Category: Asia

Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

Ahead of the ministerial meeting on peacekeeping that will be held this May in Berlin, speakers in the Security Council today both urged the importance of technological advances to ceasefire monitoring and acknowledged that such efforts alone will not create the sustainable peace that the United Nations seeks to achieve in conflict zones around the world.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, recalled that peacekeeping was originally conceived as a means to monitor a ceasefire or truce.  “The original mandate of UN peacekeepers was to provide impartial observation, meticulous reporting and confidence-building support for the political processes aimed at resolving conflicts peacefully,” he said.  Then — as now — effective ceasefire monitoring depends on strict adherence to the core peacekeeping principles of consent, impartiality and non-use of force to ensure that peacekeepers are always perceived as credible, unbiased observers who can accurately record and report incidents.

However, spotlighting the “increasingly dynamic” nature of today’s operating environment, he stressed that ceasefire monitoring “can no longer be just about being present”.  Rather, it necessitates rapidly understanding — and acting on — what is happening on the ground.  To that end, technological advances offer the ability to increase impact by deploying monitoring capabilities beyond traditional demilitarized zones.  “Such capabilities allow us to observe vast and complex landscapes in real time, overcoming the limitations of older methods that relied primarily on physical presence,” he observed.

Continuing, he reported that the Action for Peacekeeping-Plus digital transformation strategy is designed to enhance UN missions by providing better tools to swiftly detect violations, effectively coordinate responses and maintain the trust of communities served.  However, future monitoring efforts will have to address hazards that extend beyond traditional physical domains, including influence operations, cyberattacks and other hybrid threats.  He added:  “While peacekeeping can be an integral part of a ceasefire-monitoring regime, the success of any ceasefire remains the sole responsibility of the parties.”

Next to brief the Council was Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), who emphasized that monitoring the cessation of hostilities remains central to the Force’s mandate.  “This mission has taken on even greater importance following the hostilities of October 2023,” he stated, adding that a lasting ceasefire has long been hindered by differing interpretations of obligations under resolution 1701 (2006).  Achieving one, he noted, “may still take a long time”.

Elaborating, he said this would potentially require an internal political process in Lebanon — particularly on sensitive issues, such as the military capabilities of Hizbullah and other non-State actors.  It would also demand a political track between Lebanon and Israel to resolve matters of sovereignty, territorial integrity and border demarcation.  Underlining the importance of Lebanon’s continued consent to the Force’s presence, he also voiced concern over growing disinformation and misinformation.  The Lebanese Government has a crucial role to play in fostering public understanding of UNIFIL’s role to prevent misperceptions, he stressed.

Technology, he added, offers a valuable tool for modern peacekeeping.  For UNIFIL, it can enhance the safety and effectiveness of peacekeepers and address current surveillance gaps, such as detecting low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles or air strikes that evade radar.  Drones equipped with radar and cameras could help monitor wider areas for longer periods, providing real-time intelligence to troops on the ground and improving situational awareness, he observed.

Ulisses de Mesquita Gomes, Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), then provided an update on his operating environment.  MONUSCO possesses certain surveillance technologies — including unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial reconnaissance and ground-based radar systems for perimeter security — that have significantly reduced risks to Mission personnel and improved mandate delivery.  “These tools could equally be deployed towards ceasefire monitoring,” he said.

He noted, however, that surveillance technology has also been used by armed groups, militia and criminal networks.  He reported:  “In recent months, we have observed the use of readily available drones for reconnaissance by armed groups and the exploitation of encrypted messaging apps for coordination and propaganda dissemination.”  To address this, MONUSCO has adapted its procurement and force-generation strategies to leverage the latest capabilities “within weeks and months, rather than years”, he said.

Also underlining the importance of maintaining the long-term consent of host States and local populations, he said that MONUSCO and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have worked jointly to define the Mission’s priorities and objectives.  While the role of technology is important, he added that “the success of our Mission is not solely dependent on technology”.  He stressed:  “Effective ceasefire monitoring depends on the continued cooperation and consent of the host State and local populations.”

In the ensuing discussion, many Council members pointed to the transformative potential of modern technology in the peacekeeping domain. The representative of Pakistan emphasized that advances in sensing technology — including drones and satellite imagery — can significantly enhance monitoring capabilities by providing “real-time, comprehensive situational awareness”.  Denmark’s representative said that enhancing peacekeepers’ capabilities — particularly through technology — would enable significantly greater coverage in operational areas often rendered inaccessible by adverse weather, challenging terrain or security risks.

The representative of France, Council President for April, spoke in his national capacity to similarly state that missions must be equipped with modern technology to effectively implement their mandates. “They must have night-vision capabilities and the latest drone or fixed cameras,” he said, adding:  “This is not a secondary matter at all — it is very important because a force without the means is a diminished force.”

For his part, Greece’s representative spotlighted the double-edged sword presented by advanced technology, a point echoed by others today.  On that, he observed that technology can be harnessed for peacekeeper training; logistical support; landmine detection, mapping and clearance; and tasks involving surveillance and monitoring.  Conversely, he said, “these technologies can also be misused to carry out malicious cyberattacks, to disseminate hate speech or to undermine populations’ trust in peacekeepers through disinformation campaigns”.

The representative of Guyana, too, said that the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation can “exacerbate the gap between local perceptions and expectations about peacekeeping missions and the mission’s actual mandate and capabilities”.  She therefore urged the development of robust public-information strategies, spotlighting as an example the use of radio stations by certain missions to counter the spread of negative narratives.  The representative of the United Kingdom also voiced support for using technology to counter threats arising from misinformation and disinformation.

In that vein, the representative of the United States rejected recent attacks on the credibility of UN peacekeeping missions — particularly those directed at MONUSCO by Rwandan officials and forces.  Such attacks undermine trust in ceasefire monitoring and “cast doubt on their impartiality”, he observed.  He added:  “The challenges we currently face in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lebanon underscore the necessity for UN peacekeeping to be more efficient, adaptable and focused on long-term solutions to achieve lasting peace.”

“Combining technical tools with human expertise is essential for success,” stressed Slovenia’s representative.  She also underscored that effective, impartial and transparent monitoring — based on a clear and well-funded mandate — builds trust and maintains legitimacy.  As the UN explores the future of peacekeeping, the ability to support and monitor ceasefires must remain a core part of this endeavour.  She stressed, however, that “monitoring alone cannot bring peace”; without political solutions, “monitoring risks to become but a technical activity”.

Others picked up this thread.  “The goal of ceasefire monitoring is to win time and space for political settlement,” said China’s representative, adding:  “Without a parallel political process, ceasefire monitoring may degenerate from a peace stabilizer to a conflict-freezing agent that will not help achieve the desired goal.”  The representative of Panama emphasized that peace operations must be complemented by a greater civil and political component.  Further, he stressed that this must be accompanied by investments in development, education, health, employment and economic reconstruction “in order to avoid relapses into social tensions that could rekindle conflicts”.

Sierra Leone’s representative, noting the UN’s ability to create the space necessary for political processes to take root, joined others in spotlighting the importance of partnerships:  “Cooperation with host Governments is fundamental to building trust and achieving lasting peace.”  The representative of the Republic of Korea, similarly, pointed to host country consent in the context of technology:  “Closer coordination with host States, emphasizing the mutual benefits of these innovations, can help foster understanding and garner support.”  The representative of Somalia added:  “We emphasize strong collaboration with regional organizations, technological providers, academic institutions and civil society organizations.”

Along these lines, the representative of the Russian Federation said that her country is prepared to discuss the possibility of including MONUSCO in the monitoring of an eventual ceasefire — so long as there is a request to this end from subregional organizations.  On UNIFIL, she observed that, if the Force was not present, “the Security Council, for example, would not have heard that — since the ceasefire — there have been 50 more shellings coming from Israel, rather than those coming from the north of the Blue Line”.

Algeria’s representative, going further, recalled that the Council has often been briefed on flagrant violations of ceasefires by the missions tasked with monitoring them.  “However, the reporting of these violations is usually followed by a concerning inaction to hold the perpetrators accountable,” he said.  He added:  “This is clearly a matter of accountability — and without accountability, serious questions would naturally be raised about the credibility of mandated UN operations on the ground and about the credibility of this Council.”

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