U.N. weighs role of peacekeepers

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The United Nations needs to reinvigorate the peacekeeping community through a common view of their international objectives, U.N. officials said in New York.

The United Nations through its so-called New Horizons project should work to "reinvigorate the peacekeeping partnership," said Alain Le Roy, undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations.

Le Roy noted the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support conducted a review of the role of peacekeepers, examining enhanced partnerships in the community, the U.N. news service reports.

"It highlights the need to strengthen command and control systems at every level, including through more robust accountability frameworks between Headquarters and mission leaders," he told members of the U.N. Security Council.

The New Horizons initiative identifies several key challenges facing peacekeeping operations, including the need for a unified vision for international missions.

"We urgently need to build a common view on the role of peacekeepers in these areas, how they are translated on the ground, and what tools we need to do so," Le Roy added.

John Sawers, the U.N. envoy for England, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, said the New Horizons initiative stresses the important notion that peacekeeping missions are a compliment, not an alternative, to any political strategy.