UN holds equipment review meeting for peacekeeping; announces speaker and thanks member states

The UN is hosting a contingent‑owned equipment working group at UN Headquarters through Jan. 30 to review policies on equipment and services supporting uniformed peacekeepers. The meeting, the spokesperson said, is chaired by Major General Silver Moses Kayemba of Uganda and will consider proposals ranging from counter‑drone systems and modular hospitals to monitoring technologies and reimbursement rates tied to utilization indicators. Spokespersons said the meeting aims to ensure peacekeeping operations remain effective, safe and cost‑efficient and that the proposals could shape capabilities for the next three years.

The briefing also announced that Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University's Institute for Water, Environment and Health and lead author of the report Global Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post Crisis Era, will speak at the UN tomorrow on that report.

Separately, the spokesperson thanked Barbados and the Netherlands for full payments to the UN regular budget, bringing the number of member states on the honor roll to 17. The briefing closed with condolences to families affected by a recent high‑speed train crash in Spain and a procedural note that the Secretary‑General had postponed a planned trip to Davos because of illness, remaining near Geneva before returning to New York.