UK reaffirms commitment to UN peacekeeping operations as minister announces new funding for programmes

The UK has announced a raft of investment for international initiatives to support UN peacekeeping activity.

As one of the largest financial contributors to UN peacekeeping operations, the UK has enduring deployments of around 250 military personnel to locations such as Cyprus, Somalia, and South Sudan, which see British troops working alongside peacekeepers from other countries, building their capability and enabling the UN to deliver its peacekeeping mandates.

Attending the annual UN Peacekeeping Ministerial summit in Berlin today, the Minister for the Armed Forces confirmed more than a million pounds of additional investment in international programmes to make peacekeeping operations more effective, deliver training to partner armed forces around the world, and to enhance accountability.

Pledges announced include:

• £150,000 to support the roll-out of a UN reinforcement training package for commanders to help build skills to raise standards of conduct and discipline, while specifically aiming to strengthen leadership and accountability while combatting sexual exploitation and abuse.  

• £200,000 will fund monitoring and analysis of Action for Peacekeeping Plus – a key UN reform agenda - using data-driven insights to enhance and reform international peacekeeping with an evidence-based approach.
• £500,000 to be invested in the Elsie Initiative Fund, which is co-chaired by the UK and UN Women, that aims to accelerate the pace of change in security institutions to enable more uniformed women to meaningfully deploy to and participate in peace operations.
• £100,000 of investment will see the UK step up to co-host a peacekeeping course aimed at women alongside Austria and Kenya.
• £125,000 will be spent on funding for the Peace Operations Training Institute, an NGO focused on delivering training to support peace operations and providing resources to counter disinformation and misinformation.

Not only will these measures contribute to building effective UN peacekeeping missions, they will also support the UK to ensure its forces have experience working alongside key partners, building their skills, capability and operational effectiveness.

Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, said:

“With the threat of conflict rising around the world, it has never been more important for countries to come together to assess what more we can collectively do to support those who selflessly put their lives at risk in the name of peace.

“The UK has always been a staunch supporter of UN peacekeeping and the multilateral, and with hundreds of our personnel deployed on operations or supporting peace programmes in Europe and Africa, it was a pleasure to reaffirm our commitment today in Berlin to supporting peace processes and reducing the threat of conflict.

“65 UN peacekeepers were killed or lost their lives in the line-of-duty last year. Their determination and sacrifice will be honoured by our reaffirmed commitment to deepening our international partnerships to deliver peace and cease unnecessary conflict.”

Peacekeeping is essential to assisting countries transition from conflict to peace, helping to support stability in some of the most volatile regions the world, in turn positively affecting the UK's own national security – which is the foundation of the government's Plan for Change. It plays a critical role in preventing the outbreak of larger-scale violence and conflict which would otherwise require greater UK diplomatic, defence or development investment.

The most prominent UK activity in support of UN peace operations is through Operation Tosca in Cyprus, a reoccurring deployment to maintain 50 years calm, which sees British troops patrolling and maintaining the integrity of the buffer zone that runs between the Republic of Cyprus to the south and the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to the north (which is not recognised by the UK as a sovereign territory). It has been one of the UK's longest-running operations and continues to play an essential part in the peace process between the RoC and the so-called TRNC.

Lord Collins of Highbury, FCDO Minister for Africa said:

“Peacekeepers are in harm's way every day to keep the communities they serve safe through courage and determination. In an era of global instability, they need the support of the international community now more than ever.

“That's why the UK is strengthening its commitment to UN peacekeeping operations through new funding and support, and why we must continue to strengthen our collective will to use peacekeeping effectively for peace and security.”

A small number of British personnel also support a UN peace mission in Somalia, which conducts vital work to reduce the threat from extremist groups, such as Al-Shabaab, by helping to prevent them establishing a foothold in the country.

More broadly, the UK helps train and support the security forces of many African nations to enhance their peace operations, through the British Peace Support Team (Africa) which is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

BPST(A) conducts around a hundred activities a year across sub-Saharan Africa, working closely with the UN to develop and deliver capacity-building, especially in peacekeeping intelligence, senior leaders' courses, training to help counter the threat of improvised explosive devices, and combat sexual exploitation and abuse.

The team delivers these activities primarily alongside the African Union's Peace and Security Operations Division, with African Standby Forces ,and with training institutions across the continent – training more than 3,000 personnel a year all ranks, from junior soldier to senior mission leader, from police, civilian and military disciplines.