February 11, 2000
The following is a summary of the Secretary-General's report on the "Implementation of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations" (A/54/670; 6 January 2000). The report was written in response to the Special Committee's request that the Secretariat submit a report on progress made in the implementation of the Committee's recommendations (A/54/87, para. 125; 23 June 1999).
According to the [Secretary-General's] report, events of the past year have reaffirmed the central role of United Nations peacekeeping within the international community's wider efforts to advance peace. United Nations peacekeeping activities included creation of such large operations as the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET); deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and a major expansion of the operation in Sierra Leone.
The Secretary-General states that the Organization's universality ensures its legitimacy and political acceptability. The United Nations system has an unparalleled ability to coordinate action in a wide range of disciplines, including political, military, humanitarian and civil affairs; in civilian police, mine action and electoral efforts; and in economic assistance, rehabilitation and development activities.
As new operations with complex mandates are taking on new, often unprecedented tasks, they require especially high levels of administration and management. In a number of recently established or expanded missions, the United Nations has faced considerable demands in planning, deployment and support with very short lead time. This is a serious challenge to the Organization, requiring timely mobilization of human, financial and logistical resources.
A spirit of partnership is required for effective management, and Member States and the Secretariat have complementary roles to play, the Secretary- General states. Harmonization of political, social and developmental efforts can increase the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, ensure smooth continuation of efforts after their withdrawal, and reduce duplication during deployment of complex peacekeeping operations.
The Secretariat is continuing to strengthen coordination with specialized agencies and regional organizations. For example, in the Central African Republic, United Nations efforts towards security, elections and institutional reform were complemented by the efforts of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to promote economic stabilization and growth. Other examples include the joint assessment mission led by the World Bank in East Timor and the joint approach to donors for East Timor by the World Bank and the United Nations through the Tokyo Conference. There is also close cooperation between UNMIK and the World Bank.
Several operations exemplify partnerships with regional efforts. The Organization's new or expanded operations in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, East Timor, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone, together with ongoing operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Tajikistan, exemplify such partnerships with regional efforts, whether taken through or outside the established institutional framework of a regional organization. These experiences have testified to the fact that the primacy of the Security Council remains essential.
Also according to the report, ground-breaking efforts in terms of cooperation with regional arrangements have been undertaken in UNMIK, where the United Nations operation is collaborating with the European Union and with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Both organizations are working under the authority of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General. This experience may provide useful guidance for other joint efforts with regional organizations in the future.
The United Nations is also coordinating efforts with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to establish a regular forum of African and non-African States for strengthening cooperation in various capacity-building areas. Proposals for the terms of reference for such a group were circulated on 19 April 1999, and a number of comments have been received; these arrangements will be finalized in consultation with the OAU, the Group of African States at the United Nations and donor countries.
However, the Secretary-General warns that regardless of the arrangements made within any particular mission, cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations inevitably poses considerable challenges. These relate, among other things, to the differences between respective mandates and financial and logistical resources, as well as separate channels of communication with Member States. In this regard, the Secretariat has widely circulated a lessons- learned report on cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations.
Regarding consultations with prospective troop contributors, the Secretary-General states that they start at the earliest stage of the planning process. As the planning advances, troop contributors are informed of the parameters of the operation and personnel requirements. Regular meetings with troop contributors are held under the chairmanship of the President of the Security Council, when a mandate is to be renewed or changed. Reports about particular missions are available to the contributors on a regular basis.
Also according to the report, ensuring good discipline of peacekeeping personnel is of utmost importance. Procedures that are followed in instances of alleged misconduct are well established and are based on United Nations rules and regulations. All offers by Member States to participate in peacekeeping operations are given full consideration. Where not all of these offers can be accommodated, feedback is provided directly to the relevant permanent missions on a confidential basis.
Regarding the phasing out of gratis military personnel, the report states that the Secretariat sought to permit an effective hand-over of responsibilities and to minimize disruptions. Future rotation of officers will be timed to avoid major simultaneous departures of experienced personnel. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations makes every effort to ensure high professionalism and broad geographical representation, as well as gender balance and fair selection of senior officials.
The Secretary-General further states that the process of formalizing the new structure of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is nearing completion. The new division of responsibilities appears to be helpful in responding to current needs, although the rapid increase in workload has proven to be a major challenge to departmental staff.
On the subject of the standby arrangements system, the Secretary-General notes that as of December 1999, 87 Member States are participating in it -- 32 of which have signed a memorandum of understanding, 11 within the past year. Although discussions are continuing regarding the need to overcome deficiencies in the standby system, contributions from most Member States still have response times of 30 days or more. This can place severe limitations on the capacity to urgently deploy resources.
Following the Special Committee's recommendations, chief administrative officers are regularly informed about changes to United Nations rules and procedures and are consulted with on potential changes. In selecting contributors to missions, the Military Planning Service uses the standby arrangements system database. Similarly, through the use of a well-managed vendor database containing carefully screened companies, the Procurement Division recently started sending bid invitations to all vendors registered for the product category being sought.
Also according to the report, innovative methods of procurement have been introduced to meet urgent requirements without sacrificing the integrity of the United Nations. For instance, initial furniture requirements for UNMIK were met by utilizing the existing contract of the World Food Programme (WFP). All field missions are provided with substantial procurement authority at the outset of the mission.
Fundamental principles and rules on the observance by United Nations forces of international humanitarian law were finalized and issued on 6 August 1999 as a Secretary-General's bulletin. The text resulted from discussions between the Secretariat, the Member States and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The draft text was circulated to Member States at the end of June 1999. The Office of Legal Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations then jointly convened a meeting with Member States to permit a final exchange of views on the text.
There is increasing awareness of the importance of public information in peacekeeping, both as a security element and as a tool to achieve mission goals. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations has worked in close partnership with the Department of Public Information in order to disseminate objective and reliable information on United Nations peacekeeping.
Currently, the report states, it is necessary to develop new public information strategies and capacities; fulfil requirements for experienced and skilled staff; and ensure essential technical and material support for public information needs. Closer cooperation with governments and organizations in that regard might include specific standby agreements or service packages for radio and television broadcasting in mission areas, or identifying qualified public information personnel. Contributions to the Trust Fund for Public Information in Peacekeeping Operations would also be welcome.
Also according to the report, the model status-of-forces agreement issued in October 1990 continues to serve as the basic framework for the drafting of individual agreements. However, as status-of-forces agreements evolve, revised and new provisions have been regularly incorporated into them. As far as the security of members of United Nations peacekeeping operations is concerned, the responsibility of host governments in this regard will be underscored in future status-of-forces agreements. Notwithstanding the welcome entry into force in January 1999 of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, more needs to be done in that respect.
The Secretary-General states that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is still in the process of conducting a general and comprehensive review of security matters. Due to the upsurge in peacekeeping, the Department has been obliged to redirect staff involved in these efforts to other pressing needs. Nevertheless, some of the key requirements in enhancing the personnel security have been highlighted and -- to the extent that financial and human resources allow -- are being implemented in the new missions. They include the deployment of the appropriate number of security officers, pre-deployment training, and provision of necessary logistical support. Continued strengthening of the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator would also enhance security.
The Secretariat has reviewed and enhanced its procedures to ensure a continuous flow of information to Member States, especially during periods of crisis. To promote safety of travel, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has undertaken a complete review of air safety as it pertains to peacekeeping. Efforts are being made to enhance training and to improve the civilian police components of the missions. The Secretariat has also begun to pursue further development of rosters of civilian administrators and other civilian personnel. The United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, maintains stocks of certain essential equipment for field missions.
Rapid deployment capacity is being strengthened by identifying the staff serving in existing field missions who can be deployed at short notice and training understudies to assume the duties of the designated staff. However, this has at times imposed an unmanageable burden upon staff at Headquarters, particularly when start-up of more than one mission had to be explored concurrently. The Secretariat has also repeatedly sought to obtain full staffing for the rapidly deployable mission headquarters (RDMHQ), but could not get the necessary support to realize this concept. While two support account positions were approved for RDMHQ, the additional six posts were to be filled through redeployment within the Secretariat, which proved to be impossible. The Secretariat now intends to explore other options to achieve these goals.
With respect to reimbursements for troop costs and contingent-owned equipment, the Secretary-General states that it is the United Nations policy to pay all troop-contributing countries at the same time in order to ensure equal treatment of all governments. The timing of the payments for troop reimbursement and contingent-owned equipment, however, depends upon the receipt of assessed contributions. Claims for goods and services provided under Letter of Assist arrangements, as well as those for death and disability, are processed on an individual basis.
According to the report, over the last 12 months, considerable efforts have been made to process the backlog of claims. However, there are a number of constraints beyond the Secretariat's control that contribute to delays in processing the backlog. These include delays in the receipt of essential supporting documents from troop-contributing countries; the cash flow situation in the Special Account for Peacekeeping Activities; and, in a few instances, the need for additional appropriations by the General Assembly. With regard to the payment of compensation for death and disability, only 30 of the 564 claims submitted prior to 19 May 1997 are outstanding.
During the past year, concerted efforts have been made to complete liquidation of missions closed prior to December 1997, and this exercise is expected to be finalized in the current fiscal year. As for the missions closed after January 1998, procedures have been instituted to allow for the preparation of their liquidation well before termination of the mandates. As a result, it has been possible to conduct the liquidation of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) within the initial liquidation time-frame.
The Secretary-General notes that measures have been taken to refine the present mission start-up budgeting mechanism, which enables a new mission to become operational at a relatively early stage after being given its mandate. It also allows for replenishment of start-up kits at the Logistics Base once the budgets of the new missions are approved, thus providing the capability to provide start-up kits for subsequent operations promptly. All peacekeeping budget submissions to the General Assembly include a section on voluntary contributions, in which the Secretariat is required to report on all trust funds established in peacekeeping operations, including pledges, voluntary contributions received and expenditures thereon.
