Peace Support Training Centre Project signing ceremony

Remarks by UNDP Resident Representative a.i.

April 2019

Your Excellency, Brigadier General Habtamu Tilahun, Head of the Ethiopian International Peacekeeping Training Centre.

Your Excellency, Mr. Daisuke Matsunaga, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia

Distinguished Military Personnel,

The members of the Press

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon!

I am very pleased to be here today at this signing event of the project document for the Ethiopian Peace Support Training Centre. Let me take this opportunity to commend the Government of Ethiopia, and the Peace Support Training Centre for its significant contribution and efforts towards ensuring peace and security in the region.  Ethiopia is one of the top troops contributing countries to the United Nations (UN) with more than 8,300 peacekeepers on the ground, and the first in African peacekeeping operations. Ethiopia has a long history of participation in United Nations (UN) peace operations dating back to the 1950. UNDP appreciates Ethiopia’s leading role in strengthening human security and peace-building in the Horn of Africa and on the African continent as a whole. We also very much appreciate the leadership of the Centre for the successful implementation of the peace support project. We would also like to appreciate the Ethiopian Government for its commitment and effort in enhancing the participation of women in the UN’s peacekeeping mission. It is worth stressing that Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in deploying the highest number of women in peace operation. This is very commendable and exemplary in terms of gender equality and women empowerment. However, despite the positive progress, UNDP encourages the Center to increase the participation of women in training courses.

I would also like to thank the Japanese Government for the continued support to the Peace keeping project. It has been providing both financial and technical support to the Centre since 2013. Japan is one of the great supporters of the Centre in strengthening the Centre’s institutional and human capacity. Japan’s support to Ethiopia is not limited to peace and security but also contributes to development and humanitarian interventions. UNDP highly values the generous support that has been provided by the Japanese Government to the Peace Support Project. The support has enhanced the Centre’s human and institutional capacity to provide a standard international training to local and international peacekeeping practitioners. UNDP would also like to commend the strong partnership, commitment and trust built between the Embassy of Japan, UNDP and the Centre. This helped much the project to be very successful.

As we all know, the United Nations came into being in 1945, following the devastation of the Second World War, with one essential mission; that is the maintenance of international peace and security. Peace and security are very indispensable to any society to attain social, economic and political development. Without peace there is no sustainable development and prosperity. As a UN, one of our purpose is to maintain peace and security globally through the UN peacekeeping Mission. Over the past sixty years, United Nations Peacekeeping has been the key instrument used by the international community to manage complex crises that pose a threat to international peace and security. Conflict, instability and lack of peace and security critically disrupt development efforts of countries. Peace is a precondition for all kind of human development. More importantly, UNDP supports countries’ peace initiatives from an understanding that development can’t survive in war. As witnessed in many places around the world, enhancing the capacity of peacekeeping mission and preventing conflict and violence is very vital to people and countries to progress and enjoy peace and prosperity.

UNDP is proud to support the Peacekeeping Centre in its efforts to effectively play its role in the Africa Union and UN peacekeeping missions. We as UNDP remains committed to continue supporting the Center to further strengthen its capacity to provide international trainings on various courses to the local and international military, police and civilian peacekeeping practitioners.

Thank you for your attention!!