Atul Khare, UN under-secretary-general for operational support spoke with CGTN’s Dezhi Xu about the situation of peacekeeping missions in Mali, protecting peacekeepers, and China's role in UN Peacekeeping missions. 

Dezhi Xu Mr. Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support of the United Nations. Thank you for taking your time and accept our interview. I want to start this interview with the latest update on the deadly incidents in Mali for the past June. Do you have any new information on these attacks on the peacekeepers?

Atul Khare We need to continue to take steps to prevent to the extent that we can. Now, there are different mechanisms for prevention of attacks on a static facility, such as gaps and different mechanisms for prevention of attacks which are faced from improvised explosive devices to various convoys. Now, when it comes to the convoys, I think we need to do two things. One, to decrease the need for convoys as much as we can. If we can generate, for example, renewable energy, then obviously we decrease the need for convoys which are escorting fuel trucks across long distances. And second, I think what we need to do is to study very carefully what are the reasons behind such attacks. And this is a study which is going on currently.

Dezhi Xu  Can you can you confirm that these incidents happened in Mali? They are targeting UN peacekeepers or they are just random attacks that just U.N. peacekeepers were there?

Atul Khare That would be difficult to say right now. But clearly it is abundantly clear to me that a number of attacks on the convoys as assaults, a number of attacks on our static facilities are specifically targeted.

Dezhi Xu You once said your job is to protect the protectors. We know it's a fast changing world. How would your department gather all the resources to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeeping missions all around the world?

Atul Khare You know, protecting the peacekeepers is not only a question of protecting against hostile incidents. It's also a question of protecting against illnesses. So I want to say a big thank you to China for their donation of 300,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine, which is with us for use by the peacekeepers so that they can be vaccinated. Second area, which I want to mention, is road safety. I think we need to acknowledge that roads in these places are not the best and therefore it is of great importance that we deal with road safety through better training, through better equipment, which I mentioned to you earlier. And this is a process which is going on. Third, we need to ensure that our peacekeepers that I mentioned earlier have the right equipment, because in absence of light equipment, obviously, it is difficult to to have the right protection. Fourthly, I think it is of critical importance that we try to look at newer and newer ways of effectively implementing the mandate, because obviously we cannot do peacekeeping in the 21st century using the tools of the 20th century or the 19th century. So we have to use new tools with the technology of making this available. And and that is what my department is trying to do.

Dezhi Xu So we just saw those incidents and very hard working peacekeepers all around the world. Which brings us back to the core question. What's the significance of peacekeeping missions around the world?

Atul Khare I think peacekeeping missions have played a very important role in the past. There are very successful missions. You know, look at, for example, our mission in Namibia, which led to the independence of that country. Look at our mission in Cambodia. Look at our mission in Timor Leste there, which I had the honor to lead between 2006 to 2009 and very much against it. I was very happy with the military liaison officers, which are provided by China for the first time in peacekeeping operations, of course. Now, China has moved a long way. It is among the top ten contributors of peacekeeping with latest count, I think 2237 peacekeepers deployed uniformed peacekeepers. So now I think these are some of the past examples currently. I think everywhere we maintain what I would call stability, we we ensure that the countries can be assisted in their efforts to further develop their law and order to further develop their internal security.

Dezhi Xu In general, what's what's the importance for China's support of the peacekeeping mission?

Atul Khare It's good to the mandating role as a permanent member of the Security Council. The resourcing role as being the second largest financial contributor to the peacekeeping operations. And thirdly, a role by commitment, by having its own 2237 uniformed women and men deployed in those eight peacekeeping contingents. This demonstrates a buy in a commitment. And and I think this has to be commended. And I think we need to look at how, together with China, we can meet the gaps in the equipment which are there now in certain contingents. How we can promote a better environmental management. Maybe now China can look at assisting other countries in deploying with renewable energy solutions that matter to the field. It can itself deploy with some renewable energy solutions because it is now deployed in eight peacekeeping missions out of the 12. So which is a very good scale, if you like.

Dezhi Xu On June 23rd, China has paid in for the assessment of four for 12 UN peacekeeping missions, physical for fiscal year 2122. And I think last year, China also established a. Friends for safety and security of the UN peacekeepers. So how do you think this would. Affect other member states to help the peacekeeping.

Atul Khare I sincerely hope I have called for every occasion that I get. I call on all Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time. Because that is what enabled us to. Utilized to to incorporate the technology of which we need that allows us to provide reimbursement to these valiant countries which are providing uniformed peacekeepers. And I am very happy that with the contribution of countries like China and and other countries for the last two years, my department has established a record which was never achieved in the previous 75 years, and that is that we ended the financial year, calendar year 2020 and we ended the calendar year 2021 on 31st of December with no dues outstanding for any troop or police contributing countries for active peacekeeping missions that are still used for the close peacekeeping mission, but none for and this was made possible by these important contributions.

Dezhi Xu What is your expectation for China to help the operational support the department, to promote the peacekeeping and to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers?

Atul Khare One is to assist us with what I would call better technological solutions now, so that, as I said, peacekeeping of the 21st century can have the tools of the 21st century. I recall, in fact, actually, for example, when I went to Beijing many years ago for the Sunshine Conference now, and there I saw in the hotel there was a shop, but there were no shopkeepers. It was all by internet. You take your phone, you can shop open and you pick up your things as can them. And then you come out and that's it. I'm not saying that exactly the same thing can be done, but this technological advance meat and renewable energy, be it in remote monitoring, be it in enhancing security, I think would be critical first. Secondly, they mentioned greater support for our efforts to improve environmental management, which contributes to greater security of peacekeepers and also reduces the costs and also is helpful for the for the global climate, you know. Now, China has already given a commitment to contribute towards addressing climate change, and this can be a very useful effort. Third, continued deployment of Chinese peacekeepers, but particularly what I would call in critical areas such as level two hospital, such as now and junior engineer. They must do. Do you know what? When we were closing down our mission in Darfur, almost closing down our mission, that is my department, which is responsible. We had to deal with the environmental impact of our presence of many, many years. And the Chinese engineering group were extremely, extremely helpful in addressing all these environmental challenges in many locations where we were deployed. So I think these type of specific capacities that China can provide. And finally, of course, set. Now, I think today for a variety of reasons which I would not go into, we have problems with the global supply chains. We have a number of proposals which we have put forward for China's consideration in due course on how to deal with the global supply chains and how to find solutions. So these are some of the areas where we seek China's continued support and cooperation.

Dezhi Xu Mr. Khare, under Secretary-General for operational support of the United Nations, thank you very much.

Atul Khare Thank you, Mr. Xu.

Dezhi Xu Thank you.

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