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Ambassador Ion I. Jinga to the United Nations pleaded in the Security Council for improving safety and performance of peacekeepers
The Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations, Ambassador Ion I. Jinga, delivered a statement on Tuesday, 7th May, in the Security Council open debate on “Investing in Peace: Improving Safety and Performance of UN Peacekeepers”, organized by the Indonesian Presidency of the Council. The meeting was chaired by Madame Retno L.P. Marsudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, country which holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council during May 2019.
The Romanian Ambassador reiterated the importance of peacekeeping missions as an effective tool in implementing the principal mandate of multilateralism and as a symbol of international solidarity in promoting the international peace and security.
He stressed the importance of acknowledging the interdependence between peace, justice and development, which is also the motto of Romania’s campaign for a mandate as a non permanent seat in the Security Council for the period 2020-2021: „Romania for the UN Security Council: A Long-Term Commitment to Peace, Justice and Development”.
Stressing the importance given by Romania to the UN peacekeeping operations, he pointed out that: "Starting with 1991, Romania contributed with more than 12,500 military, policemen, gendarmes and close protection officers who served under the blue flag in 25 UN missions all over the world".
The ambassador also evoked Romania’s expertise in peacekeeping operations, showing that Romanian peacekeepers follow, a special pre-deployment training course aiming at developing the ability to communicate in English or French, the ability to perform mission-related mandate tasks and the ability to apply first aid techniques. Romania undertook concrete measures to train foreign officers as well. He mentioned the International Superior Course performed at the Application School for Officers of the Romanian Gendarmerie, delivered in French, consistent with the UN standards and incorporating the most recent version of the Pre-deployment Training Materials, where more than 240 francophone officers from 28 states from Europe, Africa and Asia have been trained.
Also, the Romanian Protection and Guard Service is the only structure of its kind in the world to provide close protection units which ensure protection of the UN High Level Officials. Through its National Training Center, other UN Member States officers follow before deployment the Close Protection Officers Course provided under the cooperation between the Service and UN Division for Safety and Security. Since its inception ten years ago, more than 300 UN Security Officers from the field have been trained at the center premises.
Expressing support for Security Council Resolution no. 2436/2018 and appreciating the efforts took by the UN Secretariat in employing and carrying out a light coordination mechanism in support of the troop and police contributing countries, Ambassador Jinga restated Romania’s national contribution, in creating a mobile training team (MTT), with focus on gender mainstreaming in security and defense.
The Romanian diplomat expressed full support for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's initiative, "Action for Peacekeeping", which sets complementarity, synergies and coherence in improving safety and security of peacekeepers, he mentioned that in developing the „Strategic Guidance Framework for International Police Peacekeeping” (SGF), Romania contributed with national experts for doctrinal development: „Romanian UN certified assessment instructors currently deployed in UN missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan stand ready to participate in the selection of police officers from member states to better match specific missions requirements with adequate skills. Romania provides military experts in aviation and engineer units to participate in online working groups coordinated by the Office of Military Affairs in order to improve and update, the specific UN military units manuals and guidelines for peacekeeping capabilities readiness and pre-deployment training”.