NEW YORK: Pakistan outlined current challenges faced by UN Peacekeeping and said inputs from Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) were critical in formulating effective peacekeeping strategies.

Speaking at a well-attended meeting of the Group of Friends of Top Troop and Police Contributing countries that Pakistan co-chairs with Morocco, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, said all stakeholders must act together to reduce reimbursement gaps currently faced by TCCs.

Urging reduction of deployment time, Ambassador Lodhi said in the United Nations that delays in the deployment of troops cause major challenges and incur heavy costs for the TCCs as they could no longer use and deploy those assets for other national needs.

“The time lag”, Ambassador Lodhi pointed out, “between a country’s offer to contribute an asset and actual deployment can range from a few months to, even a year at times”.

She stressed that as these assets and capabilities were recognized as critical, we must work together to ensure that minimum time is wasted in deployment.

“We owe this to the peacekeepers and those they are mandated to protect”, she noted.

Ambassador Lodhi also highlighted the need for peacekeepers to be adequately equipped to enable them to operate effectively in complex environments.

Ambassador Lodhi noted, as one of the world’s top troop and police contributors to UN Peacekeeping, Pakistan could share experiences and lessons learnt on generating critical capabilities.

Calling for the need to streamline the process of transportation of assets, she said damages during transportation and unforeseen delays in processing the necessary port clearances created situations where TCCs suffered through no fault of their own.

“While assets are rendered un-deployable, compensation processes linger on”, she held. —NNI