Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

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 Chairman of the Working Group for their important work.

I also wish to take this opportunity to thank Under-Secretary-General Le Roy and Under-Secretary-General Malcorra for their important briefings.

Peacekeeping operations continue to grow in size, scope, and complexity, posing unique political and operational challenges. Israel welcomes the findings of the Secretary-General’s report, which highlights important areas of peacekeeping where the international community must focus to meet the needs of the future.

With these challenges, it is incumbent upon us to find ways to better utilize scarce resources. As such, Israel welcomes the suggestions contained in the Global Field Strategy Paper, such as the joint use of resources by missions in close geographic proximity to one another, and the establishment of regional centers to make better use of current resources.

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 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,

Israel recognizes the critical importance of diversifying the number of donors to peacekeeping missions. As such, in the last three years, my country has taken a few modest steps to respond to the repeated calls of the DPKO and Security Council for an expansion of the nations contributing to peacekeeping efforts.

After participating in the UN Observer Mission in Georgia in 2008 with individual contributions, Israel sent a police unit to participate in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) following Haiti’s tragic earthquake in 2010. The first deployment of its kind by Israel, this unit consisted of 14 Israeli policemen with specialized capabilities in crowd control.

Israel’s police officers served in a formed police unit (FPU) that was under an Italian command. This unit constituted the first international FPU to participate in a peacekeeping mission. I would like to thank the Government of Italy for the leadership that they have shown and for their able command of this FPU unit. We would also like to thank the DPKO for their efforts to make this mission possible.

Following the success of this mission, Israel believes that we should consider using international FPUs for future peacekeeping missions. We view this as an effective model for making better use of existing resources by combining the capabilities of different nations to meet needs on the ground.

Moving forward, my country will continue to look for ways to enhance our contributions in Haiti and to peacekeeping missions elsewhere by making available both police and civilian forces. Israel remains engaged with the DPKO to identify appropriate venues for such deployments in the future.

Mr. Chairman,

Israel is no stranger to peacekeeping operations as three United Nations forces serve in our immediate region.

One of these peacekeeping missions is UNIFIL, which has been a force for stability along the Lebanese-Israeli border since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1701.

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 UNIFIL’s aforementioned achievements, there are still major challenges facing the force on the ground.

First, Hezbollah continues to build up its military capabilities and armaments in southern Lebanon, especially in civilian villages, where it stores weapons in mosques, houses, and schools. Over the past two years, 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. Israel calls on the LAF to take more significant action in halting the dangerous rearmament of this terrorist organization in the villages of Southern Lebanon. We also would like to see UNIFIL adapt itself to the current situation, drawing lessons from these incidents and adapting its modus operandi accordingly.

A second growing challenge is Hezbollah’s increasing obstruction of UNIFIL’s operations by so-called civilians. We need to send very clear messages denouncing Hezbollah’s use of this cynical and dangerous tactic. This is a phenomenon that is not unique to South Lebanon. Unfortunately, militias use civilians to obstruct other peacekeeping missions –– and we all must address this continuing challenge.

In many ways, the success of UNIFIL is a test case of the international community’s ability to engage in robust peacekeeping in the Middle East.

Mr. Chairman,

Let me conclude by extending our gratitude and appreciation to the troop contributing countries and 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.