Dr. Kenneth Baugh (right), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, looks through his notes before presenting Jamaica's foreign policy statement at the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly on October 2 in New York. To his right is Ambassador Raymond Wolfe, permanent representative to the UN. - JIS photo

NEW YORK (CMC):

While calling for the United Nations Department of Peace-keeping Operations t its modus operandi, Jamaica has welcomed measures aimed at enhancing the efficiency of UN peacekeeping operations.

Jamaica's ambassador to the UN, Raymond Wolfe, told the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee that the establishment of the Department of Field Support is "one step towards that goal."

He urged "Preservation of the chain of command, accountability and maintenance of an adequate system of checks and balances."

Welcome development

"The integrated operations team is a welcome development in helping the entire chain of command operate with a seamless approach," he said, calling for close coordination with the Peace-building Commission.

With 140,000 peacekeeping personnel in 18 peacekeeping missions, and the expanding scope of their work, Wolfe said it is "evident that demand has risen far beyond the United Nations capacity to respond in an efficient manner."

"That has taken place in the context of limited resources," he said, adding that contemporary peacekeeping operations are "bursting at the seams".

The Jamaican envoy said his country's police officers are currently on peacekeeping missions in Liberia, Sudan and Timor-Leste, and are preparing to serve in the new United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur.

Sexual abuse and exploitation

But, on conduct matters, Wolfe said Jamaica strongly supports a "zero-tolerance approach to sexual abuse and exploitation in United Nations peacekeeping operations."

He, therefore, welcomed the recent adoption of the draft memorandum of understanding on those issues.

The United Nations has launched a probe into allegations of "sexual exploitation and abuse" by members of the Sri Lankan Battalion (SriBat) stationed in Haiti.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters Friday that the alleged incidents took place at "a number of locations" in the Caribbean nation, where the SriBat soldiers are stationed as part of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti.