More resources being sought for peacekeeping

UN member states have indicated their willingness to provide the resources needed to improve United Nations peacekeeping operations worldwide, the chairman of a panel examining this issue told reporters in New York on Wednesday. The UN Department of Information quoted Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi of Algeria as saying that the central message his Panel on United Nations Peace Operations had for member states in a 58-page report released on Wednesday was: "Make sure that before you send the UN you understand what the situation is, what the implications are, and you go there with your eyes open." He said the 10-member panel was stunned to learn how poorly equipped the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations was. Particularly shocking, he said, was that the department had just 32 officers at headquarters to provide leadership for 28,000 soldiers around the world. Moreover, nine police officers provided leadership for over 7,000 civilian police from 40 countries. “This is clearly not acceptable,” he said.