United Nations General Assembly: Fifth Committee
6 June 2008
Statement by Ms Edwina Stevens, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and Australia on Item 140: Report on the comprehensive analysis of the Office of Military Affairs in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), Budget for the Support Account for peacekeeping operations and the Preliminary Report on the status of implementation of DPKO restructuring and strengthening.
(As delivered)
I have the honour to speak on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I thank the Secretariat and the Chair of the ACABQ for introducing their respective reports on the SG’s report on the comprehensive analysis of the Office of Military Affairs (OMA) in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the budget for the Support Account for peacekeeping operations for the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009 and the preliminary report on the status of implementation of DPKO restructuring and strengthening.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ has long been a strong supporter of UN peace and security operations. We value the UN’s efforts in seeking to achieve international peace and stability and thus improve our collective prospects for development and prosperity. We value the dedication and determination of UN staff, many of whom work in very challenging and stressful operational environments. We are deeply grateful to all the security force personnel, military and police, who risk their lives and well-being on a daily basis to fulfil UN mandates in field operations.
Mr Chairman,
Today we begin consideration of the SG’s preliminary report on the status of implementation on the strengthening of the UN’s capacity to manage and sustain peace operations. This report reviews the progress the SG has made in implementing the GA’s decision of just one year ago to restructure the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and to increase the Support Account by over US$50 million and fund 284 new posts.
We also begin consideration of two significant proposals to support peace and security operations in the field. They are both designed to reinforce Headquarters’ support of field operations. And they both request a sizeable amount of resources for the Support Account.
Notably, the proposal for the Office of Military Affairs requests resources to improve the strategic management of increasingly complex peace operations in the field. CANZ supports this objective in principle.
However, in total, the Secretary-General’s proposals on the budget for the Support Account represent a significant increase over 2007/08. Allowing for the delayed recruitment factor suggests the real annual cost could exceed US$330 million. When we also take into account the raft of other peacekeeping budgets before the GA this session, which could exceed US$7 billion, we need to consider these proposals very carefully, and their relationship to the additional capacity approved just last year.
Mr Chairman,
Member states are responsible for ensuring UN peace and security operations are adequately resourced and equipped to pursue their mandates. And over the past years we have been placing increasingly difficult challenges in the laps of the Secretariat with the expectation that they will manage. Missions such as UNAMID, MINURCAT, UNIFIL and UNMIT epitomise the new and increasingly complex style of peace operations. They require elaborate organisation and management.
The Secretary-General argues UNAMID and MINURCAT were not covered by the 2007 strengthening of DPKO, hence the need for extra capacity. The Secretary-General also suggests the current lack of military oversight, guidance and expertise is impacting on the effectiveness and security of current operations.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ considers there is merit for additional resources to strengthen the Secretariat’s management of peacekeeping, including in the Office of Military Affairs. However, we will need to be convinced the proposals will:
- demonstrably improve the set up, deployment and operations of peacekeeping missions;
- lead to systemic improvements in the strategic management, safety and security of field operations; and,
- reduce the duplication of functions across the Secretariat, strengthen unity of command and reduce the “silo effect” in the management of peacekeeping.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ would like to emphasise our intent to consider not just resources but also how the initiatives would make the system work better. The Integrated Operational Teams (IOTs) are a key initiative from the DPKO strengthening in 2007 but they have yet to reach their full potential. We intend to seek clarification about the IOTs from the Secretariat in the informal negotiations and are interested in how the IOTs fit in relation to the proposals we have before us today.
We are also very interested in the Secretary-General’s proposals to establish an information analysis capacity, make select military personnel available to the Situation Centre, and notably, to furnish a quickly deployable military mission start-up capability for the field. We will seek further information on these matters.
And we would like further explanation of the feasibility of some proposals, for instance, the placement of the Military Field Support Service Chief in OMA while his/her staff are embedded in the Department of Field Support.
Mr Chairman,
We acknowledge the benefit of some increased military capacity in Headquarters but are cautious of creating duplication. Increased coordination and effectiveness of existing resources are essential and we will need to be convinced, in some instances, of the value-added of existing functions being replicated in OMA. A combined military-civilian presence could also be desirable in some circumstances.
CANZ stresses the importance of ensuring a clear chain of command between the Headquarters and the field and the flow of authority from the USG-Peacekeeping to the SRSG in the field and then the Force Commander.
And finally, we would like to thank the ACABQ for their report which was issued yesterday afternoon. We will take their recommendations into account, in line with the views we have expressed in this statement.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ look forward to working with member states and the Secretariat on these very important proposals.
Thank you