United Nations (TDI): As ceasefires grow more fragile and conflicts more unpredictable, Pakistan has called for making use of the rapidly expanding array of new technologies to make its peacekeeping missions “more effective”.
“Developments in sensing technologies can considerably boost ceasefire monitoring at lower costs,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday.
Addressing at a Council’s briefing on the Heads of Military Component of the UN Peacekeeping, he stressed that advances in sensing technology including drones and satellite imagery can considerably boost monitoring capabilities by providing real-time, comprehensive situational awareness.
Noting that the core original function of peacekeeping — monitoring and observing ceasefires — has endured, Ambassador Asim stated that the first two missions the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) and the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) were established with this goal and continue to hold relevance till this day.
“Ceasefire monitoring by the United Nations has played a major role in maintaining peace in several flashpoints such as Jammu and Kashmir, Cyprus, Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and Western Sahara,” the Pakistani ambassador said, highlighting that UN peacekeeping was “cost-effective and very impactful.”
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The UNSC, he said, must ensure that the environment provided by the cessation of hostilities and compliance with ceasefire was utilized wisely to advance the overall political goals, and peace process including through sustained diplomatic engagement and support for implementation of the Council resolutions to ensure just and enduring settlement of those conflicts.
“This is true for all situations on the UNSC agenda, including Jammu and Kashmir,” the envoy told 15-member Council.
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Peacekeeping, he said, remains one of the United Nations’ most effective instruments to help nations transition the difficult path from conflict to peace.
Pakistan is among the largest troop contributors to the peacekeeping missions deployed in hotspots around the globe, he added.
