Rwanda’s efforts to strengthen the conduct of its peacekeepers highlighted at United Nations meeting

 Rwanda peacekeeper in Central African Republic

Rwanda’s efforts to strengthen the conduct of its peacekeepers was highlighted during a virtual high-level meeting of UN member States that was held on Monday, 28 June. 

More than 80 UN Member States participated in the meeting which was organized under the auspices of the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative.

The purpose of the meeting was for troop and police contributing countries to showcase their “good practices” in combatting sexual exploitation and abuse of UN personnel either focused on prevention, enforcement, or remedial action.  

Rwanda was recognized for its measures to ensure effective command and control for military and police personnel.

In addition to Rwanda, the good practices carried out by countries such as Ghana, India, Morocco, and South Africa were presented to the participants.

The meeting was co-chaired Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Under Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, Catherine Pollard. 

In a video message shown at the event, Secretary-General Guterres said that “Successful peacekeeping requires the highest standards of conduct by our United Nations peacekeepers, both civilian and uniformed.   Strengthening accountability for the conduct of peacekeeping personnel is therefore central to the Action for Peacekeeping initiative.” 

He added that: “We need to honour our values with bold action to ensure accountability for United Nations peacekeeping personnel who are guilty of misconduct…   We are working to increase transparency, strengthen internal accountability, and emphasize the needs and rights of victims and survivors.   Member States are our vital partners in all these efforts.”(End)