it's a pleasure to appear before you this morning to discuss the united nations peacekeeping, a nationspeacekeeping, a subject of importance to the united states security. when i was ambassador to the united nations this subject was frequently on the agenda of the u.n. security council, and during my tenure the air peacekeeping operations were stood up in sierra leone and liberia among other countries and, of course, we also renewed a number of operations that continue to this day, such as in the democratic republic of congo, western sahara and so forth. i want to state categorically at the outset my conviction that united states support for u.n. peacekeeping operations is in the overwhelming national security interests of our country. there are three major reasons for which i hold this view -- i call these three arguments, first, cost. second, the boots on the ground argument. and, number three, legitimacy. i will explain each of these thoughts further. first with respect to cost. the united nations has more than 100,000 troops deployed in peacekeeping operations around the world. the

united nations peacekeepers have been out on patrol in the streets and at polling stations. the first provisional results are not expected to come for several more days. we can get more on the significance of the elections with the head of the africa office at the international federation for human rights. thanks for being with us. considering what this country has gone through, it is an achievement that these elections have happened at all. our reporters on the ground have been telling us the parliamentary votes have been disrupted logistically. it could be drawn out or even re-held. is this country capable of achieving a return to stable democracy? >> this election is the first effort to do that. the authorities in central african republic need legitimacy and democracy and need to go forward in the restoration of the nation, the country, and the institutions. and for that, you need legitimacy and also [indiscernible] view, to fightof against impunity of old perpetrators -- of all the perpetrators who have committed so many crimes during the last three years, even the last

greater peace throughout the world the government will renew canada's commitment to the united nations peacekeepingnue to work with its allies in the fight against terrorism, to keep canadians save and be ready to respond when needed the government will launch an open and transparent process to review existing defense capabilities and will invest in building a leader, more agile, better equipped military. to expand economic opportunities for all canadians the government will negotiate beneficial trade agreements and pursue other opportunities with emerging markets. it is the safe and peaceful country. the government will work to keep all canadians safe, at the same time protecting our cherished, the government will produce legislation that will provide greater support domestic violence and sexual assault that will get handguns, get assault weapons off the streets and will legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana. the program -- >> translator: the agenda outlined is an ambitious one, but not one forged in isolation. conversations with canadians who told the government plainly and honestly

. >> guarded by the united nations peacekeepers, pope francis spent the last day of his african tour bringing a mentioned -- message of reconciliation to the central african republic. venturing into a volatile muslim neighborhood in the capital, the pope rushed off security concerns to visit the main mosque. his message? religion can never justify violence. christians and muslims and members of traditional religions have lived peacefully for many years. the pope's visit to the mosque was the most dangerous part of his 24 hour visit to the african nation. two years of christian-muslim violence here has divided the capital and forced nearly one million people to flee their homes. the pope and the chief imam at the mosque observed a moment of silence. his presence and words prompted a rapturous response from locals. the pope spoke about well-being. we all want peace in this country. the last couple of years have been very tiring. his visit will help bring peace between all the religions in this country. >> from the mosque, he traveled on to address tens of thousands at the stadium. welc

for that reason, the new commander, head of the united nations peacekeeping force said his troops are on alert, ready to respond aggressively and swiftly to any flare up. >> the u.s. killed it has killed 10 isil leaders this month. they say some of linked to the attacks in paris in november. the iraqi prime minister has been reemphasizing that the recapture of ramadi was an iraqi operation. baghdad differs with washington on how long it will take to fully defeat isil. we have more from washington. >> this is an alleged isil leader with ties to the mastermind of the recent paris attacks. with plans of his own to attack other western targets. the u.s. military said it killed him in an air strike somewhere inside syria on december 24, and that he was just one of 10 isil leaders targeted this month. >> our ability to dismantle their facilitation net works, our ability to dismantle their ground command and control, our ability to take away some of their enforcers, executioners and extortionists, that eats away at their ability to in still fear. >> the obama administration talked about atta

to greater peace throughout the world, the government will renew canada's commitment to united nations peacekeeping operations and will continue to work with its allies in the fight against terrorism, to keep canadians safe and be ready to respond when needed. the government will launch an open and transparent process to review existing defense capabilities and will invest in building a leader better equipped military. and to expand economic opportunities for all canadians, the government will negotiate beneficial trade agreements and pursue other opportunities with emerging markets. recognizing that canada is fundamentally a safe and peaceful country, the government will continue to work to tape keepanadians safe -- to all canadians safe all at the same time protecting our cherished rights and freedoms. the government will introduce legislation that will provide greater support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. weapons offassault our streets and it will legalize and restrict access to marijuana. the program -- [speaking french] the agenda outlined today is an ambitious one but

but today's hearing, we will review united nations peacekeeping operations and explore opportunities for reform to make peacekeeping work better in the u.s. national interests. as a permanent member of the un security council, the u.s. has a u.n.cular interest in how peacekeeping mandates are set and operations are carried out. that united states cannot be everywhere all the time. there is an important role for peacekeeping and supporting student -- stability around the world. traditionally, missions have focused primarily on negotiating peace agreements and sorting blue helmets that separate conflicting parties over these agreements and generally monitoring and keeping the peace. u.n. peacekeepers are now being asked to take on new and difficult responsibilities such as protection, disarming active combatants, and developing the capacity to engage on the antiterrorism fund. these missions and mandates raise many questions which we will be exploring today. what are the risks when u.n. peacekeepers actively engage combatants in a war zone? they forgo trials in these instances and what

in south sudan the united nations peacekeeping operations continues to shelter more than 185,000 civilians, a major advance in our human protection efforts. but that is not a permanent solution, and many more remain internally displaced and under threat of violence. i urge the parties to establish a transitional institutions before the end of january. ladies and gentlemen, these are daunting situations. i take heart from the political process and smooth transfers of power of the past year, including in sri lanka and nigeria. the transition in the central of republic is also moving ahead with a constitutional referendum last week, and presidential and legislative elections at the end of this month. i am encouraged by progress in the negotiations on cyprus. the solution to decades of division is within reach. in the americas, colombians are edging closer to the ends of the continent longest-running conflict. in myanmar, the government and army are cooperating for a stable transition. continued support is need to begin on inclusive dialogue. that brings marginalized groups into the process. t

and for that reason the new commander, the head of the united nations peacekeeping force here said thatis troops are on alert. they're ready to respond aggressively and swiftly to any flareups. >> the north korean official has been killed in a car crash. they were propering kim yang gon's death. >> very few details have been released surrounding the car crash that killed kim yang gon. >> kim yang gom and deputy to the secret people's assembly of the people's republic of korea died at 6:15 on december 29 at the age of 73. kim yang gon was north korea's most senior officials. he was a negotiator that helped to create talks between south korea. the south korean government has paid tribute to his skill and hard work during those talks. >> we offer our condolences over the death of kim yang gom who worked with south korea to achieve a meaningful agreement in the talks held in august. >> kim yang gon was north korea's leader kim jong-un's closest comrade and revolutionary partner. but his death has raised questions about what is happening inside north korea's secretive government. south korea

it's a pleasure to appear before you this morning to discuss united nations peacekeeping, a subject of importance to the united states security. when i was ambassador to the united nations, this subject was frequently on the agenda of the u.n. security council and during my tenure the peacekeeping operations were stood up in sierra leone and liberia, of course. and operations that continue to this day such as in the democratic republic of congo, western sahara and so far. i want to state categorically at the outset my conviction that united states support for u.n. peacekeeping operations is in the overwhelming national security interest of our country. there are three major reasons for which i hold this view. i call these three arguments, first, cost. second, the boots on the ground argument. and number three, legitimacy. i will explain each of these thoughts further. first, with respect to cost, united nations has more than 100,000 troops deployed in peacekeeping operations around the world. today. the approximate cost of deploying these forces is $8 billion per year. which, of course

it's a pleasure to appear before you this morning to discuss the united nations peacekeeping, a subjectof importance to united states security. when i was ambassador to the united nations this subject was frequently on the agenda of the u.n. security council and during my tenure the air peacekeeping operations were stood up in sierra leone and liberia among other countries and, of course, we also renewed a number of operations that continue to this day such as in the democratic republic of congo, western sahara and so forth. i want to state categorically that at the outset my conviction that united states support for u.n. peacekeeping operations is in the overwhelming national security interest of our country. there are three major reasons for which i hold this view. i call these three arguments first cost, second the boots on the ground argument, and number three legitimacy. i will explain each of these thoughts further. first with respect to cost, united nations has more than 0 100,000 troops deployed in peacekeeping operations around the world today. the approximate cost of deploying

in south sudan, the united nations peacekeeping operations continues to shelter more than 185,000 civiliansa major advance in our human protection efforts. but that is not the prominent solution and many more remain internally displaced and under threat of violence. i urge the parties to establish the transitional institutions before the end of january. ladies and gentlemen, these are daunting situations. i take heart from the political progress and smoother transfers of power over the past year including in sri lanka and nigeria. the transition in the central african republic is also moving ahead with a constitutional referendum last week and presidential and legislative elections at the end of this month. i am encouraged by progress in the negotiations on cypress. a solution to decades of division is within reach. in the americas, colombians are edging closer to the end of the continent's longest-running conflict. in myanmar, the government and army are cooperating together for a stable transition. continued talks are needed to begin an inclusive dialogue that brings marginalized method 9

army has come back on the streets in recent weeks, too, taking over some of the united states peacekeepers' patrol. nationalorces for the ones who know nair neighborhood, their soeshthz, towns and those thought to be holding weapons. the international community has impressive resources but the national forces can gather precise information much faster. belows stopping cars on a daily basis. streets like this mace making people feel safer but even if the election passes pooefl the long-term statementy of the country could say whoever wins could form an inclusive government. >> that means sectarian divides that have turned children into soldiers. there are thousands more young, small hands holding weapons. the more they are occupied with gang and not war. >> central african republic. still ahead for you on al jazeera, separate change the american dream: now, there are complaints of abuse as mexico stops migrants trying to reach the united states. ♪ new york's pretmetropolitan oa is attracting a different kind of talent. >>> well, back. you are watchingays. a recap the top stories now. the interim head of the

in south sudan the united nations peacekeeping operations continues to shelter more than 185,000 civilians. a major advance in our protection efforts, but that is not the prominent solution and many more remain internally displaced and under threat of violence. i urge the parties to establish the transitional institutions before the end of january. ladies and gentlemen, these are daunting situations. i take heart from the political progress and smooth transfers of power over the past year, including in sri lanka and nigeria. i am encouraged by progress in the negotiations on cyprus. a solution to decades of division is within reach. in the americas, cl -- in myanm the community is cooperating for a stable transition. continued efforts are needed to begin an inclusive dialogue that brings marginalized ethnic groups into the process. the united nations and i personally have supported the process for several years. we will continue to do so. ladies and gentlemen, the year 2015 has brought both breakthrough and horror. the united nations continues to strengthen itself. despite the ups and down

now, the head of the united nations promises action after its own damning report on sex abuse carried out by peacekeepers. it was found the organizational failed to act on gross institutional failures in the central african republic. >> when french troops in the central african republic working under a united nations mandate were accused of raping six young boys, the u.n. failed the very people they were sent to protect. according to a highly anticipated over 100 page long independent report, commissioned by the u.n. as he can jen ban ki-moon, the united nations and its agencies grossly mishandled those allegations. the report states among other things, instead of following up on the allegations of child rape, the claims went from desk to desk, in box to in box across multiple u.n. offices with no one willing to take responsibility. >> the lack of coordination between policies leaves most victims unattended and vulnerable. >> the scathing criticism reaches high u.n. officials around the world from the former top u.n. official in the central african republic to the current commissioner of rights and forme

to greater peace throughout the world, the government will renew canadas commitment to united nations peacekeepingperations, and will continue to work with its allies in the fight against terrorism. to keep canadians safe and be ready to respond when needed, the government will launch an open and transparent process to review existing defence capabilities, and will invest in building a leaner, more agile, better-equipped military. and to expand economic opportunities for all canadians, the government will negotiate beneficial trade agreements, and pursue other opportunities with emerging markets. recognizing that canada is, fundamentally, a safe and peaceful country, the government will continue to work to keep all canadians safe, while at the same time protecting our cherished rights and freedoms. to that end, the government will introduce legislation that will provide greater support or survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, that will get handguns and assault weapons off our streets, and that will legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana. the agenda of mine today is an amb

plans to sends 5,000 peacekeepers with or without duh run did i's consents united nations has warned the brink of civil war. meanwhile, more than 75 people were killed in fighting near the border with saudi arabia in the last three days. despite a ceasefire and peace talks. >>> u.s. democratic presidential hopefuls have been facing off in their third tv debate. it took place in new hampshire some of the keyishes were national security, gun control and the economy. for both hillary clinton and bernie sanders laid out plans for defeating aisles. >> what i believe has got to happen is there must be an international coalition, including russia. a well-coordinated effort but i agree as i mentioned a moment action with king da abdullah ths is a war for islam. the troops on the ground should not be american troops they should be muslim troops. i believe that countries like saudi arabia and qatar have to step up to the plate, they have to contribute the money that we need and the troop that his we need to destroy siz isis. >>> now we are getting reports of an air strike in du damascus, there

we engage and other communities here with the united nation agencies, not only the peacekeepers, buts we are working with to tell them that this crisis is a crisis where we need to put the human being at the center of the solution but not to make them a victim again. >> thank you very much for your time with us today. >> thank you. >>> thank you for that. let's get the weather now with richard. record breaking storms really turned the weather in the northern hemisphere jump side down. >> it's bizarre at the moment. the north pole at this time of the year, of course it's completely dark 24 hours a day. temperatures at the moment are above freezing, maybe even lightly above. the reason for it is a start off in the united states where we have had dreadful flooding. remember the tornadoes which hit during the course of the weekend? well, it was on this same weather system which brought the flooding along the mississippi river. that's going to continue on for another two or three weeks before the floodwaters peak across the whole of the river. that warm air swept the atlantic and formed i

borders to seek asylum in rwanda and the united nations is concerned on the issue of civilian protection and now is contemplating deployment of u.n. peacekeepers. >> still to come in the program, the new reality after last month's attacks in paris and the feelings that city streets in europe are no longer safe. >> here in new york, street art is becoming more prevalent and the street artists themselves gaining worldwide attention. that story, coming up. >> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. >> russia's defense ministry summoned the turkish attache over warning shots being fired. an international conference is underway in rome, aiming to end the conflict in libya. members have the two rival political factions are attending, along with u.s. secretary of state john kerry. representatives of both administrations agree to sign a u.n. brokered peace deal on friday. >> there are reports of heavy weapons fire in a mostly muslim district in the capital of central african republic. the weapons were being used ne

seek asylum in rwanda and tanzania and the united nation is concerned on the issue of civilian protection and now is contemplating deployment of u.n. peacekeepers. >> there are reports that at least two people are dead and 20 injured in central african republic as voters are going to the polls. earlier there were reports of heavy weapons fire in a mostly muslim district. machine guns and rocket launchers were being used near a school where people are queuing to vote on a no constitution. we have a report on how french and u.n. troops may struggle if this violence increases. >> french soldiers on patrol in the capital have been here for two years. they are not welcome by everyone. along with local suspects, french and other foreign troops have been accused of sexually abusing children and women. >> more than 700 were documented in 2014, shows that beyond this specific, you do have widespread issue of violence or sexual violence against children. >> french commanders and the united nations told al jazeera those involved are awaiting trial and dismissed from duty. french soldiers have been accused of siding against christians with muslims. >> when

the united nations is concerned on the issue of civilian protection and now is contemplating deployment of u.n. peacekeepe peacekeepers. >>> france is voting in the second round of local elections seen as a test for the far right. the national front party calls the stir last week by winning the largest share of the vote in the first round. a higher turnout and tactical voting is expected this time, meaning the party will struggle to turn the early lead into solid gains. here's how the vote works. parties that got more than 10% in the first round are elvibl jibl to participate in sunday's contest. the national front secured 28% of the vote, leading in six of frances 13 regions. president hollande's socialist part urged tactical votes to keep them out. it urged its left wing supporters to back nicolas sarkozy's republicans with a better chance of keeping the far right out. >>> jacky rowland is live in paris, republican party headquarters. just explain to us why a difference in turnout and we are expecting this to be higher than last time, why that would impact on the votes for you now? >> reporter: the late

peacekeepers in central african republic. secretary general ban ki-moon says he accepts the findings and will take action. gabriel elizondo has more from the united nationsart in other words new york. >> reporter: when french troops in the central african republic work under united nations mandate were accused of raining six young boys the u.n. failed the very people this were sent there to a text. according to a highly anticipated over 100-page long independent report. commissioned by the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon, the united nations and its agencies grossly mishandled those allegations. the report states, among other things, instead of following up on the allegations of child rain, the claims went from desk to desk in box to in box across multiple u.n. offices with with anyone willing to take responsibility. >> the lack of coordination between policies leaves most victims awn tended and run table. >> reporter: the eighthing criticism reaches highin' officials around the world. from the former to him u.n. official in the central african republic to the current high commissioner of human rights in geneva to new york and ban ki-moon's former chie

the united nations is obviously concerned about the rising death toll in the burundi conflict and the political crisis in that country. there is already talk of the deployment of u.n. peacekeepers in the country with their important rights, first of all protection of civilians in burundi because many people have been - 200,000 have crossed the borders. they have sought asylum in other areas and in rwanda. the situation is for to continue further and turning into an ethnic conflict or civil war. this country just emerged from civil war that continued in the country for 12 years. it was just 10 years ago that this conflict stopped and many people are also seeing that there is an attacking of tutsi young men in this neighborhood. if this continues, there could be civil war once again in that country. the u.n. and as well as burundi's donors who have stopped giving aid to the country, belgium and the european union, say they're not going to give money to burundi as long as the conflict continues >>> thank you for that. stay with us here on the news hour. plenty more to come. central african republican is seen as a test of whether national elections can take place later this month.

>> the united nations has warned burundi is on the brink of civil war as the president runs for a third term. burundi has rejected a plan by the african union to deploy five thousand peacekeepers to end months of political violence. any such deployment will be seen as an attack says the government. from the capital. >> reporter: scenes like these have prompted the african union to act. the killing of civilians in the capital last week raised fears that burundi is sliding into a civil war. the u.n. warns it is on the brink. >> translation: all we want is peace. we're against the killing of civilians. our presidential forces shall only target those in fighting them. >> reporter: burundi government leaders now have 72 hours to respond to the african union over its plan to send peacekeepers. mps in burundi expect to debate the matter on monday >> we believe in our security forces and we don't need other forces to come to help them because they have proved that they are able to secure the country. so this is why i find it ridiculous to send 5,000 troops to burundi when the army and the police are able to secure the country. >> reporter: the feeling of the african union that the vio