United Nations Security Council Resolution 2518 – United Nations peacekeeping operations Letters from the President of the Council on the voting outcome (S/2020/249) and voting details (S/2020/268)

Resolution 2518 (2020)

The Security Council,

Recalling the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, reaffirming the primary responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security,

Recalling its previous relevant resolutions and presidential statements addressing issues of peacekeeping,

Reaffirming the basic principles of peacekeeping, such as consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force, except in self-defence and defence of the mandate,

Underscoring the importance of peacekeeping as one of the most effective tools available to the United Nations in the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security, and affirming that lasting peace is not achieved nor sustained by military and technical engagements alone, but through political solutions and strongly convinced that they should guide the design and deployment of United Nations peacekeeping operations,

Noting with appreciation the progress made in efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General to mobilize all partners and stakeholders in support of more effective United Nations peacekeeping through the Secretary-General’s “Action for Peacekeeping” initiative, which places high importance on the safety and security of peacekeepers alongside advancing political solutions, promoting the Women, Peace and Security agenda, strengthening protection of civilians, supporting effective performance and accountability, strengthening the impact of peacekeeping on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, improving peacekeeping partnerships, and strengthening the conduct of peacekeeping operations and personnel,

Expressing grave concern about the security threats and targeted attacks against United Nations peacekeepers in many peacekeeping missions, which constitute a major challenge to United Nations peacekeeping operations, including threats posed by landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices, recalling the sacrifices of uniformed and civilian personnel in implementing United Nations peacekeeping mandates in challenging environments, and condemning in the strongest terms killing of and all acts of violence against United Nations peacekeeping personnel, which may constitute war crimes, and paying tribute to all peacekeepers, police and military as well as civilian ones, who lost their life while serving with the United Nations,

Underscoring the importance it places on the safety and security of peacekeepers in the field and the need for the Secretary-General and Troop-and Police-Contributing Countries and Member States to work together to ensure that missions are adequately resourced and all peacekeepers in the field are willing, capable and equipped effectively and safely to implement their mandate,

Condemning violations of status-of-forces agreements by any party to those agreements, recognizing the grave risks such violations can present to the safety and security of peacekeepers and affirming that the entry of personnel or equipment into the country and freedom of movement within the mandate should not be hindered,

Taking note of the measures taken and efforts made by the Secretariat and Member States in preventing and addressing illnesses including infectious diseases, among peacekeepers,

Noting that caveats not declared and not formally accepted by the Secretariat may adversely limit mandate implementation, and stresses the importance of avoiding caveats that may impinge upon the operational effectiveness of the mission and risk the safety and security of peacekeepers, in particular in hostile environments,

Recalling the report on “Improving Security of United Nations Peacekeepers”, the related Action Plan on improving safety and security, stressing that deficiencies in training, equipment, capacity, leadership at all levels, performance and accountability, and medical capacity in the missions can increase risks to the safety and security of peacekeepers, including leading to increased risk of fatalities,

Recalling its resolution 2436 (2018), underscoring the link between performance and safety and security of uniformed and civilian peacekeeping personnel, and recognizing that institutionalizing a culture of performance in United Nations peacekeeping will contribute to better delivery of peacekeeping mandates, as well as lead to improvements in the safety and security of peacekeepers,

Reaffirming the importance of full, effective and meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping operations and the importance of conducting and integrating a gender analysis and gender assessments when considering the safety and security of personnel,

Recognizing that possible adverse effects of environmental deterioration may, in the long run, aggravate certain existing threats to the stability of some host states which are particularly vulnerable to these adverse effects and which may influence the safety and security of peacekeepers, while respecting the respective mandates of all United Nations bodies in this regard,

Recognizing the critical role of United Nations peacekeepers in the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and that the primary responsibility for the safety and security of United Nations personnel and assets rests with the host state, recognizing further that efforts to enhance safety and improve security need to improve at all levels both at headquarters and in the field as a shared endeavour,

1. Stresses the importance of supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations, recognizes the crucial role peacekeeping plays in achieving conditions for stability and a lasting peace, and emphasizes the importance of enhancing the safety and security of peacekeepers;

2. Requests the host states to fulfil their obligations to facilitate access and freedom of movement for United Nations peacekeepers and their equipment consistent with the mandate, including for casualty and medical evacuation, and requests the Secretariat to instruct all peacekeeping missions to systematically document violations of status-of-forces agreements and that Mission leadership should use this information to monitor and resolve risks to the safety and security of peacekeepers as necessary;

3. Calls on all Member States hosting peacekeeping operations to promptly investigate and effectively prosecute those responsible for attacks on United Nations personnel, and to keep the relevant Troop-and Police-Contributing Countries informed of the progress of such investigations and prosecutions;

4. Notes that peacekeepers are deployed in deteriorating and complex political and security environments, and face asymmetrical and complex threats, underscores the importance of ensuring that peacekeeping missions evolve their capacities and systems to remain agile and effective in implementing their mandates in specific operating contexts to enhance safety and security of peacekeepers and mission protection, including through the provision of adequate medical facilities and critical capabilities;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take all appropriate measures to enhance the safety and security of peacekeeping personnel, including by strengthening, where necessary, peacekeeping missions’ situational awareness through measures to improve their information acquisition and analysis capacities, including surveillance and monitoring capacities, within the limits of their mandate and area of operation;

6. Calls upon Member States and the United Nations to ensure safe, enabling and gender-sensitive working environments for women in peacekeeping operations and to address threats and violence against them;

7. Reaffirms its determination to take effective steps to further enhance the partnership between the United Nations and regional as well as sub-regional organizations in relation to safety and security of peacekeepers. Encourages partnerships to support the African Union’s efforts to continue to develop policy, guidance and training to ensure the safety and security of its peacekeepers;

8. Requests United Nations peacekeeping operations to enhance engagements and communications with the host governments, the local authorities and the population to build trust and mutual understanding and improve safety and security;

9. Calls for measures to enhance operational health support, including to establish well-defined and practical medical standards for peacekeeping operations, accelerate the ongoing efforts to improve the system of medical support and casualty evacuation for injured peacekeepers, ensure adequate medical facilities and qualified personnel are deployed to provide the essential 10-1-2 response at all times, within the mission area and as close to deployment of Troop-and Police-Contributing Countries as possible through the life of the mission;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to review and ensure uniformity of United Nations standards on training and performance, thereby improving safety and security of peacekeepers, and calls upon Member States to take action to help enhance training for United Nations peacekeepers, including but not limited to countering improvised explosive devices, mitigating threats from improvised explosive devices, health, and basic first aid, with the support of the Secretariat as appropriate;

11. Reaffirms the critical link between safety and security and the performance of civilian and uniformed peacekeeping personnel, and in that regard welcomes the initiatives undertaken by the Secretary-General to standardize a culture of performance in UN peacekeeping, recalls its requests in its resolution 2378 (2017)and resolution 2436 (2018) that the Secretary-General ensure that performance data related to the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations is used to improve mission operations, including decisions such as those regarding deployment, remediation, repatriation and incentives, reaffirms its support for the development of a comprehensive and integrated performance policy framework that identifies clear standards of performance for evaluating all United Nations civilian and uniformed personnel working in and supporting peacekeeping operations that facilitates effective and full implementation of mandates, and includes comprehensive and objective methodologies based on clear and well-defined benchmarks to ensure accountability for underperformance and incentives and recognition for outstanding performance;

12. Calls on the United Nations to further operationalize the Light Coordination Mechanism, to facilitate and further coordinate improved training and capacity building activities between Member States to include Troop-and Police-Contributing Countries, providers of training and capacity building, and the United Nations, and encourages Member States to engage with this mechanism, with the aim of improving training on safety and security;

13. Takes note of the ongoing work of the Secretariat in developing a strategy to better integrate the use of new technologies for the purposes of increasing safety and security, improving situational awareness, enhancing field support and facilitating substantive mandate implementation. Encourages Troop-and Police-Contributing Countries and Field-Missions to support field-focused, reliable and cost-effective new technologies that are driven by the practical needs of end users on the ground and in this regard stresses the need for consultations with Member States and host countries, as appropriate;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to report progress on improving safety and security of peacekeepers, including on the issues set out in this resolution in his comprehensive annual briefing mandated by its resolution 2378 (2017);

15. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council on 30 March 2020.