OTTAWA, Canada – Anita Anand, minister of national defence, participated in the 2021 Seoul United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial (UNPKM) virtual conference hosted by South Korea in her role and on behalf of Mélanie Joly, minister of foreign affairs.
During the UNPKM plenary session, entitled Sustaining Peace, minister Anand announced that the government of Canada will provide $85 million in new projects and contributions, as well as commit to further multi-year funding, to continue responding to the needs of UN peace operations and peacebuilding.
“Canada is committed to helping United Nations peace operations become more inclusive and more effective. Alongside our partners, we will continue to strengthen UN peacekeeping to build a more peaceful world. Canada will continue to strengthen UN peacekeeping through ongoing military assistance and financial support to the UN’s peace operations reform, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding efforts. We recognize that military solutions alone do not create durable peace,” said minister Anand.
Canada, as co-chair of the UNPKM, pledged to support UN peace operations and peacebuilding by:
- Increasing funding to the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund and providing it on a multi-year basis ($70M over 3 years);
- Advancing gender equality and the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda through the extension and expansion of Canada’s flagship Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations;
- Supporting international implementation of the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers, including their integration in UN peacekeeping policy, guidance and training; and,
- Renewing support and funding for peace operations training, notably for e-learning technologies and medical response.
The announcement reaffirms Canada’s enduring commitment to the United Nations and multilateral engagement to address global peace and security challenges. Canada will continue to support effective and inclusive peace operations, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding.
“As we continue to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic, support for inclusive and effective peacekeeping operations has never been more crucial. Canada is committed to continue supporting United Nations needs and ensuring the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding,” said Joly, minister of foreign affairs.