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28. 9. 201523:57

Prime Minister Sobotka: The Czech Republic is a responsible member of the international community

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka spoke at the UN Summit on Peace Operations during his official trip to the United States. In his speech, he stressed that the Czech Republic stood ready to draw on the experience it had gained from NATO and EU missions in order to help improve the efficiency of UN missions in a way that would not have repercussions for our allied commitments.

The summit was staged by President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for selected states actively complicit in the deployment of forces to the UN’s peacekeeping missions.

Prime Minister’s speech

Mr President, Secretary-General, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Czech Republic fully recognises the intrinsic value of UN peace operations in ensuring peace and security around the world. In this respect, we are highly appreciative of the courage and commitment of all those who participate and we hold in high regard every single life that has been lost in the pursuit of this noble mission.

We support the ongoing reform process geared towards streamlining the entire system of UN peace operations, and we agree with the conclusions drawn by the High-level Independent Panel and with the UN Secretary-General’s report. Clearly established parameters and the greater efficiency of missions are sure to fuel states’ willingness to contribute to peace operations.

Now, after many years of almost complete absence from UN missions, the Czech Republic has decided to gradually step back into this arena. This move by the Czech Government reflects our interest in being a responsible member of the international community and helping to safeguard international security and stability.

Accordingly, in the coming months we will be dispatching members of our special forces to the MINUSMA mission. They will stand alongside their Dutch colleagues in contributing to the stabilisation of Mali.

The Czech Republic is also deploying officers to the UNDOF command structure at the Golan Heights.

To date, we have made 50 soldiers available for the UNSAS system every year.

We also stand ready to provide our specialists from amid police officers, health professionals and other experienced experts. In addition, we are probing the possibility of providing the necessary military or medical technology.

And before I conclude my speech, I would like to express my sincere conviction that the global nature of security threats that we are now urgently facing in Europe, not least thanks to the migration crisis, demands that we all act globally and the Czech Republic is determined to do its part within the framework of UN operations.

Thank you for your attention.