Nordic Joint Statement on the UN's Security Council Open Debate on Transitions 8 September 2021

Nordic Joint Statement

Issued by Ambassador Martin Bille Hermann on the occasion of the

United Nations Security Council Ministerial Open Debate on Transitions

8 September 2021

Mr. President,

Members of the Security Council,

I have the pleasure to submit this statement on behalf of the Nordic countries, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and my own country, Denmark.

Over the past weeks, the entire world has watched in shock as the situation in Afghanistan unfolded. The heart-breaking developments serve as a crude reminder of the importance of getting transitions right. We welcome this timely debate on UN transitions and the opportunity to discuss how we can collectively ensure that peace is sustained in the short and the long term.   

The importance of integrated, context-specific and flexible transition planning can hardly be overstated. However, we must also recognize that the groundwork for a transition should be laid long before a drawdown of peacekeeping efforts is expected. As USG Lacroix has noted, we should think of all peacekeeping operations as being in transition. This calls for flexible mandates that focus on wider objectives rather than specific tasks. It also requires the Security Council to maintain a dual focus on facilitating political solutions, while ensuring that peacebuilding for the longer term is “baked into” the way that peacekeeping operations do business. This entails prioritizing initiatives that seeks to strengthen national and local capacities and resilience by building robust institutions, supporting human rights, promoting democratic governance, rule of law and reconciliation, in addition to empowering local actors, in particular women and youth. Lasting peace must be inclusive, and the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in political decision-making and peace processes is paramount.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 has exacerbated vulnerabilities in fragile settings and risks reversing transitions. We must therefore deploy holistic, conflict-sensitive responses to the pandemic, which prioritizes prevention and integrates peacebuilding.

Building durable peace cannot be undertaken by one actor alone. Partnerships are paramount. Peacekeeping or political missions must work with the UN Country Teams on the ground. The UN Transitions Project offers support within the UN system to plan and manage transitions in a proactive, integrated and forward-looking way. Furthermore, coordination is needed with regional and subregional stakeholders and organisations, the World Bank and other IFIs, international and national civil society organisations, bilateral donors and private and other stakeholders. The work done with support from the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund provides us with good examples of how multiple actors can be brought together to deliver peacebuilding through a joint approach. Also, at the intergovernmental level, stronger linkages between the work of the Peacebuilding Commission and Security Council must be promoted.

Mr. President,

When a UN peacekeeping mission draws down, the UN Country Team on the ground will need to step up to safeguard the hard-fought peace gains. It rests on all of us to ensure that the Resident Coordinator and Country Team have adequate resources, capacities and planning in place. Ensuring adequate, flexible and predictable funding during transitions must be a priority.

In closing, we all know peacekeeping operations require massive investments. We simply cannot afford to lose the return on these investments. The international community, including regional actors, must resolve to stay engaged in the days, months, and years after UN peacekeepers have left.

Thank you.