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Let me start by expressing our gratitude to the Brazilian presidency and His Excellency Mr. Carlos França, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brazil, for convening a Security Council’s debate on such an important subject for the first time. 

 

I would also like to thank the Secretary General António Guterres, Force Commander of MONUSCO Lieutenant General Da Costa and Director of Research of International Peace Institute Jenna Russo for their insightful remarks.

 

Today, as instability and conflicts increasingly challenge international security, the UN and the Security Council, must step up their efforts to deal with new challenges and unconventional threats, and organizing this debate is a commendable example of this Council’s dedication to do just that. 

 

Information manipulation, including misinformation and disinformation, has long been part of the toolkit used by non-democratic states in times of conflict. As the Secretary General rightly noted, today misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech are increasingly being used as weapons of war. We are all witnesses today of how disinformation is being weaponized by Russia to justify its unprovoked, full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

 

Mr. President,

 

As a troop contributing country, [with 45 Lithuanian peacekeepers serving in MINUSMA,] Lithuania is extremely concerned of the degrading effects of information manipulation and threats posed by disinformation and misinformation in the context of peacekeeping operations. It could have long-term negative effects, including eroding the perceptions of communities of peacekeeping’s credibility and legitimacy of the UN presence.

 

Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in disinformation campaigns against UN and UN peacekeeping operations. As many speakers noted, this trend is particularly worrying in Mali, CAR and DRC, where various actors increasingly use social media and other platforms to deliberately spread disinformation and incite hatred and violence. 

Just last week members of the Security Council condemned yet another deadly attack perpetrated against MINUSMA in Mali. It is crucial that such attacks were swiftly investigated and its perpetrators brought to justice, including those, who might have incited such attacks by spreading anti-UN narrative. 

 

A reported increase in disinformation activities in Mali, including  concerted efforts to deflect attention from atrocities reportedly committed by Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, is not only sowing discord, confusion and seeding division in the increasingly volatile region, but directly impacts the safety and security of peacekeepers and undermines MINUSMA’s mandate implementation. 

 

Mr. President,

 

We see strategic communications as one of the key tools at the disposal of the UN to address this ever-growing challenge. In this regard, we welcome the 2021 Strategy for the Digital Transformation of UN Peacekeeping, as well as Action for Peacekeeping Plus initiative with strategic communications as one of its priorities. 

 

We are committed to supporting the strategic communication of the UN in the field of peacekeeping, including alongside the six concrete actions named by the Secretary General this morning, and, in particular, through training and capacity building on mis/ disinformation response and on strategic communication in a digital environment. 

 

This is a multifaceted challenge that requires a multidimensional response and Lithuania stands ready to contribute to our common interest in making UN peacekeeping more efficient and capable of addressing the needs of the 21st century.

 

I thank you, Mr. President.