Peacekeeping is cost effective, but must adapt to new reality

 

When I entered the United Nations Secretariat building for the first time as Secretary-General in January, my first act was to lay a wreath honoring more than 3,500 United Nations staff who died in the service of peace. Later that same week, two Blue Helmets were killed in the Central African Republic, where they were working to prevent violent confrontations between communities from descending into mass killings. United Nations peacekeepers place themselves in harm’s way every day, between armed groups that are trying to kill each other or to harm civilians.