KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has called on United Nations member countries to stand firmly together in the larger interest of international peace and security.

The Prime Minister said this in his address to a high-level event on Action for Peacekeeping held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on September 25 (as per US time). 'As the nature and dynamics of conflicts around the world have become more complex and multi-dimensional, so have been the requirements and mandates of peace operations,' PM Oli said, adding that at such a time we are confronted with the lack of resources and shortage of critical assets. He further stated, 'Every conflict situation is unique and requires different answer. Political solution to conflict has no substitute. As my own country Nepal has eloquently demonstrated, a home-grown, nationally owned and led political process can deliver sustainable peace.' He added that full, equal, and meaningful participation of women was key to success of peace operations.

Nepal has always avoided caveats as they have a detrimental impact on mandate implementation and performance because they compromise on much needed operational autonomy, PM Oli added.

Stating that Nepal had so far contributed over 136,000 blue helmets, without caveats, in 45 UN peace operations, he informed the audience that this year Nepal was celebrating its 60th year of partnership for peace with the United Nations.

The Prime Minister apprised the high-level meeting that even at the height of national difficulty, Nepal continued to provide troops and police personnel, which demonstrated its strong commitment to principles and purpose of the UN Charter. He took a moment to pay tribute to those brave soldiers, including 73 Nepali peacekeepers, who made ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

'Action for Peacekeeping initiative by the Secretary General is a timely reminder for shared responsibility. Its success depends on all stakeholders playing their part with a renewed commitment for sustained partnership,' PM Oli said.

The initiative -- chaired by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and which began on March 28 this year -- aims to refocusing peacekeeping with realistic expectations, making peacekeeping missions stronger and safer, mobilising greater support for political solutions and well-structured, well equipped and well-trained forces.

Central to the initiative is the recently created Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations, which was developed over the summer by member states, the Secretariat and partner organisations.

The Declaration sets a new agenda to renew political commitment to peacekeeping and outlines commitments that all contributors to peacekeeping should fulfill in order to make UN peacekeeping more effective. It focuses on enhancing the political impact of peacekeeping, strengthening protection provided by peacekeeping, safety and security, performance and accountability, peacekeeping impact on sustaining peace, partnerships, and the conduct of peacekeeping operations and personnel.

Present in the event were Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Chief Advisor to Prime Minister Bishnu Rimal, Nepal's Ambassador to the United States of America Arjun Kumar Karki, Chargé d' Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations Nirmal Raj Kafle, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shankar Das Bairagi, Spokesperson and Joint Secretary at MoFA Bharat Raj Poudel, and Chief of Protocol Deepak Adhikari.

PM Oli is presently in New York leading the Nepali delegation to the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

(with inputs from Rastriya Samachar Samiti)