Thank you, Madam Chair.

I congratulate you on your election as Chair of this Committee. I trust that you will be able to guide the Committee towards the successful outcome of negotiations for this session. I would also like to thank the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) for preparing the report for Programme 4, as well as the Secretariat for their invaluable support for our work.

The Philippines recognizes the work of the peacekeeping personnel in ensuring that peace in affected countries and regions will be able to take root, thrive, and sustain, and that the delivery of political and peacebuilding support is adequately provided to prevent the outbreak of war and help countries transition from conflict to sustainable peace.

We commend the Secretary General’s resolve to continue implementing the reforms under the Action for Peacekeeping Agenda (A4P) initiative and we look forward to seeing continued progress to deliver the Action for Peacekeeping Plus initiative in 2023.

The Philippines invests in peace and peacebuilding through its active contributions to the UN peacekeeping operations, as demonstrated by our country’s proud 60-year peacekeeping tradition, having deployed over 14,000 Filipino peacekeepers to 21 UN peacekeeping and special political missions. In the years to come, we will contribute more to the work of the UN in the pursuit of sustainable peace in conflict-affected areas around the world by expanding the peacekeeping footprint of the Philippines and making available more Filipino peacekeepers on the ground.

In this regard, the Philippines puts a high priority on ensuring the safety of peacekeepers. Our country remains a strong supporter of UN peace operations as a matter of national policy, pursuant to its abiding commitment to collective security and the rule of law. The UN peacekeeping missions should be accorded with adequate resources to address the peacekeepers’ needs and guarantee their safety and security at all times.

The Secretary General should also ensure that all peacekeeping personnel adhere to the highest standards of conduct and are held accountable for their performance.

 On improving capacity building, we would like to know the measures in place to enhance the collection, sharing and use of data across the board to support the integrated planning structures in various peacekeeping missions. We also encourage evidence-based decision making in the secretariat and throughout field missions. For this purpose, we welcome updates on the implementation of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment System (CPAS) and the increased use of digital technologies in PKOs for the improvement in safety and security of Missions and their personnel.

On Women, Peace and Security agenda, we would like to hear updates made with the view to increasing the meaningful participation of women in uniformed roles and we support the call for the integration of gender perspectives in all aspects of peacekeeping across command levels.

The protection of civilians must continue to be at the front and center of dialogue in peace operations. Sustained triangular consultations and cooperation between the Security Council, the Secretariat and contributing countries are crucial to improving peace operations.

Madam Chair,

The challenges ahead of us in this session are many but they are not insurmountable. The Philippine delegation will collaborate with you and all the delegations to contribute towards a consensus outcome document for Programme 4, which will guide the important work of peacekeeping.

Thank you, Madam Chair.