Dutch FM: Europe must contribute more UN peacekeepers

Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs and the American UN Ambassador Samantha Power called on the international community to contribute more to UN peacekeeping missions. Koenders think that Europe in particular should be contributing more peacekeepers. "There have never before been so much need for peace missions as now. European countries really have to contribute more", Koenders said after a meeting with more than 10 countries in New York. "The UN missions often have need for targeted support: help with intelligence gathering, as we do in Mali, as well as training or advanced military capacities. European countries have the knowledge and the resources to make this kind of contribution." In February the Netherlands organized conference in Amsterdam to speak with European countries about involvement in UN peacekeeping missions. This conference was intended to encourage these countries to actually make commitments at the large scale summit in New York in September. This summit will be led by American President Barack Obama.