The Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
© EPA-EFE/PETER FOLEY
UN, September 20. /TASS/. Russia urges to be careful to strengthen the mandate of UN peacekeeping missions.
On Wednesday said the Minister of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov at the meeting of the UN Security Council on peacekeeping.
“We note with caution to strengthen the mandates of peacekeeping missions, said the foreign Minister. – Force may be used blue helmets only for self defense and for defense of the mandate”.
According to him, the experience of giving peacekeepers the additional force powers, for example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali, is not yet convinced that the “high sacrifices to be made, the peacekeepers forced operations achieved justified on the ground results”.
“Power mandates, if and to retain this option must be thoroughly calibrated for a specific situation”, – said Lavrov.
Also, according to the Minister, Russia will not accept attempts expansion approach to the use of information gathered while conducting reconnaissance for UN peacekeeping missions. “With the recently fashionable trend actively promoted by the Secretariat and the support group from among some countries was the so-called intelligence in peacekeeping, he said. – Of course, peacekeeping is a primarily military units deployed in areas where there are security threats. In this case, they certainly can not do without a proper reconnaissance of the terrain”.
“Although there is an issue about how it will be monitored by the information obtained, as will remain it confidential. However, the expansion of interpretation, flexible application of intelligence, we do not accept”, – said the Russian foreign Minister.
Reform of UN peacekeeping
Russia welcomes the debate on the reform of UN peacekeeping, said Lavrov. “We welcome the initiative of Ethiopia by meeting the [UN Security Council] on the subject of reform of UN peacekeeping, said the Russian foreign Minister. – The activities of the UN in the peacekeeping sector requires adaptation to modern international realities.”