20100222_Fourth_Peacekeeping - Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

New York

Permanent Mission address: 150 East 42 Street, Level 33, New York, New York 10017 - Telephone: 1 212 351 6600 - Fax: 1 212 351 6610

Statement by H.E. Mr Gary Quinlan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Australian Mission to the United Nations to the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, delivered on 22 February 2010.

(as delivered)

Vice Chairman

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the CANZ group of countries – Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Firstly, let me assure you of our determination to work closely with the Bureau and all our colleagues to achieve a successful session.

I would also like to thank Under-Secretaries-General Alain Le Roy and Susana Malcorra for their statements this morning and for their continued highly-valued efforts to engage with Member States on the substantive agenda of peacekeeping reform. We would also like to thank the Secretary-General for his recent report on the Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (A/64/573). It obviously raises many central issues for further in-depth consideration over the coming weeks.

The operational environment into which peacekeepers are being deployed continues to increase in complexity and the expectations of both the international community and the local populations remain high. This demands sound policy advice and development, clear and achievable mandates, and the commitment of the necessary resources to ensure successful outcomes. It is against this overview that CANZ offers the following observations.

Despite the ever-increasing complexity of UN peacekeeping operations, there remain certain fundamental principles upon which they are built, and to which all missions must adhere. Peacekeepers are impartial, they are invited by host nations and they use force only when necessary to defend themselves or their mandate. They support the responsibility of the host government and work to maintain an environment conducive to political consensus. These are the bedrock principles of UN peacekeeping, but they do not tell the full story, for they are rendered meaningless if we do not also acknowledge the responsibility of peacekeepers to safeguard human life and to protect those most acutely affected by conflict.

The last twelve months has seen considerable progress on coming to a shared understanding of what the protection of civilians means in a UN peacekeeping context. CANZ welcomes the findings in the DPKO-OCHA jointly commissioned independent study “Protecting Civilians in the Context of UN Peacekeeping Operations”. We think it is a valuable resource with many recommendations for further consideration by this committee, the Security Council as well as the Secretariat. A key finding was the importance of focusing on the protection of civilians from the outset of mission planning. To do so effectively requires open and continued dialogue with a range of actors. The development of strategies that are comprehensive and take into account the linkages between activities and actors will help us coordinate efforts to better effect for those we are aiming to protect.

One of the difficulties cited frequently by countries contributing troops and police to peacekeeping missions whose mandates contain protection of civilians tasks is that they do not have the necessary resources, training or capabilities to implement those tasks. CANZ believes that greater agreement on a standard operational concept will assist in developing mission-wide and mission-specific strategies that will enable the Security Council and the Secretariat to more accurately assess what resources and capabilities are needed to effectively deliver on mandated protection activities. CANZ therefore welcomes the work of DPKO and DFS on a draft operational concept on protection of civilians.

CANZ also welcomes the supporting lessons learned note as a welcome companion to the operational concept. It provides many valuable examples of the different tasks that contribute to protecting civilians. As a next step, CANZ believes that there needs to be further guidance and training for peacekeepers to identify the tools they can utilise in the different scenarios they may encounter in the field to effectively carry out protection activities, which we see as an essential component to UN peacekeeping.

Turning to robust peacekeeping, CANZ welcomes the concept note that has been developed by DPKO and DFS. As the Secretary-General’s report itself notes, the Brahimi Report identified the need for robust peacekeeping to “confront the lingering forces of war and violence” ten years ago. Peacekeepers are already deployed in the field under mandates that permit robust peacekeeping, which includes, where necessary, the use of force in self-defence or in defence of the mandate, but they lack the necessary guidance, training and resources required to turn complex, multidimensional mission mandates into results on the ground. We look forward to engaging with Member States on how we can assist in further strengthening the pre-requisites and practical tools identified in the concept note to reinforce the ability of peacekeeping missions to implement their mandated tasks. Ultimately, as DPKO and DFS have noted, robust peacekeeping is not a single activity, but rather a posture. It is not peace enforcement; it is a political and operational approach, assumed through the alignment of all mission resources towards a common goal: the effective implementation of the mission mandate.

No efforts to protect civilians or implement a robust mandate will be successful without a comprehensive approach to ensuring that post-conflict peacebuilding will result in a sustainable peace. In this regard, peacekeeping and peacebuilding should, of course, not be seen as two separate processes that overlap, where required; but rather as two concurrent activities towards the same end. For this reason, CANZ would recommend engagement by the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) at the earliest post-conflict phase. This may include advice on the peacebuilding aspects of peacekeeping mandates, and should include the Commission’s input into DPKO’s draft strategy on critical early peacebuilding tasks, particularly as it will establish priorities for implementing complex mandates. We also encourage the Peacebuilding Commission to play a greater role in coordinating international organisations and actors in post-conflict settings, and for better utilisation of the Peacebuilding Fund in drawing together financial resources to supplement peacebuilding tasks in post conflict settings.

CANZ also notes that this year marks the tenth anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security and welcomes the significant work underway to better integrate the peacekeeping, protection of civilians, and women, peace and security agendas. We welcome the recent nomination of Margot Wallstrom as the new SRSG called for in Security Council Resolution 1888 and believe it important that Ms. Wallstrom be provided with the staff and resources necessary to build the post's legitimacy and effectiveness, in order to provide leadership and coordination on addressing sexual violence in armed conflict. I would also like to acknowledge the Secretary-General’s own moral leadership in this area.

Turning to Capability Development, CANZ recognises the efforts of the UN in establishing the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions and understands that internal collaborative efforts of the Secretariat have commenced towards a more integrated approach to the delivery of rule of law and security institutions in the field. There continue to be overlapping coordination of rule of law efforts among many parts of the UN system and believe that economies of effort in this field are not being achieved. CANZ believes there is a need to review the system and the wider application of rule of law within the secretariat with a view to consolidating policy coherence and coordination that can be demonstrated to the member states. In this regard, Member States may be better placed to develop priorities and contributions towards rule of law research, projects, and development in the field.

In 2009, significant efforts coordinated by the UN and provided by the Member States resulted in the deployment of Mobile Training Teams to address identified Formed Police Unit (FPU) competency deficiencies, and the development of comprehensive guidelines on FPU deployment standards and operational requirements. CANZ urges the Secretariat towards the effective implementation of these new guidelines and the relevant application of the anticipated pre-deployment training and readiness standards.

In recognition of the lessons learned from the corrective actions required by DPKO and the Member States for deployed FPU competencies, CANZ remains concerned that DPKO continues to endorse troop and police deployments into the field without appropriate pre-deployment training. CANZ recommends that greater scrutiny be applied in this regard.

Acknowledging the emergence of police as an increasingly important factor in UN peacekeeping, and the support received by DPKO towards strengthening Police Division, CANZ remains convinced that further timely and transparent efforts within the secretariat towards filling vacant positions within DPKO is required. Further, we would emphasise the importance of pre-mission planning in determining the requirements of police mission components, so that officers with the appropriate skills and training can be recruited and assigned to positions where they will have the most impact.

Efficient recruitment and retention of quality people is obviously critical to all aspects of UN peacekeeping. CANZ believes that further efforts are needed across the board to deal with recruitment for peacekeeping missions. We look forward to further information on the Secretariat’s plans for a new talent management system identified in the Secretary-General’s report, as well as the human resource management reforms proposed by the global field support strategy and urge that the important Senior Mission Administration and Resource Training (SMART) program be integrated into this emerging framework.

Another critical aspect of UN peacekeeping is the UN support role in building the capacities of regional organisations, such as the African Union, to develop their own peacekeeping capacity. An example is the important role played by the UN-AU Peace Support Office. CANZ welcomes efforts by the UN to streamline its presence in Addis Ababa and is encouraged by the interoperability being developed between the two organisations. We urge the Secretariat to draw on the recent example of DPKO playing a useful role in identifying the needs of UN police in Darfur, in order to work with donors to develop a broader capacity-building clearinghouse to better match training and equipment needs with donor programs. As well as providing advice to the African Union on developing its own peacekeeping capacity, we think the UN can also learn significantly from some of the innovative work being conducted by the African Union in responding to the challenges of peace operations within its own region.

Mr Vice Chairman, I’d like to turn to the Field Support Strategy.

CANZ welcomes the work ongoing in the Department of Field Support to improve the UN’s logistics and delivery capabilities. We agree that the financing and support structures of the UN’s increasingly complex responsibilities in this area require a comprehensive and structured review in order to streamline and enhance the timely delivery of mandates.

However, CANZ continues to have concerns about the level of detail that we have before us, and considers that the C-34 should not holistically endorse the strategy without hearing more from DFS on a number of key areas. We note USG Malcorra’s indication this morning that more details will be provided over coming days. In particular, we need a clearer picture of exactly where the current logistical support system is broken, and what exactly we will be doing to fix it. This includes greater transparency on how the criteria for determining various aspects of the strategy were defined and much more detail on implementing key elements including command and control. We are also concerned with the lack of clarity over command and control structures under the new strategy, in particular as they relate to the proposed regional service centres. In addition, we would welcome a more detailed picture of the planned implementation of the strategy, including timeframes, reporting lines, flow charts and benchmarks.

Consistent with the contemporary operational environment, it is essential that modern technologies be exploited to provide the mission leadership with timely and accurate information in order to pre-empt or react effectively to threats to security. Additionally, forces require the mobility to address these threats effectively, often over extremes in terrain and distance. In this regard, CANZ remains interested in the Secretariat’s analysis and recommendations with respect to the management and use of military utility helicopters in peacekeeping missions. The Members were supposed to receive comments on this issue before the end of 2009. It is important that we have the Department of Field Support’s comments and agreement on this issue at this present session.

Mr Vice Chairman,

CANZ remains a strong supporter of reforms that improve the effectiveness of the Office of Military Affairs and notes the Secretary-General’s most recent report on its restructuring. In particular, we are pleased to see the establishment of an assessment team to provide strategic situational awareness in current and potential peacekeeping operations. We would, however, request further advice regarding the priority areas for the enhancements detailed in the report, specifically with regard to increased administrative support and the conversion of existing military officer positions to civilian positions.

Finally, CANZ welcomes the increased cooperation and level of engagement between the Security Council and the troop and police contributing countries prior to the renewal of mandates. Early consultation provides the best chance for coherent cooperation to commence and therefore effectively engage strategically with the relevant national capacity of the host country from the beginning. We encourage further consultation between the stakeholders throughout the life cycle of the mission in a manner that is timely and meaningful.

Mr Vice Chairman,

In closing, CANZ wishes to express once again its condolences to the people of Haiti, and to those UN staff and personnel – colleagues to many of us, who have given their lives in the service of peace. These recent events have tragically reminded us of the risks that peacekeeping personnel are under on a daily basis. The efforts of those on the ground in MINUSTAH at present remind us of the significant value and protection that peacekeepers can bring to those vulnerable people most in need. We here in New York owe it to these personnel to work to ensure that we have the most effective peacekeeping system in place we can, and as USG Le Roy said this morning, to ensure that we reinvigorate the global partnership to UN peacekeeping. Thank you.