Global Policy Forum

Discussions with Member States have indicated a willingness on their part to commit the necessary resources to improving United Nations peace operations, the Chairman of a Panel on that issue told reporters in New York today.

Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, who chaired the Panel on UN Peace Operations which released its far-reaching proposals today, said most representatives of Member States contacted by the Panel "realize that the UN can do better and should be helped to do better."

Nobody wanted to repeat the bitter experience of the past few years, he said, stressing that the UN must be ready to face difficult situations. "Everybody wants the UN to prevent another Rwanda, everybody wants to the UN not to get into another Srebrenica," he observed. The Panel's central message was: "Make sure that before you send the UN you understand what the situation is, what the implications are, and you go there with your eyes open."

"Some of our recommendations do come with a price tag," he acknowledged. Discussions with Member States from all parts of the world and outside observers revealed their conviction that "what is wrong with the UN ways of doing business in the field of peace and security cannot be put right without significant additional resources."

He said Panel members had been stunned by how poorly equipped the Department for Peacekeeping Operations is at present. "What shocked us is to see for example that you have 32 officers at Headquarters to provide leadership for 28,000 soldiers scattered around the world," he said. "This is clearly not acceptable." He further noted that there were nine police officers providing leadership for over 7,000 civilian police from 40 countries deployed across the globe.

He said it was "frankly scandalous that this Organization belonging to the whole of humanity cannot afford the necessary personnel to do the main activity of the UN, which is peace and security."

A correspondent said he had heard that the recommendations could cost $100 million. Mr. Brahimi replied that he did not know the exact figure but suspected it was "probably much less" than that. "Even if it was $100 million, it is not very much," he said, noting that UN Member States spent sums approaching $800 billion on their armies. Surely they can find some little change for this Organization, even if it were $100 million."

Ambassador Brahimi said the Panel acknowledged that UN could not and should not go into every conflict situation. "The United Nations, at the end of the day, will go only where the Council will send it." He said the Panel's message to the Council was "if you send it, send it with the right tools. And if you give it a job to do, give it the right tools to do that job you have asked it to do." The Security Council should provide a realistic mandate, and provide the corresponding resources needed to achieve that mandate.

He noted that the forthcoming Millennium Summit of the General Assembly and Security Council Summit would consider the report. "We very much hope that both will heed the appeal from the Secretary-General that they join him in translating these recommendations into reality," Ambassador Brahimi said.