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SUBJECT [Dec 10] Korea hosts the 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial
DATE 2021-12-10
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Seoul Initiative.docx

Photo: unpko2021.kr

 

The 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial (UNPKO 2021) was held virtually on December 7-8, and was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea. 155 members of the Special Committee on UN Peacekeeping Operations (C34), as well as two international organizations, participated in this Ministerial.

 

Under the main theme “Technology and Medical Capacity Building,” the UNPKO 2021 consisted of four sessions which were “Sustaining Peace,” “Partnership, Training and Capacity Building,” “Performance and Accountability,” “Protection of Civilians and Safety & Security.” The members of C34 took the floor to call for the international community to politically support peacekeeping operations, and to identify new commitments to strengthen UN Peacekeeping.

 

At the opening ceremony, António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, introduced via his video message the UN’s efforts in building stronger, safer, and more effective peacekeeping operations through the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) and Action for Peacekeeping Plus (A4P+) initiatives. Chung Eui-yong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, encouraged “the participating delegates to make strong, concrete, and practical pledges to create peacekeeping that is stronger and fit for the future,” and hoped Korea’s will for peace in the Korean Peninsula would “resonate with others where conflict is still ongoing and give them hope that a peaceful and prosperous future is within reach.”

 

Korea also introduced the Seoul Initiative on Technology and Medical Capacity Building in Peacekeeping, which focuses on improving UN Peacekeeping Operations and Peacekeepers to become more agile, data-driven and technology-enabled, and to enhance their medical capacity in the face of the increasingly complex threats in higher-risk operating environments.


The UN Peacekeeping Ministerial is a follow-up conference to the UN Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping in 2015, which was co-hosted by former President of the United States Barack Obama and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The UNPKO 2021 is the Ministerial that was held in Asia for the first time. Its format has changed from a full-scale in-person meeting to a virtual one, considering the ongoing global spread of the new Omicron variant.

 

For more information, please visit unpko2021.kr.

 

[Sources]

2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial. (2021, December 7). 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Opens - 「Seoul Initiative」 on Technology and Medical Capacity Building in UN Peacekeeping Announced. https://www.unpko2021.kr/EN/announce/press/443

 

2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial. (2021, December 9). Note to Correspondents: 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial concludes with 62 countries making new pledges for UN peacekeeping operations. https://www.unpko2021.kr/EN/announce/press/476

 

2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial. (n.d.). Preparation for the 2021 Ministerial. https://www.unpko2021.kr/EN/Conference/summary

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea. (2021, December 8). 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial to Take Place. https://www.mofa.go.kr/eng/brd/m_5674/view.do?seq=320698

 

United Nations Peacekeeping. (2021, December 7). At Seoul meeting, Guterres urges greater support for peacekeeping. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/un-news/seoul-meeting-guterres-urges-greater-support-peacekeeping-amid-mounting-threats

 

BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)