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Mr. President,
We are pleased to see you, Honorable Foreign Minister Aminu Wali, preside over today's debate on security sector reform, which is a testament to Nigeria's consistent and strong leadership on this important issue.
We commend Ambassador Joy Ogwu's effective and elegant stewardship of the Security Council this month
The Secretary General's seminal report, the resolution to be adopted today, and Nigeria's compact concept paper - all steer us from policy making towards implementation, monitoring and review.
As the leading troop contributing country, Pakistan has actively supported security sector reform in various theaters of peacekeeping operations, including in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Timor Leste. We too can testify that the UN-led efforts have dramatically transformed the security landscape in these countries.
We know from experience that when security sector institutions collapse, conflicts erupt or societies descend into anarchy and strife. The best way to reverse this vicious cycle is to restore and strengthen public security institutions.
Security sector reform has become a core component of the United Nations' engagement across peacekeeping and peace-building.
SSR rightly targets institutions dealing with transitional justice, security and police forces, DDR, extension of state authority, arms control and management and organized crime. This in turn helps address some of the root causes of conflict.
Professional, effective and accountable security sector lays the foundation for durable peace, conflict resolution, development and prevention of relapse of conflicts.
We believe that the United Nations' system-wide institutionalization and responsibility for security sector should be strengthened. We should build on the capacities - both in the field and the headquarters - to fully exploit UN's comparative advantages.
The SSR should be conceived and implemented in the overall framework of the rule of law. A viable and transformative security sector, which enjoys the confidence of the populations and is responsive to their needs, is key to successful transition and exit strategies.
The UN's peace-building architecture has an important complementary role in promoting SSR objectives. The General Assembly and its Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) directly contribute to policy formulation and guidance for implementation.
The United Nations needs strong partnership across the spectrum to enhance the performance of security sectors. In this context, Pakistan welcomes growing consultation and cooperation between the Security Council, the African Union and sub-regional organizations. The UN should also deepen its partnerships with international and regional financial institutions to make SSR more resilient and self-sustaining.
There is also the political imperative to have an inclusive SSR process that establishes the legitimacy and acceptability of state institutions. Conscious efforts should be made for early engagement of the national stakeholders to promote national ownership of security sector reform and its internalization. The UN and international support must correspond to the host country priorities.
Our debate's focus today is better implementation of SSR mandates and objectives. Implementation suffers due to lack of timely and adequate resources. Pakistan supports the call to prioritize SSR processes in the missions so that they get the strategic and political attention as well as adequate and predictable resources for a sustainable SSR. Along with infrastructure, training and equipment for SSR, attention should also be given to institutional oversight and governance.
Today’s debate complements the thematic debate organized last week by the President of the General Assembly on "ensuring stable and peaceful societies". The IGN's debate on the relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council last week also underscored the importance of synergy and coordination between the two bodies. The crux of these debates was that the Security Council and the General Assembly must work in tandem. We fully endorse this view.
I thank you.