The United Nations:
As a ceasefire becomes more fragile and conflicts more unpredictable, Pakistan has called on to make use of the rapidly expanding range of new technologies to make its peacekeeping missions “more effective”.
“Progress in sensing technologies can dramatically improve the ceasefire monitoring at lower costs,” Ambassador Asim IFTIKHAR Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan o The United Nations, told the UN Security Council on Monday.
When talking about a council’s briefing on the leaders of the military component (HOMC) in the UN Peace Preservation, he emphasized that progress in Sensing technology – including drones and satellite images – can significantly increase monitoring ability by giving “real time, comprehensive situation awareness”.
Note that the central original function of peacekeeping – surveillance and observation of a ceasefire – has endured, Ambassador Asim said that he was first two missions – the UN’s ceasefire (UNTSO) and the UN military observer group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) – was created with this purpose and continues to hold relevance until today.
“The ceasefire monitoring of the UN has played an important role in maintaining peace in several flash points such as Jammu and Kashmir, Golan Heights, Cyprus, Lebanon and Western Sahara,” said Pakistani envoy, stressing that UN peace preservation was “cost-effective and deeply affected.”
The Security Council, he said, must ensure that the environment provided by the ceasefire and compliance with the ceasefire was used strategically to promote the overall political goals and peace process, including through persistent diplomatic commitment and support for the implementation of the UN Security Council’s solutions to ensure fair and lasting settlement of these conflicts.
“This applies to all situations on the Council’s agenda, including Jammu and Kashmir,” Ambassador Asim told 15 members advice.
Peace of peace, he said, is still one of the UN’s most effective instruments to help countries transfer the difficult path from conflict to peace. Pakistan is among the largest troop contributors thaw the peacekeeping missions that are deployed in hotspots around the world.
Next week, Pakistan hosts peacekeeping ministerial preparatory meeting in partnership with South Korea in Islamabad.
