Peacekeeping
The Council is expected to have a briefing on UN peacekeeping from a number of UN Force Commanders and the Secretariat in early August. At press time the format and participants had not been decided. Among the possible format options were a debate involving just the Council members and a closed briefing.
The August meeting is a continuation of a series of briefings emerging from the Council’s August 2009 presidential statement (S/PRST/2009/24) which said that briefings from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Department of Field Support should continue on a regular basis. The Council in that statement also identified ways of improving its oversight of peacekeeping operations including through better information sharing on military operational challenges, greater interaction with the Secretariat and more meaningful engagement with troop and police-contributing countries.
The first public record of consultations on peacekeeping following the August presidential statement is in the February 2010 programme of work. On 17 February Head of the Peacekeeping Department Alain Le Roy and Chief of Field Support Susanna Malcorra briefed Council members following the 12 February peacekeeping debate on Transition and Exit Strategies initiated by France, president of the Council for that month.
On 27 May the Council again had consultations on peacekeeping under the Lebanese presidency. Following requests for a more focused discussion, Council members were asked to provide questions to Le Roy and Malcorra ahead of the briefing. The questions covered areas ranging from the extension of peacekeeping missions to capabilities and gaps in peacekeeping.
The Council also had an opportunity to discuss peacekeeping issues during its retreat in Istanbul from 24-26 June, where it focused on the interplay between peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding.
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