United Nations 2023 Peacekeeping Ministerial scheduled for Ghana

The United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Ministerial is an important opportunity for Member States to come together in a collective effort to strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and their impact on the communities they serve.

In 2023, the Peacekeeping Ministerial will be hosted by Ghana in Accra on 5-6 December. It is the latest in a series of meetings held at the Head of State, Government, or Ministerial level since 2014, including in Seoul in 2021.

Objectives and Outcomes

The discussions will focus on concrete measures to improve operations in line with ongoing reform through Action for Peacekeeping, A4P+ and the Digital Transformation Strategy.

Areas of Focus

With missions facing greater challenges than ever, the Ministerial will focus on protection of civilians, strategic communications (including addressing mis-disinformation and hate speech), safety and security, the mental health of peacekeepers, and women in peacekeeping as outlined in the Concept Note.

Building on previous discussions and, taking into account rapidly evolving operating environments, Member States will consider issues such as:

1. the generation of high-performing and specialized capabilities and other pledges to meet UN needs; and,
2. new or expanded sustainable capacity-building, training, and equipping partnerships in key areas.

The Uniformed Capability Requirements for UN Peacekeeping Paper provides updated information on the types of pledges that are being sought for the Peacekeeping Ministerial.

Peacekeeping is a powerful demonstration of multilateral cooperation. In this regard, further progress in improving our effectiveness requires strengthening and expanding partnerships, including in areas such as conduct and discipline and environmental sustainability, where Member State support is critical.

All Member States represented in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations will be invited to participate in this event.

Preparatory process

A series of preparatory meetings to be held in the lead up to the Ministerial and will be listed once dates are confirmed.

• 25-26 June 2023: Preparatory Conference on Women in Peacekeeping Operations, co-hosted by Bangladesh, Canada and Uruguay in Dhaka. Please click here for the Concept Note and here for the summary of the meeting.
• 18 July 2023: Preparatory Conference on mental health support for uniformed personnel, co-hosted by Ghana, the Republic of Korea and the United Nations. Please click here for the Concept Note and the summary of the meeting.
• 30-31 August: Preparatory Conference on Safety and Security, co-hosted by Japan and Pakistan in Islamabad. Please click here for the background and programme and click here for the summary of the meeting.
• 23-24 October: Protection of Civilians and Strategic Communications, co-hosted by Indonesia, Netherlands, Rwanda and the UK in Kigali. Please click here for the Concept Note. Please click here for the summary of the meeting.

Announcement of the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra, Ghana, on 5-6 December 2023

A hybrid press briefing by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana, H.E. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, along with Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, Atul Khare, and Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, Catherine Pollard to announce that Ghana will host the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra on 5-6 December 2023.

Source: UN