United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that greater efforts must be made to push for political solutions in peacekeeping, Xinhua reported.
"Peacekeepers are deployed to create the conditions for their own departure; that is why the relationship between a peacekeeping mission and its host country is vital," said the UN chief at the High-level Event on Action for Peacekeeping (A4P).
"Protecting civilians is an essential duty for UN peacekeepers. We can never forget the tragic consequences of our failures," said the secretary-general.
Guterres called for more partnerships with regional and subregional organizations, noting they are "instrumental to achieve our political and operational objectives."
"When there is a need to engage in counter-terrorism or peace enforcement, African peace operations, including those mandated by the African Union, are playing a critical role," he added.
The UN chief called on member states to support these operations, including through predictable, adequate and sustainable financing.
Guterres launched the A4P initiative at the Security Council open debate on peacekeeping operations on March 28, during which he requested a strategic-level renewal of political support for peacekeeping by key stakeholders.
A4P builds upon a range of initiatives to make its peacekeeping operations more effective, safer and better designed to advance political settlements. These include, inter alia, the Action Plan to reduce peacekeeper fatalities and the independent reviews on specific peacekeeping operations.
The summit-level event fell within the same year as the 70th anniversary of UN peacekeeping.