NATO and United Nations discuss enhancing practical cooperation

The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Air chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach started the meeting by welcoming Lieutenant General Carlos Humberto Loitey to the meeting and highlighting the ongoing cooperation between NATO and the United Nations. “Since 2008, our cooperation has grown significantly.  In 2018, we signed a new joint declaration to further enhance our cooperation. Today, we work closely together on Afghanistan and Iraq. And NATO operations are carried out under UN Security Council mandates. NATO has also pledged support for UN peacekeeping operations. There is still more NATO and the UN can do together”, emphasised the Chairman.

Air Chief Marshal Peach then passed the floor to Lieutenant General Loitey who provided a comprehensive briefing on ongoing activities. Currently, NATO Allies contribute over 5000 personnel to UN Peacekeeping Operations, including over 400 women peacekeepers. NATO has also provided support to UN-sponsored operations, including logistical assistance to the African Union’s UN-endorsed peacekeeping operations in Darfur, Sudan, and in Somalia; support for UN disaster-relief operations in Pakistan; and escorting merchant ships carrying World Food Programme humanitarian supplies off the coast of Somalia.

Practical cooperation between NATO and the UN extends beyond operations, including amongst other projects, the cooperation on tackling terrorist misuse of technology, countering improvised explosive devices, border security, providing assistance to NATO Allies in the identification and prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters, and strengthening capabilities to deal with threats posed by terrorist attacks with the use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons.

“This high-level visit is an opportunity to reconfirm the commitment between our organizations and discuss areas where we could enhance our practical cooperation while remaining complimentary and avoiding duplications. We could both benefit by working together on crisis assessment and management, information sharing, training and education, tackling corruption in the defence sector, promoting the role of women in peace and security, the protection of civilians, including children, in armed conflict, combating sexual and gender-based violence, and arms control and non-proliferation”, concluded Air Chief Marshal Peach.

UN Security Council Resolutions have provided the mandate for NATO’s operations in the Western Balkans, Afghanistan and Libya. They have also provided the framework for NATO’s training mission in Iraq.