Sommaire: 29 May 2008, Brussels - Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), issued the following statement today congratulating the UN on the 60th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping:
"Today we mark the 60th anniversary of UN peacekeeping operations. This is a milestone for international efforts to promote peace and protect the vulnerable. Around the world, UN officials - both soldiers and civilians - are taking risks for peace and are enabling war-torn societies to overcome conflicts and return to the path of reconciliation and reconstruction.
UN peacekeeping operations have come a long way, in both conceptual and operational terms, since the first mission was launched in 1948. From purely military missions dealing with wars between states, they have become multidimensional, dealing mainly with intra-state conflicts. Today, they involve some 100 000 people, active in 20 operations around the world and with an annual budget of eight billion dollars. And still the demand for UN peacekeeping engagement continues to grow.
The European Union has formed a partnership with the UN to work together in the area of crisis management and our close cooperation in peacekeeping bears this out. From the Balkans to the Middle East, from Africa to Asia, the EU and the UN are working effectively together on the ground under some of the most difficult circumstances. The watchwords for these common efforts are: international partnership, professionalism and a comprehensive approach to tackling insecurity.
The EU will continue to work with the UN in this vital area, to achieve our common and inter-related objectives of promoting security, development and human rights. Peacekeeping operations are an essential part of the policy mix, providing the space in which a fragile peace can take hold and become self-sustaining.
During the past 60 years, there is much that the UN has achieved in the area of peacekeeping. We should pay tribute to these successes and draw inspiration from them. But at the same time, we should realise that there is even more work still to be done."
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