ISLAMABAD, Sep 25 (APP):Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar while participating in the High-Level meeting on ‘Ensuring the success of Transitions in UN Peace Operations’, highlighted Pakistan’s key role in the most successful United Nations peacekeeping transitions, such as in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, and Timor-Leste.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
The Foreign Minister of Ireland hosted the event which was co-sponsored by Pakistan, Brazil, Ghana, Japan and Switzerland. Several other high-level dignitaries also participated.
The challenges associated with transitions were discussed in an interactive panel comprising Under Secretary General for Peace Operations Jean Pierre Lacroix, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cote d’Ivoire Ms. Kandia Camara, and Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of MONUSCO Bintou Keita.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State called for coordinated system-wide responses during transitions of peacekeeping operations to mitigate potential negative consequences and to help the host authorities further their peace building objectives. She highlighted that if not properly planned, transitions could risk jeopardizing hard-won gains and make it more difficult to prevent relapse of conflict. She also presented a road map for successful transitions.
She reiterated Pakistan’s deep-rooted commitment to women’s critical role in the promotion of sustainable peace and security and especially mentioned the deployment of the first all-female community engagement team in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which undertook several successful peace building initiatives, including vocational training for students, teachers and women, and conducted psychological workshops for Congolese police.
Hina Rabbani Khar summed up by underscoring that transition in a conflict-affected country should be a step towards self-sustaining peace, stability, and economic prosperity.
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