This morning, the Minister of Defence of Rwanda, Juvenal Marizamunda, and delegations attended the opening ceremony of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra, Ghana. It was officially opened by the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
At the first plenary discussion of UN Peacekeeping missions, Minister Marizamunda reiterated Rwanda’s commitment to building the capacities of forces to ensure efficiency of operations in delivery of mandates.
Ministers and delegates from more than 85 countries and international organizations are meeting in Accra, Ghana, for the 2023 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting on 5 and 6 December to express their collective commitment to UN peacekeeping.
The Ministerial meeting seeks to secure vital political support and concrete commitments to strengthen UN peacekeeping efforts to meet current and future challenges and needs, in line with ongoing reform under Action for Peacekeeping and the Action for Peacekeeping Plus implementation plan.
The flagship event, co-hosted by the United Nations and Ghana, marks the fifth such meeting at the ministerial level and the first to be held on the African continent. The Accra meeting is the latest in a series of high-level events that have enabled world leaders to pledge resources to help missions fully implement their mandates. Beyond garnering political support, generous contributions by Member States at meetings in New York, London, Vancouver and Seoul have helped generate rapidly deployable military units, key aviation assets, better medical capacities and to advance the women, peace and security agenda.
Since 1948, more than 2 million peacekeepers from 158 countries have served in 71 operations. Today, nearly 80,000 women and men from over 120 countries work to build peace in conflict hotspots across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. More than 4,200 peacekeepers have given their lives while serving under the United Nations flag. (End)