U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and other U.N. member states participated in a virtual meeting helmed by the Republic of Korea for the 2021 U.N. Peacekeeping Ministerial in December.
In a press release from Jan. 5, State Department officials summarized the United State's role in the 2021 U.N. Peacekeeping Ministerial while also underscoring the country's commitment to making peacekeeping more effective through reforms to help peacekeeper performance and accountability and the improvement of safety and security for peacekeepers.
"Around the world, peacekeeping operations are essential to promoting international peace and security, protecting some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, and helping countries rebuild and recover from conflict," officials said in the press release.
Current numbers report that the U.S. stands as the largest financial contributor to U.N. peacekeeping, while also being the world’s single largest provider of peace operations capacity-building assistance, investing more than $1.5 billion since 2005 in security assistance, according to the press release. Through these investments, the U.S. is able to help both the U.N. and other countries focus on delivering proper tools and training to partner nations that are willing to combat the difficult and dangerous challenges of international peacekeeping.
In times of necessity, U.S. peacekeeping assistance is primarily supplied through the Global Peace Operations Initiative and International Police Peacekeeping Operations, which are both programs that rely heavily on U.S. military, police and contracted subject matter experts in order to provide training and assistance to areas of need, according to the press release. The United States also expands its peacekeeping resources and tools through meaningful collaborations with like-minded partners that share the same commitment to peacekeeping through specialized experiences from countries such as Brazil and India.
The U.N. and U.S.'s collaboration serves as a critical stabilization function across the globe by helping to manage conflicts that, if left unchecked, could breed volatility, undermine development and prosperity, and create space for violent extremism and criminal networks, according to the press release.
