Mike Kelly at the UN.
Federal member for Eden-Monaro and Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Dr Mike Kelly addressed the United Nations Security Council in New York on Monday, before the 15-member body unanimously endorsed a resolution calling for a "multidimensional approach" to peacekeeping - the first such resolution in more than 10 years.
The day-long debate, opened by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, saw the Security Council resolve that peacekeeping activities "should be conducted in a manner so as to facilitate post-conflict peacebuilding, prevent relapse of armed conflict and progress towards sustainable peace and development."
Dr Kelly - who himself wore a "blue helmet" as a UN peacekeeper during his 20-year military career - spoke on behalf of Australia, which has now taken up the non-permanent seat on the Security Council it won last October.
He highlighted the need to integrate the military and civilian aspects of peacekeeping, and stressed the importance of helping governments in areas of conflict take the lead to build peace and eliminate corruption.
"Australia welcomes the evolution in the approach to peacekeeping over the past decade," Dr Kelly told the Security Council.
"The ultimate aim of peacekeeping missions is that they must constantly be focused on their own redundancy. We need to avoid situations in which a government becomes reliant on a peacekeeping mission over the long term to do things it needs to be doing itself," he said.