On November 1, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, gave an intervention during the Fourth Committee deliberations of the Seventy-third Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Agenda Item 56, dedicated to the “Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects.”

In his statement, Archbishop Auza said that peace operations are no longer solely instruments for restoring peace after conflicts have erupted, but also preventative measure to keep tense situations from erupting into full-blown conflicts. He called for conflict prevention to include all sectors of society, especially women. Drawing upon the words of Pope Francis from his 2015 Address to the General Assembly, he said that to achieve “true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples,” which requires ensuring the rule of law, negotiation, mediation and arbitration, as proposed by the Charter of the United Nations.

The statement can be found here.