Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Igor Crnadak participated at the “2019 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting on uniformed capabilities, performance and protection” which was held in New York.
At the conference, officially opened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, participants discussed, among other things, the current UN peacekeeping operations, the results of the initiated UN initiatives, such as the Action for Peacekeeping – A4P, and the participation of women in peacekeeping operations.
In his speech, Minister Crnadak emphasized that BiH, as a member of the United Nations, is dedicated to the preservation of peace, respect for the rule of law and the protection of human rights. He noted that BiH’s engagement in the UN system is also a significant component, as BiH actively participates in dealing with international crises and UN peacekeeping missions.
He stated that since 2000 more than 140 officers and 325 police officers from Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in UN missions in East Timor, Haiti, Cyprus, Liberia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali and the Central African Republic.
The 2019 ministerial meeting will provide an opportunity for delegates to collectively generate the specialized capabilities necessary for contemporary United Nations peacekeeping as requested in the United Nations Peacekeeping Uniformed Capability Requirements Paper, with a specific focus on increasing the role of women in peacekeeping.
The meeting will also build on the ongoing effort to strengthen peacekeeping operations through the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative (A4P) and the previous peacekeeping ministerial meetings and summits in New York (2014), the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping in New York (2015), Paris (2016), London (2016), and Vancouver (2017). Ministers are also expected to highlight progress on relevant commitments made by the Member States in the Declaration of Shared Commitments on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations signed during the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) High-level Meeting on 25 September.
The Secretary-General will deliver remarks at the opening of the Ministerial meeting and confer the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award to Lieutenant Commander Marcia Andrade Braga of Brazil, who currently serves in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Created in 2016, the United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award recognizes the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
