High-Level Session – United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025 (Berlin, Germany)

Mr. Chair,
Colleague Ministers,
Senior Officials of the United Nations
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to begin by conveying Ghana’s warmest congratulations to Germany for hosting the eighth United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting.

Being the immediate past host for the seventh Ministerial Meeting, the first country on the African continent to do so, Ghana is happy to see the outcome of its past collaboration with Germany reflected in the successful organization of this year’s Ministerial Meeting.

As a top troop contributing country, Ghana remains concerned about the safety and security of United Nations peacekeepers and the effectiveness of mandates. As many Member States have often observed, peacekeeping today is required in difficult and complex environments, characterized by challenges posed to such operations by asymmetrical actors, the increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), orchestrated campaigns of misinformation and disinformation, and, quite often, an attitude of lukewarm cooperation by host States for the implementation of the SOFAs (status-of-forces agreement).

In this regard, the Secretary-General’s bold initiative aimed at improving peacekeeping including through the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative and the subsequent launch of the A4P plus in March 2021 serves an important role in reigniting the political will required to address specific peacekeeping concerns and promote effective peacekeeping.

Reinforced by the Security Council’s resolution 2518 (2020), which calls for the improvement of the safety and security of peacekeepers, the partnership that peacekeeping represents must be enhanced to ensure that it achieves the goals we seek for peace and assures for those that our countries send to the United Nations for deployment their safety against attacks in the theatre.

In this regard, Ghana believes that three key areas require further strengthened action.

First, pre-deployment training and preparations for missions should be enhanced and must adequately anticipate and simulate the worsening conditions that troops face in the theatre, including for countering IEDs, mitigating threats from IEDs, health and basic first aid. This is the reality that peacekeeping faces today and adequate anticipation of the safety needs of troops as well as of appropriate contingent-owned equipment and kits are important element for reducing the risks posed to peacekeepers. This should be complemented by robust implementation of mental health and wellbeing strategies that adequately prepare troops for the challenges on the ground. In this regard, Ghana welcomes the United Nations System-wide Strategy on Mental Health and Well-being and is considering further ways to improve its own national strategy.

Secondly, it is Ghana’s view that in-mission actions need to be enhanced with strong situational awareness through enhanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support to detect and avoid threats. In this vein, the use of technology in a meaningful way, including the innovation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and the huge promise it holds for UN Peacekeeping operations, can be utilised to gather real time information about the movement and activities of terrorists or armed groups in the Area of Responsibility (AOR) to inform immediate decision making. The capability to use drones or technology to repel drone attacks on UN assets could also be useful in minimizing asymmetric threats and attacks against UN assets. Cutting-edge technology can help in mitigating preventable fatalities in peacekeeping.

It should be obvious that consistently reviewing force protection measures and ensuring that those measures are encompassing of actions for mitigating information security, medical exigencies, fire, explosive ordinance, among others, would go a long way. In addition, a stronger approach to community engagement based on an understanding of cultural norms, social dynamics, and community expectations helps to build trust and sustain legitimacy, ensuring that peacekeeping operations contribute positively to local environments. All such actions, reinforced by purposeful strategic communication efforts, can systematically blunt the impact of misinformation and disinformation campaigns that are often generated against peacekeepers in an effort to create dissatisfaction, disharmony and prevent the effective operation of missions.

Thirdly, enhanced operational health support to meet the present needs of peacekeeping, including in support of medical and casualty evacuations play a critical role for the morale and wellbeing of peacekeepers. This should be implemented alongside the critical psychological support that is now required among a number of contingents in support of the mental health and well-being of troops.  The scope of possibilities that telemedicine and technological advancements offer to deliver high-end medical support remotely to peacekeepers in real time is one that Ghana strongly supports.

Colleagues,

At the heart of reforming peacekeeping, towards the effective and safer delivery of mandate outcomes, is the need for the United Nations Security Council to consider the elements of mandate generation and how the needs of host countries can be properly addressed. With a high proportion of the peacekeeping missions being related to Africa, we must also find a common resolve to advance the implementation of Security Council resolution 2719 that was adopted in December 2023 (Ghana led the efforts) to ensure complementarity of efforts between the United Nations and the African Union and greater effectiveness of peace operation outcomes.

I thank you for your kind attention.