UN USG for Peace Operations to attend first ministerial preparatory meeting in Dhaka

UN Under Secretary General (USG) for Department of Peace Operations Jean Pierre Lacroix will attend the first UN peacekeeping ministerial preparatory meeting to be held in Dhaka on June 25-26.

"This is the first of a series of four themed conferences ahead of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial, to be held in Accra, Ghana, on 5 and 6 December 2023," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

The theme of the preparatory meeting, which is co-hosted by Bangladesh, Canada, and Uruguay, is "Women in UN Peacekeeping", according to UNB.

The two-day meeting will welcome representatives from troop and police contributing countries, and UN peacekeeping experts to discuss progress, challenges and good practices to promote women's meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping and to foster gender-responsive leadership.

He will be attending the meeting at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials said.

After Bangladesh, Lacroix will travel to Nepal and Bhutan from 27 June to 3 July.

He will discuss the countries' ongoing support to UN peace operations, including within the framework of the Peacekeeping Ministerial.

The United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial is an important opportunity for Member States to come together in a collective effort to strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and their impact on the communities they serve, according to UN.

In 2023, the Peacekeeping Ministerial will be hosted by Ghana in Accra on 5-6 December.

It is the latest in a series of meetings held at the Head of State, Government, or Ministerial level since 2014, including in Seoul in 2021.

The discussions will focus on concrete measures to improve operations in line with ongoing reform through Action for Peacekeeping, A4P+ and the Digital Transformation Strategy.

With missions facing greater challenges than ever, the Ministerial will focus on protection of civilians, strategic communications (including addressing mis-disinformation and hate speech), safety and security, the mental health of peacekeepers, and women in peacekeeping as outlined in the Concept Note.

Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations.

The South Asian nation first deployed uniformed personnel to serve with the Organization in 1988 when they were deployed to help monitor the armistice between Iran and Iraq.

Over the past three decades, the contributions of these brave men and women in the countries in which they serve have been immense, according to UN.

Meanwhile, Catherine Pollard, UN Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, arrived in Dhaka on Friday.

Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh Stefan Liller welcomed her on behalf of the UN office in Bangladesh.

The two top UN officials are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the visit.