Meeting with Guterres
Pistorius wants to reform the UN peacekeeping missions
May 8, 2024, 9:27 p.m
During his visit to the UN, Defense Minister Pistorius reaffirmed the Bundeswehr’s commitment to “peacekeeping”. He addressed concerns about the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. But he also understands the “Israelis’ dilemma.”
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to the United Nations. Germany will continue to “support the United Nations with targeted contributions, including, and this will not be less, the contributions of the Bundeswehr,” said Pistorius after a meeting with UN Secretary General António Guterres in New York.
Pistorius said that in Germany right now there was “almost all talk about national and alliance defense.” Although this is the “structural feature of the Bundeswehr’s mission,” it must be clear at the same time that Germany “cannot hold back, cannot stand on the sidelines” “when it comes to making the world a little more peaceful.”
Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference in Berlin
Pistorius said he exchanged views with the UN Secretary General about the “future of peacekeeping in these times.” “The time of large-scale blue helmet operations appears to be over for the time being,” emphasized the minister. It’s about a “realignment”, about “prevention at all levels, about stabilization on site”.
In this context, he invited Guterres to the peacekeeping ministerial conference in Berlin next year. Pistorius announced that the first conference of this kind on German soil would be about “nothing less than new forms of peace missions.” Despite the UN’s “visible need for reform”, the opportunities available there must be used, said the Defense Minister. The Secretary General said he would try to come to the technical conference on “new forms of peacekeeping missions.”
The Defense Minister made it clear: “Peacekeeping, that is a bitter realization of the present, is only possible where a conflict, a war has ended or at least a ceasefire has been reached. Before that it makes no sense.”
Preventing further escalation in the Gaza Strip
After the meeting with the UN Secretary General, Pistorius called for a further escalation of the Gaza war. Pistorius also said that he agreed with Guterres that everything must be done to alleviate or end the humanitarian misery of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
“At the same time, I also know that the dilemma facing the Israelis is great: to do what is necessary and what they have the right to do and at the same time not to allow the suffering of the civilian population to become excessive,” said Pistorius. “This is a dilemma that we cannot solve from the green table, so to speak. We must continue to rely on diplomacy and open discussions.”
After Israeli units advanced in eastern Rafah on Tuesday night, it was feared that this was the start of a major offensive in the city, which is said to be home to more than a million internally displaced people. The Israeli military called on residents of the eastern part of Rafah to leave the area on Monday. There are international concerns that the military operation could lead to serious consequences for the civilian population and many more deaths.
Pistorius is currently on a multi-day trip through North America. He will also meet US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington. A meeting with his Canadian colleague Bill Blair in Ottawa is also on the agenda.