UN Peace Operations Radios:
Lessons Learned and Best Practices for their Post-UN Transitions

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Director-General very much regrets that he cannot be here today and sends his best regards. He has asked me to deliver the following remarks on his behalf and I quote:

“It is a pleasure to be with you today as you start your discussions on the vital role of radio in promoting peace in some of the most troubled places on earth - the places of UN peace operations.

Radio - you know this well - is an indispensable instrument in the UN’s communications arsenal.
Its reach is unparalleled: no other medium reaches as far and wide as radio does. Its airwaves travel to even the most remote areas, including to those hardest to get to, they reach out to those most vulnerable: the illiterate, the disabled, those living in extreme poverty and those fleeing conflict and disaster.

As a technology, radio has shown impressive staying power. And with good reason. Where social media can generate media bubbles and echo chambers, radio can share a diversity of views, reach a diverse audience, and interact in a diversity of languages - and all of that in a cost-effective, dynamic and immediate way.

But like all technology, we must remember that it’s neither good or bad in and of itself. It’s our use of radio that determines what it becomes.

Succinctly put, the airwaves carry what we make them carry:

- At their worst, they carry messages of hate and even incite murder - like two major radio stations did during the Rwandan Genocide.
- But at their best, they carry messages of peace and build mutual understanding - like the UN’s Radio Okapi does so impressively throughout the entire DRC.

Peacekeeping missions’ radio stations like Radio Okapi show us the power of constructive journalism on the ground:
̶ To enable voters to make informed choices.
̶ To hold leaders accountable.
̶ To give civil society a voice.

Such positive examples should be emulated - and not just in the context of peace operations.
In any place where tabloid sensationalism and cheap negativity bias crowds out engaging and substantive debate; everywhere where media fail in their essential responsibility as the “fourth estate” of democracy - that’s where radio can step in.
- Step in to inform and inspire; to educate and empower.
- Step in to unite communities; to give voice to the marginalized; to promote peace and enable sustainable development.

That is the potential power of radio. And that is why, ultimately, your discussions today are so relevant.

I wish you much success in your deliberations. “


This was the message of the Director-General.

Thank you.