Ban thanks Phl for supporting UN peacekeeping missions

MANILA, Philippines - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario for the Philippines’ support to UN peacekeeping missions.

In a meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers last Sept. 26 in New York, Ban lauded the Philippine peacekeepers in the UN Disengagement Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights.

He described the Philippine peacekeepers as extremely courageous in performing an outstanding necessary task.

Ban also publicly commended the Philippine government for maintaining Filipino peacekeepers in the UNDOF despite the two kidnapping incidents in March and May this year.

The Philippines contemplated withdrawing Filipino troops from the Golan Heights after rebels kidnapped some 25 Filipino peacekeepers in March and May.

In July, the Philippine government decided to allow its 340-member contingent in the Golan Heights to continue their mission beyond the Aug. 11 rotational pullout after the UN agreed to meet all the conditions set by the Philippines to secure the safety of Filipino peacekeepers.

Del Rosario met with UN Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous in New York, who pledged that the world body “would be working with all stakeholders to provide what is needed.”

He also agreed to provide “more robust self-defense capabilities” for UNDOF personnel, which he acknowledged would be vital to the success of the mission.

The UNDOF contingents are deployed every six months but in early 2013, the UN extended the rotational cycle to one year.