Germany aligns itself with statements to be delivered by the European Union and Nauru on behalf of the Group of Friends on Climate and Security.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Denmark for organizing this timely event.

UN peace operations are invaluable tools for the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security. They bring together a unique legitimacy, broad expertise and effective burden sharing at a comparatively low financial cost.

At the same time, in light of evolving threats and a changing political environment, peace operations need to adapt to respond to new realities. This need for flexibility is relevant throughout the entire life cycle of a mission.

Allow me to highlight three aspects for advancing adaptability of UN peace operations that we see:

First, the Security Council should adopt clear, sequenced and prioritised mandates, while maintaining the UN’s normative framework and standards. Mandates need to be aligned with political strategies which seek to address conflict root causes. A modular approach to peace operations could allow for greater adaptability and lead to more cost-effective and focused peace operations.

Second, we need to strengthen the integration of peacekeeping, peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts. We have to take into account the needs of and to involve local stakeholders, in particular women, youth and marginalized groups. Recalling the advice of the PBC to the Security Council for today’s discussion, I would like to emphasize the importance of national and local ownership and capacities to sustain peace in transitions. The preparedness of host governments and other relevant national actors needs to be taken into account ahead of any strategic or operational decisions on the adaptation and transition of a peace operation.

Third, peace operations should adopt new approaches. These range from the use of emerging technologies in the protection of civilians to the mobilization of innovative peacebuilding funding. Investing in integrated planning capacities, including in the field of scenario planning and foresight, remains crucial.

Madam President, the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin will enable further high-level political discussions on how to make UN peace operations fit for the future. We look forward to high-level participation and substantial pledges. The Berlin Ministerial will be an important opportunity for us to underline our collective political commitment to effective multilateralism. Let us provide an input to the SG's review on the future of all forms of peace operations that was mandated by all of us in the Pact for the Future.