Backgrounder - Canada's commitments at 2025 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting
These commitments include a pledge to continue providing tactical airlift support to UN peace operations until 2027. Canada will also continue to support the protection of civilians (including women and children) and providing specialized training and to counter the threat of misinformation, disinformation, malinformation and hate speech in the context of UN peace operations. As a historic partner in supporting UN peace operations, Canada remains committed to advancing the meaningful participation of uniformed women in peace operations and to supporting critical UN capacity gaps.
Peacekeeping training, capacity building and partnerships
Canada's pledging commitments include:
more than $11.4 million to support training, capacity building and partnerships
more than $3 million to support training and capacity-building efforts to help prepare more than 450 personnel from partner countries to deploy to UN peace support operations
an expansion of tactical airlift capabilities and support to the UN through airlift capabilities on an opportunity basis (subject to aircraft availability)
assistance to 2 peacekeeping training institutions in the Indo-Pacific region (Vietnam and Malaysia) to build their capacity to plan and deliver their own UN-certified Staff Officer and Civil-Military Cooperation courses
delivery of 3 combat first-aid train-the-trainer courses to provide selected partners with an important prerequisite for deployment and to create a national cadre of instructors.
Canada's Military Training and Cooperation Program will continue to provide member nations with a wide range of training courses that directly or indirectly strengthen their ability to participate in peace support operations and help improve the interoperability of their personnel in multinational peace support operations. Canada will increasingly share peacekeeping capacity-building activities with like-minded partners and, where appropriate, through the UN Light Coordination Mechanism, to increase opportunities for effective international collaboration and achieve greater impact.
Through the Canadian Police Arrangement, the RCMP will:
augment training and capacity-building partnerships, including through the deployment of subject-matter experts to 3 peacekeeping regional training centres
support pre-deployment training for individual women police officers from contributing nations to help them meet UN requirements and increase the number of women police officers in UN missions
set up a community of practice consisting of previously deployed women to serve as a resource to support women peacekeepers around the world.
Enhancing Peace Operations Through Training and Capacity-Building Support to the UN
Project partner: UN Department of Peace Operations and UN Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance
Funding announced: $3.3 million
This funding will support multiple UN teams that focus on: strengthening child protection; countering improvised explosive devices and explosive ordnance capabilities; protecting civilians; preventing sexual exploitation and abuse (the SEA Programme of Action); leadership training (for section commanders and force chiefs of staff); preventing conflict-related sexual violence and peacekeeping intelligence; as well as new and emerging areas such as UN transitions and integrated planning and analysis.
Contributing to Addressing and Mitigating Misinformation and Disinformation in UN Peace Operations
Project partner: UN Department of Peace Operations and UN Department of Operational Support
Funding announced: $2.2 million
This funding will support several UN teams that focus on strategic communications and countering misinformation, disinformation, malinformation and hate speech in the context of peace operations, including training and technology tools.
Improving the Capacities of Uniformed Medical Personnel in Peace Operations Settings
Project partner: UN Institute for Training and Research
Funding announced: $2 million
This funding will support capacity building of uniformed men and women, medical and paramedical personnel deployed in peace operations through the delivery of basic field trauma training, including mental health components and advanced medical training or a train-the-trainers course.
Driving Excellence: Support to Peacekeeping Training Institutions
Project partner: UN Institute for Training and Research
Funding announced: $2 million
This funding will build the capacity of targeted peacekeeping training institutions in Senegal and Indonesia to successfully develop and deliver national and peacekeeping pre-deployment training to uniformed personnel.
Increasing Access to Peacekeeping Training Through E-Learning
Project partner: Peace Operations Training Institute
Funding announced: $1.5 million
This funding will provide complementary e-learning training to peacekeepers individually, at a regional/national peacekeeping training institution or in field missions.
Protection of Civilians in UN Peace Operations and Effects of Disinformation
Project partner: Henry L. Stimson Center
Funding announced: $242,285
This funding will support research on how the full spectrum of UN peace operations can better protect civilians and understand how misinformation and disinformation affect the ability of UN peace operations to protect civilians in the context of 5 UN peace operations: including Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, South Sudan and Sudan.
Supporting the Cyprus Peace Process II
Project partner: UN Development Programme
Funding announced: $136,000
This funding will provide support to the UN Good Offices Mission in Cyprus and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus to better develop and refine approaches to peacekeeping and peacebuilding in the country through evidence-based research data.
Supporting Military Gender Advisors and Gender Focal Points
Project partner: UNITAR
Funding announced: over $2 million
This funding will support UNITAR to train military gender advisers and gender focal points for UN peace support operations and to train trainers and deliver national-level gender-mainstreaming courses to selected UN troop-contributing countries.
Supporting the UN Integrated Training Service (ITS)
Project partner: UN ITS
Funding announced: over $800,000
This funding will support UN ITS to deliver 4 train-the-trainer courses for UN staff officers and 1 train-the-trainer course for UN military observer using the newly updated UN curriculums to bolster national training cadres.
UN Triangular Partnership Programme (TPP)
Project partner: UN TPP
Funding announced: $600,000
This funding will support the UN TPP to deliver a 9-week cross-pillar training course in Cambodia focusing on explosive hazard awareness and heavy equipment operation.
Women, Peace and Security
Canada will provide more than $26.5 million to support the UN's Women, Peace and Security agenda, including the Elsie Initiative Fund, and training and capacity building. The RCMP commits to supporting women in peace operations by:
providing subject-matter experts to support pre-deployment training for individual women police officers (pre-SAAT)
meeting and exceeding the UN Secretary-General's Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy targets with more than 30% women representation in international deployments
Establishing a national mentoring/networking program involving previously deployed women
United Nations Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations
Project partner: United Nations Development Programme
Funding announced: $15 million
This project provides direct support to the Elsie Initiative Fund to: support barrier assessments; construct gender-sensitive accommodations; offer training and daycare facilities; provide financial premiums for gender-strong unit deployments; and develop gender policies, strategies and action plans, as well as training and capacity building.
Supporting Uniformed Women's Participation in UN Peace Operations
Project partner: United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Funding announced: $3.4 million
This funding will support selected troop- and police-contributing countries in operationalizing the results of assessments of barriers to the meaningful participation of women in uniform in peace operations.
Supporting the UN to Increase Meaningful Participation of Women in Peace Operations
Project partner: UN Department of Peace Operations and UN Department of Operational Support
Funding announced: $3 million
This funding will support several UN teams that focus on accelerating the UN's implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, strategic communications and women's outreach courses in information communications technology, including Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), with the UN C4ISR Academy for Peace Operations.
Promoting Gender-Sensitive Strategies, Policies and Training for UN Peacekeeping
Project partners: UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, UN Department of Peace Operations
Funding announced: $2.4 million
This funding will support the development and coordination of concrete strategic and policy changes, as well as targeted initiatives at all levels within UN headquarters and in field missions, to create an inclusive workplace culture and promote gender parity.
Amplifying the Elsie Initiative Through Data-informed Capacity Building
Project partner: Cornell University
Funding announced: $2.1 million
This additional funding will support global policy discussions, national security sector actors and research entities in targeted troop- and police-contributing countries. The aim is to increase country-level capacity and motivation to advance women's meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping by using data-informed technical assistance in 6 countries and producing policy recommendations and papers.
Women, Peace and Security Mandate in the Indo-Pacific
Project partners: Kingston Leadership Team Inc. and UN Women in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Funding announced: $720,000
This funding will support several sub-projects that focus on: supporting UN peacekeeping through its Indo-Pacific Strategy; continued partnership with the Malaysian Peacekeeping Centre to deliver bilateral and multilateral Women, Peace and Security training, including train-the-trainer courses; and contribute toward a project delivered by UN Women and the UNDP in collaboration with Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence to advance Women, Peace and Security, including in peace support operations.
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Canada News.Net
5 days ago
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Explainer: What to know about the West's growing push for Palestinian statehood?
Analysts see the general move as a deliberate push to revive a stagnant peace process long controlled by Israel, Hamas and the United States, all of whom, they say, have shown little appetite for compromise. BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) conference on the two-state solution wrapped up its general debate on Wednesday amid growing international support for recognition of Palestine's official statehood. Rising civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza are pushing more Western nations to back Palestinian statehood. Which countries are leading this shift, and why? WHO'S GETTING ON BOARD? On July 24, French President Emmanuel Macron declared France will formally recognize Palestine at September's UN General Assembly, making it the first G7 country to take this step. "The urgent need today is to end the war in Gaza and to rescue the civilian population," Macron posted on X. "We must build the State of Palestine," he said. 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Moreover, Portugal, together with a group of other countries, reexamined the issue and the conditions for recognizing the State of Palestine during the meeting. "From multiple contacts, it was possible to determine that many of the states with which Portugal has coordinated positions on the matter expressed a willingness to begin the procedure of recognizing the State of Palestine," its statement read. Following the meeting, 15 foreign ministers signed a joint statement, stating that they will consider formally recognizing the Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly. WHY SUCH A TUNE? France's move signals a break with Europe's past stance. The French daily Le Monde reported that the turning point was Israel's prolonged Gaza offensive and aid restrictions, worsening famine and civilian suffering. Israeli military operations in Gaza since October 2023, triggered by a deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel, have resulted in over 59,210 Palestinian deaths and more than 143,040 injuries, Gaza-based health authorities reported on July 24. They also said on Wednesday that the total number of fatalities related to hunger and malnutrition had risen to 154 in Gaza, mostly children. Just a day after France's announcement, Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz jointly demanded an immediate Gaza ceasefire and pressed Israel to end aid restrictions. "Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law," the statement said. Britain's decision comes amid growing domestic pressure, with over 200 MPs from nine parties urging Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy in a letter last Friday to recognize a Palestinian state immediately. Britain bears a moral duty to safeguard peace prospects, given its historical role in the 1917 Balfour Declaration, Lammy said. The collapsed ceasefire talks, tepid U.S. diplomacy, and Israel's symbolic West Bank annexation vote have convinced Paris and London that traditional mediation approaches have failed. Adel Bakawan, a researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, said France is capitalizing on a "window of political opportunity" amid waning U.S. regional influence. "France is offering an alternative vision," he said. Analysts see the general move as a deliberate push to revive a stagnant peace process long controlled by Israel, Hamas and the United States, all of whom, they say, have shown little appetite for compromise. HOW DOES THE WORLD SEE IT? In response to Macron's announcement last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said such a move "rewards terror and risks." 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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday described Britain's intention to recognize a Palestinian state as a step toward advancing the two-state solution. "I highly value the statements made by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, regarding the UK's intentions to recognize the State of Palestine," said the president. In a statement issued Thursday by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that international recognition of Palestine would enhance prospects for lasting peace and contribute to long-term regional stability. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday also expressed strong support for international efforts to recognize the State of Palestine, saying recent developments in Europe have been "very valuable." "We welcome every step toward the recognition of the State of Palestine. We consider the growing humanitarian reactions from Europe to be of great importance," Erdogan said.
