"PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS"

On International Day of UN Peacekeepers, Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said United Nations peacekeepers, despite challenges, “preserve ceasefires from collapse” and “protect every single day hundreds of thousands of civilians.” UNIFEED

The top UN political affairs official Rosemary DiCarlo urged the Security Council to offer more support for African Union (AU) peace operations, saying that “those missions demonstrated significant political will and commitment, but they also faced some recurrent problems.” UNIFEED

UN Headquarters observed the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers and marked the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping. UNIFEED

As South Sudan grapples with multiple challenges, Nicholas Haysom, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of UNMISS, urged political leaders to galvanize momentum in peace processes so that free, fair, and credible elections can be held on time. UNMISS

The UN Mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA) continues to monitor the situation and to engage with local authorities in the Vakaga prefecture, where refugees from Sudan continue to arrive, a UN Spokesperson informed. UNIFEED

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Volker Perthes, said that the short-term ceasefire signed by both sides of the conflict “is supposed to enter into force tonight, it shall remain in effect for 7 days, it is renewable, and it should allow civilians to move and humanitarian access to get to the people.” UNIFEED

Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that in a divided Security Council, only “the intermediate goals of peacekeeping,” such as preserving ceasefires and protecting civilians, can be reached. UNIFEED

A Spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres said peacekeepers from the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had “responded to alerts of the presence of CODECO members in several villages of Djugu territory in Ituri province,” immediately deploying to the area and “prompting the assailants to flee the scene.” UNIFEED

Marking the International Day of Living Together in Peace, Ambassadors from Timor Leste and Sierra Leone discussed their countries recent experiences. UNIFEED

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan held interactive workshops in the country to talk about constitution-making and election processes. UNMISS