Monday, September 29, 2014
Mexico's Future Participation
in UN Peacekeeping Operations
Presidency of the Republic Staff
Mexico supports and values Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) and their work as a United Nations instrument for assisting
countries experiencing or emerging from conflicts to create conditions for lasting peace through actions involving reconstruction,
humanitarian assistance and security.
Mexico has the necessary experience in the field of humanitarian assistance
to put it at the service of the United Nations, without neglecting its domestic duties.
The government has expressed
its decision to participate in these operations again, gradually and based on certain conditions.
GRADUAL
Mexico's participation in PKO will be gradual, in quantitative terms and regarding the type of work in which it will
be involved. These tasks may include military or civilian personnel to perform a range of tasks involving engineers, doctors
and nurses, politicians and military observers, electoral advisers and human rights specialists, to name just a few.
CONTINGENT ON:
1. The express authorization and a clear mandate from the UN Security Council, the only authority
entitled to make decisions regarding international peacekeeping and security.
2. The express consent and cooperation
of the state where PKO will be deployed.
3. Adherence to the national legal framework and foreign policy priorities.
4. Undertaking humanitarian tasks for the benefit of the civilian population.
ACCORDING TO THE MEXICAN CONSTITUTION
This decision is based on the guiding principles of foreign policy contained in Article 89-X of the Constitution and
the United Nations Charter, of which Mexico is a state party, as well as in the National Development Plan 2013-2018.
No legislative changes are required. The Constitution states in Article 76-III that the Senate may authorize the departure
of troops outside the country's borders.
PKO ARE A DEMONSTRATION OF GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
The participation
of countries in UN PKO is one of the expressions of the overall responsibility of a state.
Our country is the 2nd
largest financial contributor in Latin American to the PKO budget.
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME MEXICO HAS TAKEN
PART IN PKO
Mexico has participated in Peacekeeping Operations on three occasions: 1) the Balkans (1947-1950);
2) Kashmir (border between India and Pakistan; 1949), in both cases, with military observers; and 3) in El Salvador (1992-1993)
with 120 policemen.
16 PKO are deployed in all regions of the world. PKO have enabled countries to engage in national
reconciliation, and the normalization of political life, by contributing to the reconstruction of their institutions and their
return to the path of development in peaceful conditions.
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Press release, Sep. 24, 2014, Presidency of the Republic, Mexico, DF; Presidency of the Republic translation
