UN leaders urge investment in policing ahead of UN COPS 2026

United Nations Under‑Secretary‑General Jean Pierre Lacroix and UN Police Commissioner Faisal Chakkar on Thursday briefed reporters at UN Headquarters to preview the 5th United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UN COPS 2026).

Lacroix said the summit, on July 7–8 at UN Headquarters, will bring together ministers, chiefs of police and senior policing officials to ensure UN policing and national policing "can mutually reinforce" one another and to prepare the organization to support UN police serving across peace operations. "We continue to invest in peace by investing in effective policing," he said, urging member states to back policing priorities.

Commissioner Faisal Chakkar framed the summit around three priorities: "the future of United Nations amid the ongoing transformation of peacekeeping," innovation and new technologies, and international cooperation to address transnational challenges. "Safety is integral to peace," Chakkar said, adding that UN police engage directly with communities and support return to normalcy by helping people "report violence, access justice, and trust the institutions meant to protect them."

Both officials described UN Police as a "system‑wide" service that operates in traditional peacekeeping missions and in smaller special political missions or on demand where no mission is present. Lacroix pointed to standing police capacities based in Brindisi, Italy, that can be deployed to provide rapid capacity building. He also highlighted cooperation with other UN entities, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and counter‑terrorism efforts, under an interagency task force to align policing support across the UN system.

The officials emphasized the practical, community‑oriented work of UN Police in field missions, citing support for civilian protection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, preparation for safe elections in the Central African Republic, and community policing and dialogue in Abyei, including measures to promote women’s participation in local security arrangements.

The summit, they said, is intended to chart how UN policing adapts to evolving threats and to showcase why investment in a modern, people‑centred UN Police yields returns for communities and national institutions. The briefing closed with a reminder that the summit is meant to translate discussion into practical cooperation between UN Police and national partners.