Joint Nordic statement at the UNSC High Level Open Debate on "UN Peacekeeping Operations: The Key Role of Strategic Communications for Efficient Peacekeeping"

Mr. President,

On behalf of the Nordic countries – Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and my own country Denmark – I want to thank Brazil for convening this timely meeting.

Also thank you to the briefers: SG António Guterres, USG Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Ltg. Marcos de Sá Affonsa da Costa and Ms. Jenna Russo for your insightful thoughts here today and for your important work on addressing the key role of strategic communications in UN Peacekeeping.

Distribution of accurate content and the countering of mis- and disinformation have taken on added importance in recent years. Malicious actors are exploiting the rapid advances in technology and evolution of social media. In recent years, UN peace operations have become more frequently targets of misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech, posing new operational and reputational risks for UN missions.

Many examples can be mentioned; In the Democratic Republic of Congo, false information is circulated on social media with a malicious intent aimed at discrediting MONUSCO. Simultaneously, there has been an escalation in hate speech an incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, which exacerbates mistrust between communities and fuels violent conflict. In Mali, influential militia and foreign mercenaries are leading disinformation campaigns against UN peacekeepers, falsely claiming that the UN creates terrorist organizations. This undermines MINUSMA’s ability to support implementation of the peace agreement, protect civilians, and facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid.

The Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) Plus initiative recognises the enabler and multiplier effect of strategic communications through its focus on increasing confidence in peace processes, responding to public sentiment and building support for missions’ mandate among local populations and other relevant stakeholders. Strategic communications are strong tools to counter emerging threats by addressing mis- and disinformation which, if left unchallenged, holds the potential to inflict long-term damage to the credibility of UN peacekeeping and special political missions.

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Despite important progress, more needs to be done, not just by the Secretariat and mission leadership but also by Member States including troop and police contributing countries, as well as by host nations.

First, we need to acknowledge that effective strategic communications can help improve the safety and security of our peacekeepers. When troops and police are unable to adequately protect themselves, they are unable to protect those they serve. A survey conducted by DPO in March 2022 shows that 44% of peacekeeping mission personnel indicate that mis- and disinformation has a severe or critical impact on the work of the missions. Therefore, as mission theatres are becoming increasingly dangerous, effective communications become critical to secure the political and public support that UN peacekeeping needs to create a safe operational environment.

As Member States we have a shared responsibility to ensure that robust mandates and complex tasks are matched by the specialized skills and capabilities they require. The use of emerging technologies is paramount in this regard. The Nordics welcome the work initiated under the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of UN Peacekeeping on detecting, analyzing, and addressing mis- and disinformation. It is key that emerging technologies are accompanied by adequate staffing by trained and equipped personnel to proactively address mis- and disinformation, as well as by sound policy and guidance, which treat strategic communications as central to mission planning and decision making.

Second, UN peacekeeping operations should scale up the use of a whole-of-mission approach to strategic communications which fosters local dialogue and engagement and creates a more protective environment for civilians. To this end, the Security Council together with the UN and Troop and Police Contributing Countries should ensure that the UN peacekeeping operations are able to act as trusted sources of information. Strategic communications can contribute to protection of civilians objectives in several ways, such as building trust; ensuring that mission strategies are informed by priorities and concerns of local communities under threat, while at the same time managing expectations by informing local communities on the mission’s strategy and measures; clarifying and correcting misinformation; discouraging local populations from joining armed groups; and countering narratives that encourage and exacerbate violence. It is therefore vital that UN peace operations proactively monitor and combat instances of hate speech and incitement to violence. This requires an active engagement with local communities, whose voices also often have more resonance than those coming from UN officials.

Third, UN peacekeeping operations need to ensure systematic use of gender-sensitive communications to advance the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda as a tool to change gender norms, address issues related to gender-based violence, and promote women’s participation in political or public life. Likewise, proactive and transparent communications with local actors to create at protective environment for civilians are critical to preventing conflict-related sexual violence in mission areas.

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Mr. President,

The importance of strategic communications in UN peacekeeping is indisputable. It is a critical whole-of-mission responsibility. New technologies and communication platforms offer new capabilities to share information with the public and gather public input to enhance the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping.


The Nordics remain steadfast in our support to exploring the possibilities provided by new technologies and will continue to work to promote the key role of strategic communications in UN peace operations with all relevant stakeholders.  In this regard, the Nordics welcome the initiative by the UN Secretariat to develop a new Communications Strategy, which will provide the basis for much-needed training materials for civilian and uniformed peacekeepers.

Thank you.