN and African Union peacekeepers Today we maintain 1400 troops and peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and the Sinai and we're continuously working to identify gaps That the United States is uniquely positioned to fill But more must be done to ensure that peacekeepers can actually deliver against increasingly robust mandates in South Sudan peacekeeping operations were still more than 2,000 troops short a year after the Security Council authorized an emergency increase in troops In Mali the mission has had to spend millions of dollars Just to transport water to its troops and has yet to reach full capacity Equipping peacekeepers with the latest in advanced technology can help make up for the shortfalls they endure in The DRC peacekeepers are using unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles to help them patrol vast distances and dense forests When a UAV detected a ferry accident on Lake Kivu last year Peacekeepers immediately deployed their speedboats and helicopters to the scene and were able to save 15 lives in Mali UAVs are giving peacekeepers an advantage in the fight against armed insurgents over immense deserts By applying these high-tech advances We help alleviate the pressure of expanded keep peacekeeping mandates strengthen operations in treacherous territory and Most importantly save the lives of peacekeepers and civilians alike At the end of the day however The kinds of conflicts we're talking about the kinds of challenges We're asking our peacekeepers to confront will not be resolved simply with more helicopters or more troops They have political causes They require political solutions Special political missions are uniquely designed in this regard. So it's especially fitting that they're part of this panel's review With expertise in everything from crisis management to peacebuilding These missions can bring diverse voices and recalcitrant parties together in meaningful dialogue As the secretary general is rightly noted UN operations do not need to be binary a binary choice between peacekeeping and political missions They can work alongside each other to mitigate violence Facilitate political settlements and we urge the panel to strengthen these tools at the same time Ultimately we know that no country wants to rely on others for its own security to outsource the protection of its own citizens And that's why this past summer The United States answered the call from African countries for help building their own capacity to respond to crises in their own neighborhoods At the US Africa leaders summit President Obama announced the African peacekeeping rapid response partnership To help an initial group of six countries rapidly deploy and sustain peacekeeping operations Because we know the earlier that we can act The more lives we can save Regardless of mission Regardless of nationality There is one constant that must remain true in peacekeeping one principle on which we cannot compromise And that is the protection of civilians From the refugee camps of eastern Congo to the remote villages of South Sudan civilians look to the blue flag of the United Nations with hope in the midst of desperate deadly circumstances There can be sometimes no greater symbol of hope of possibility of life than that blue flag But far too often they find themselves on their own That's what happened on the evening of June 6 2014 when armed rebels attacked an outdoor church service in the Congolese town of New Zerule Just five miles away Peacekeepers were stationed with a mandate to use force as necessary to protect them But the blue helmets never showed More than 30 people were massacred that night including eight children among them a four-year-old child The United States must fulfill its responsibility to protect civilians with firm and urgent resolve We cannot solve the challenges that face peace operations by narrowing mandates and indeed doing so would undermine the very path to peace Just last month on the 10th of February Manuska and French forces engaged rebels in the Central African Republic without a single death or injury among the forces or the civilians Not long after the operation the rebel leader ordered his troops out of government buildings and Opened the door to peace by allowing grassroots consultations to proceed That's precisely the difference peacekeepers can and must make So over the next six months We will have a number of opportunities to continue this discussion a discussion that will go forward today in the days and weeks ahead Leading to the fall Yesterday in Brussels Ambassador power announced that President Obama will convene a summit of world leaders in September To ask the international community to focus further on UN missions and press for greater reforms I've heard the president speak to this in the confines of the White House with extraordinary passion and Extraordinary focus this is something that deeply matters to him This mission is critical and the opportunity before us in the months ahead is absolutely vital Now the Netherlands already hosted a meeting of European countries in support of this effort Uruguay Indonesia Ethiopia will each host a regional conference in the coming months At the end of March the United Nations will host chiefs of defense from almost a hundred countries for the first time ever Taken together These efforts can make a powerful difference provided we continue to work in partnership Because at the end of the day this is a task that we have to face together With bold ideas and in anticipation of the challenges that await us tomorrow We owe nothing less to civilians who look to the United Nations as a last resort when their lives are on the line We owe it to the peacekeepers and the political missions that serve far from home under desolate and dangerous conditions To fulfill the most noble of causes Whether they're escorting convoys of humanitarian supplies Building confidence at the negotiating table Their service their sacrifice embody our shared commitment to the rights to the freedoms to the dignity of all people The United States greatly looks forward to the findings of this panel We're grateful to you for the work you're doing for the spirit you're bringing to this enterprise and we're grateful to everything that you have in front of you and Mostly you have our commitment To work in meaningful partnership to strengthen Peace operations around the world and to strengthen the work of the United Nations. Thank you very much Great. Thank you so much. I'm Peter. Yo vice president of the United Nations Foundation and president of the better world campaign Thank you, mr. Deputy Secretary. It was a pleasure working with you on the Hill when you were on the Senate side and I was on the House side and Pleasure to work with you in your new Role at the State Department Thank you for your incredibly thoughtful comments about the future of peacekeeping and in particular Reminding us that peace operations ensure that the US doesn't have to go it alone That in fact peace operations allow the United States To work with partners around the world to ensure better outcomes in terms of emerging from conflict and also For your charge to the panel to think about Big bold thinking on the future of peace operations particularly focused in terms of capacity As well as the protection of civilians and also for reminding us of the president himself is Personally aware and engaged on the issue of peace operations understands their value and understands their importance Thank you President Ramos Horta under Secretary General Amira Hawk the other panel members For your very in-depth perspective about peace operations moving forward And most importantly giving us a clear vision about how the panel is going to be conducting its work Has been conducting will be conducting its work through broad-ranging regional consultations That ensure that the broadest number of people have an opportunity To offer their views about peace peace operations so that you can come up with the most effective report and recommendations possible Also reminding us about the greater number of responsibilities and mandates that peace operations are facing In this incredibly complex world And particularly Amira Hawk. Thank you for your reminder that as we think about these larger number of mandates and the complex Responsibilities being given to peace operations that we need to make sure that they successfully Meet the expectations of civilians who are being affected by these peace operations with more mandates There's greater expectations and if we're going to ensure that these peace operations are successful Then we need to make sure that there's a right mix of resources political influence to ensure that we get to yes and President Ramos Horta At the beginning of your consultations you talked about the girl from South Sudan and her grandfather And I think that's an important reminder to us all as we think about the importance of peace operations that they have concrete impacts and Effect people in real-life situations and your decision to name the report After this girl. I think is is is wonderful I think that as we think about what it means in the future for there to be successful peace operations We obviously need to think about trip contributing countries They are the ones that provide the more than hundred and thirty thousand troops and police officers and other civilians who are essential to the success of this As now the largest deployed military force in the world Troop contributing countries are essential to the solution donor countries not only in terms of the United States paying more than 28% of the bills for peace operations, but also As Hilda Johnson reminded us Ensuring that the broader humanitarian political economic development situation in these countries is being dealt with to ensure that once the peace operations wind up that in fact there is a an environment conducive to growth Reconciliation and a successful independent country moving forward I think partner governments themselves I mean ultimately the government of Timor-Leste is successful because of your leadership president Ramos Horta and the other political leaders who work with the peacekeepers work with peace operations and ultimately Timor-Leste is in a stronger position because of the partnership that happened on the ground between your government And the peace operations and then finally it's a comprehensive partnership as I mentioned with the people that are most affected by peace operations So there have been So many thoughtful questions that were submitted today for the the panel some of which were asked But we wanted to provide you with a reassurance that if you wrote a question the panel members will have an opportunity to see your question And it will be factored into the considerations today I also want to thank us IP for hosting us in this incredibly beautiful building As well in particular Bill Taylor George moose and George Lopez as well as the State Department That works so closely with everybody here today to make this a success in particular Shiba Crocker and Tori Holt and And I want to also remind you That there is a reception this evening at the United Nations Foundation At 5 30 so we with the high-level panel members So we urge you to join us this evening at 5 30 if you haven't RSVP'd already I look forward to having you this evening. So Our panel members and our deputy secretary will be exiting that way, but I Wanted to ask you to join me and thanking all of them for their leadership and for their inspirational words today