General Assembly
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
At the outset, allow me to congratulate you on your able stewardship of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and extend my compliments to the members of the Bureau and the chairperson of the working group.
In addition, Israel wishes to take this opportunity to thank Under-Secretary-General LeRoy and Under-Secretary General Malcorra for their informative and important contribution to this discussion.
Mr. Chairman,
Peacekeeping missions continue to grow in size, scope and complexity to meet the range of threats to peace and stability around the globe. With these changes, we increasingly confront shortages of personnel and resources on the ground. In the face of these challenges, it is ever more important that we prioritize our objectives for each peacekeeping mission –– and look for new approaches to help them succeed.
The recent release of the progress report on the New Horizon Initiative highlights the important work being conducted by various UN bodies to bolster the effectiveness of peacekeeping by strengthening the partnership between the various parties involved in these efforts. Israel is encouraged by this work and believes it should be continued and developed.
During the last year, there was some progress in implementing a few of the major recommendations of the New Horizon Initiative and the Global Field Support Strategy. For instance, there were important discussions held on issues like robust peacekeeping as well as an increase in the number of consultations held between the Security Council and troop contributing countries (TCCs) and police contributing countries (PCCs). In addition, several peacekeeping missions underwent technical reviews of their objectives to help improve their effectiveness.
In regards to the conduct of peacekeeping evaluations, I would like to note that Israel supports the process of using benchmarks as a method for ensuring progress in peacekeeping operations. However, this process needs to be conducted carefully, taking into account the complexities on the ground. In many circumstances, peacekeeping missions help to maintain a level of stability in challenging environments –– and the benchmark process must be calibrated to take this reality into account.
Mr. Chairman,
The DPKO as well as the Security Council have consistently called for an expansion of the countries that contribute to peacekeeping missions. In the last three years, my country has taken a few modest steps to respond to this call. After participating in the UN Observer Mission in Georgia in 2008 with individual contributions, Israel responded to the call of the international community following Haiti’s tragic earthquake and sent a police unit to participate in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). The first deployment of its kind by Israel, this unit consists of 14 Israeli policemen with specialized capabilities in crowd control.
Israel’s police officers are working under an Italian command; their unit constitutes the first international FPU to serve in a peacekeeping mission. I would like to thank the Government of Italy for their able command of this FPU unit and for the leadership that they have shown. We would also like to thank the DPKO for their efforts to make this mission possible.
Thus far, the performance of this FPU been very positive –– and Israel believes that we should consider this model of using international FPUs in other peacekeeping missions. Moving forward, my country will continue to look for ways to enhance our contribution to peacekeeping missions by making available both police and civilian forces.
Mr. Chairman,
Israel is well aware of the challenging circumstances in which UN peacekeepers conduct their work. One particular force that works in such challenging circumstances is UNIFIL. Since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1701, UNIFIL has been an important force for stability along the Lebanese-Israeli border. It continues to play a significant role in implementing the resolution and preventing conflict.
Let me stress that Israel remains committed to the full implementation of resolution 1701 and continues to offer our full support to the UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon. Despite the aforementioned achievements of UNIFIL, there are still major challenges facing the force on the ground.
Let me mention some of these challenges.
First, Hezbollah continues to build up its military forces and armaments in south Lebanon, especially in civilian villages, using houses and public institutions as a venue to conceal weapons. Over the past 15 months, three Hezbollah weapons caches have exploded in Lebanon south of the Litani River, providing clear evidence that Hezbollah continues to rearm in direct violation of resolution 1701. The last such explosion took place just last month in the Lebanese village of Sheabiyya.
Unfortunately, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) did not intervene in a timely or robust manner in response to any of these incidents. In all of these cases there is clear proof that Hezbollah removed evidence –– including weapons –– from these sites and obstructed the arrival of UNIFIL to the scene.
Israel calls on the LAF and UNIFIL to take more significant action in halting the dangerous rearmament of this terrorist organization in the villages of Southern Lebanon.
A second growing challenge that has been clearly evident over the past year is the increasing obstruction of UNIFIL’s operations by so-called civilians. All of these obstructions represent a coordinated effort by Hezbollah to purposefully and cynically use civilians to stand in the way of UNIFIL’s important work. We need to send very clear messages denouncing the use of this dangerous tactic.
Let me conclude by saying that in many ways UNIFIL is a test case of the ability of the international community to engage in robust peacekeeping in the Middle East.
Mr. Chairman,
In the same fashion as UNIFIL, the presence of UNDOF provides an important force for stability in our region. Since 1974 UNDOF has played an essential role in stabilizing the Israeli-Syrian frontier. In addition to maintaining peace and stability, over the past three years UNDOF –– in coordination with Israel and Syria –– has served as a liaison in the implementation of a project to export the apples of Druze farmers to Syria.
Let me conclude by extending our gratitude and appreciation to the troop contributing countries and ultimately, to the men and women of the UN’s peacekeeping operations in my region who have worked nobly to advance the cause of peace and stability. Our profound gratitude is extended to the commanders of UNIFIL, UNDOF, and UNTSO, as well as to the Department of Peacekeeping, who all play a constructive role in ensuring stability in the area.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
