– Outcome of 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial –

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1. The 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial, co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea, closed on Wednesday, Dec. 8.

- Representatives from 74 Member States of the UN General Assembly Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34) and 2 international organizations -- the EU and NATO -- spoke during the Ministerial, and around 60 Member States announced their pledges on providing military assets, troops, training programs, etc.

2. The Seoul Ministerial was a two-day event staged in the order of an opening ceremony, four plenary sessions and a closing ceremony. Session I, held on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 7, was chaired by Foreign Minister CHUNG Eui-yong under the title of “Sustaining Peace.” It covered measures to strengthen the roles of peacekeeping missions in establishing sustainable peace. In Session II on “Partnerships, Training and Capacity Building,” National Defense Minister SUH Wook and other delegates presented tangible pledges to increase the efficiency of peacekeeping missions, such as strengthening partnerships among Member States and providing enabling assets such as helicopters.

- Foreign Minister Chung said, “We are now focusing on achieving a long-term, sustainable peace and addressing the root causes of conflict.” He reiterated the importance of planning peacekeeping operations aimed at sustaining peace from the early stage of peacekeeping missions; expanding peacekeeping inclusiveness by cooperating with various stakeholders throughout the entire peace process; and enhancing cooperation across the humanitarian, development, and peace sectors. Moreover, Foreign Minister Chung stated that Korea has raised its financial contribution to the Trust Fund in support of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations in 2022 (3 million USD), three times greater than the amount contributed the year prior, and also raised its contributions to the UN Peacebuilding Fund and the UN DPPA Multi-Year Appeal (2.5 million USD each). Foreign Minister Chung added, “Korea stands firmly together with the UN, ensuring adequate and sustained financing for bringing peace, and will significantly raise contributions for next year to further support the UN’s efforts for sustaining peace.”

- National Defense Minister Suh participated in Session II as a keynote speaker and stressed that partnership-based capacity building is imperative to successfully deliver mandates in complex security environments. He also presented the Korean government’s six pledges to improve peacekeeping -- running a pilot project on UN smart camps, deploying a medical support team to South Sudan, offer engineering and demining training courses, providing helicopter assets, organizing and offering female officer training courses, and deploying additional police force.

3. In Sessions III and IV held on the evening of Thursday, Dec. 8, the majority of the participating states stressed the need to enhance protection of civilians and security of peacekeepers and suggested various contributions such as contributing special force units, building medical capacity, and expanding training which are aimed at practically improving the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions.

4. Lastly, in the closing ceremony, Under-Secretary-General of the UN for Peace Operations Lacroix, Foreign Minister Chung and National Defense Minister Suh delivered closing remarks, taking note with satisfaction of the Seoul Ministerial’s substantive accomplishments and implications. They also asked the international community for continued attention to and support for the future of peacekeeping.

- Under-Secretary-General Lacroix said, “We are grateful to the Republic of Korea for hosting this Ministerial meeting and for their critical contributions to strengthening our operations.” He also said, “The strong political support and pledges we have received from Member States will help improve mandate delivery and support for our peacekeepers, who continue to make a tangible difference in the lives of millions of people each day.”

- In his closing remarks, Foreign Minister Chung said, “Our work this week has special meaning for Korea. It was these kinds of activities that we have discussed that helped rebuild a war-torn Korea.” He went on to say, “Korea is the living example of how our peacekeeping efforts can bear real fruit for the future,” and he “looked forward to the ‘Seoul Initiative’ helping to ready our peacekeepers meet their goals and mandates to keep peace and protect vulnerable civilians on the ground.”

- National Defense Minister Suh extended appreciation to Member States for their pledges and urged the international community to join the journey of building stronger peacekeeping operations. He also stressed that Korea “will continue to present successful exemplary cases of contributions to peacekeeping, such as providing helicopter assets and supporting the performance of women and police peacekeepers through its close partnerships with the UN and Member States.”

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5. At the Seoul Ministerial, many participating Member States demonstrated their support for the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) and Action for Peacekeeping Plus (A4P+) initiatives, aimed to effectively respond to the challenges peacekeeping operations face today. They also showed support for the “Seoul Initiative,” announced by the Korean government, with a shared understanding that enhancing technology and medical capacity building is key for safe and successful peacekeeping operations in complex security environments.

6. The 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial is the first of its kind held since the one in 2019, and the first to be held in Asia. The Seoul Ministerial served as an opportunity to bring Member States’ commitments and concrete pledges together to strengthen safe and effective UN peacekeeping with a special focus on technology and medical capacity building.

- The government of Korea, as the host of the 4th Peacekeeping Ministerial and strong supporter of UN peacekeeping, will continue its efforts to promote peace and contribute to peacekeeping.