UNPROFOR EXPERIENCE RAISES QUESTION OF NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL MILITARY ADVICE TO SECURITY COUNCIL, CZECH REPUBLIC TELLS SPECIAL COMMITTEE
Press Release
GA/PK/140
UNPROFOR EXPERIENCE RAISES QUESTION OF NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL MILITARY ADVICE TO SECURITY COUNCIL, CZECH REPUBLIC TELLS SPECIAL COMMITTEE
19960403 Other Speakers Discuss Staffing of Department of Peace-keeping OperationsThe experiences of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina raised the question of whether the Security Council should have some form of professional military advice at its disposal, the representative of the Czech Republic told the Special Committee on Peace- keeping Operations as it continued its general debate this morning.
If the Military Staff Committee was not up to that task, the Czech Republic's representative said, the Office of the Secretary-General's Military Advisor should be strengthened, and should meet regularly with military advisors of Security Council members.
The representatives of Nepal and Poland both said attention should be paid to the size of countries' troop contributions in the staffing of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations. The representative of New Zealand said the Secretariat should have a permanent core capacity for supervising and directing peace-keeping activities, and it should be funded from the regular budget. The representative of Colombia said the practice of Member States loaning personnel to the Department went against the principle of equitable geographical representation and discriminated against the majority of States which lacked the resources to finance such personnel.
At the opening of the meeting, the Committee agreed to allow Colombia to participate as an observer.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general debate.
Special Committee Work Programme
The Special Committee on Peace-keeping Operations met this afternoon to continue its general debate as part of its efforts to conduct a comprehensive review of the whole question of peace-keeping operations in all its aspects. Under the mandate entrusted to it by General Assembly resolution 50/30 of 22 December 1995, the Committee was also to review the implementation of its previous proposals and consider new proposals to enhance the capacity of the United Nations to fulfil its peace-keeping responsibilities. (For more information, see Press Release GA/PK/137).
At the opening of the meeting, the Committee agreed to allow the following countries to participate as observers: Cyprus, Kenya, Lithuania, Namibia, South Africa and Uruguay.
Statements
JACK B. WILMOT (Ghana) said that more than 80 citizens of Ghana had died in United Nations peace-keeping operations. Ghana paid its assessed contributions to the regular and peace-keeping budgets on time. It was one of the west African countries which had initiated the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) effort to send peace-keepers to Liberia. There were other countries like Ghana which played a significant role in United Nations peace-keeping but had only a peripheral role -- as observers -- in the work of the Committee. Therefore, like other countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, Ghana was calling for an expansion of the Committee's membership.
He expressed concerns about the recent and increasing trend of Department of Peace-keeping Operations personnel to be paid by their home countries. That trend, together with the indication that the salaries of some staff members were topped up by their home governments, was incompatible with the United Nations Charter and Staff Regulations. "We do not see how such personnel, paid by external sponsors, can remain loyal to the Organization and fail to heed the instructions of their patrons." The Committee and the general membership of the United Nations should take immediate actions to correct that problem. "At a time when the axe is being wielded over personnel numbers in the Secretariat because of an artificial financial crisis, it would be most unfortunate if we were to allow the phenomenon of loaned and subsidized personnel to distort our priorities and unjustifiably expose personnel from developing countries."
He also called on the Secretariat to streamline administrative procedures to ensure prompt reimbursement of troop and equipment contributors. It was hoped that new scales for death and disability compensation would soon be put into effect. He lauded the recent creation of the Lessons Learned Unit
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and also the recent practice of consultations between troop-contributing countries, the Security Council and the Secretariat on peace-keeping issues.
PETER RIDER (New Zealand) said it was time to fundamentally rethink the financial backstopping arrangements. The Secretariat should have a permanent core capacity for supervising and directing peace-keeping activities funded from the regular budget. He endorsed the Secretary-General's proposal that a fixed number of posts be established and funded annually based on the annual forecast of peace-keeping requirements. On the question of the scale of assessments, he said iniquities in the system should not be an excuse for not meeting legally binding financial commitments. No matter what funds the Department of Peace-keeping Operations had, it should put them to best use.
He expressed confidence for strong support for an initiative New Zealand and other countries had taken to improve the United Nations capacity to respond in crisis situations. Discussions on the subject had led to the Danish non-paper on a high readiness brigade. Training for New Zealand's peace-keepers had been practically oriented. It was important to attach training assistance teams to field headquarters to coordinate and facilitate the use of standardized procedures. Last August, New Zealand had hosted observers from eight Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum States at a pre-deployment exercise of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). Participants had found it useful and he commended the practice to others.
He said the new arrangements on consultations between troop-contributing countries, the Security Council and the Secretariat still fell short of those called for by the troop contributors last December. On membership of the Special Committee, he said New Zealand did not consider that any criteria should be employed to try to keep it limited and exclusive. New Zealand could not be party to a General Assembly resolution that discriminated in such a way.
KAREL KOVANDA (Czech Republic) said one of the lessons to be learned from the United Nations peace-keeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Somalia was that the Organization did not know how to conduct peace- enforcement operations. Such operations could best be executed either by regional organizations, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and ad hoc coalitions of Member States under the overall auspices of the Security Council. The experiences of the UNPROFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina made one wonder if the Security Council should not have at its disposal some form of professional military advice. Article 47 of the Charter charged the Military Staff Committee with providing such advice. However, he did not recall a single instance during the Czech Republic's tenure on the Security Council when that Committee had provided advice. If the Committee was a "dead duck", the Office of the Secretary-General's Military Advisor should be
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strengthened, and that advisor should meet regularly with military advisors of Security Council members.
The Czech Republic had been working under Danish leadership to develop the proposal for creating the multinational United Nations stand-by forces high readiness brigade, he said. He also supported Canada's proposals for an overall improvement of the United Nations rapid-reaction capacity, and he supported the expansion of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations' planning and analysis function, including that Department's proposal to create a rapidly deployable nucleus headquarters. At its own expense, the Czech Republic had offered the services of one Czech officer for that nucleus headquarters.
The Security Council should be expanded to include all interested countries which were contributing to peace-keeping operations. The concept of contributing countries should be expanded to include not only those providing military support or military observers, but also those contributing to civilian and humanitarian elements of peace-keeping operations and/or substantive financial or material assistance to their management.
ZBIGNIEW MATUSZEWSKI (Poland) said his country supported the concept of rapid reaction capability of the United Nations and stand-by arrangements to improve the Organization's peace-keeping operations. Poland welcomed the proposal of Canada and the Netherlands for a rapidly deployable headquarters within the Department of Peace-keeping Operations and would support efforts for its early establishment. It also supported increased cooperation of the United Nations with regional organizations on peace-keeping activities.
On training, he said his country had last year conducted a number of joint military exercises with present and prospective peace-keeping contributors. Preparations were well under way for a joint Polish-Lithuanian peace-keeping unit. His delegation shared the opinion that any changes in the Department's staff should be made with appropriate attention given to the ratio between its members on loan and those paid out of the United Nations budget. Attention should also be paid to the size of the countries' troop contributions in the staffing of the Department.
He said 28,000 Polish peace-keepers had served in 29 missions since 1953 and the Government was ready to continue to contribute personnel within its limited resources. He called for the urgent implementation of the Convention on the Safety and Security of United Nations personnel. On enlargement of membership of the Special Committee, he said Poland favoured the addition of all present and former troop-contributing countries.
NARENDRA BIKRAM SHAH (Nepal) said the membership of the Special Committee needed to be expanded, particularly in light of the fact that the
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current membership did not include a number of substantial troop contributors. Delay in the reimbursement for services rendered was a strain on troop contributors, particularly the least-developed countries among them. "We understand that it is the result of the non-payment by some Member States of their assessed contributions. But this shifts the financial burden from those who have the most capacity to pay to those who have the least."
The recruitment of Department of Peace-keeping Operations personnel should truly reflect the Charter principle of equitable geographical representation, he said. Any country's representation within that Department -- including in its field missions -- should be commensurate with the country's participation in peace-keeping operations and its commitment to stand-by arrangements. "Those brave souls willing to sacrifice their lives for peace and who have been put in harm's way by the Organization have not been treated on a footing of equality." Death and disability compensation must be based on a uniform, non-discriminatory regime. "That would be a real measure of tribute to the martyrs for peace."
ALVARO FORERO (Colombia) said his country recognized the enormous value of peace-keeping operations, which must be guided by clear rules to enable the Organization to deal with the challenges of peace. There should also be consistency and no double standards. It would be a good idea for criteria to be established for peace-keeping operations, particularly at a time when the Security Council was transferring responsibility for some operations to regional organizations. He said the practice of Member States loaning personnel to the Department of Peace-keeping Operations went against the principle of equitable geographical representation and it discriminated against the majority of States which lacked the resources to finance such personnel.
He said problems faced by peace-keeping operations stemmed from the non- observance of certain basic criteria. It was important to obtain and maintain the consent of the parties; to maintain neutrality; not to use force except in self-defence; to distinguish clearly between peace-keeping operations and humanitarian activities; and to provide proper security for the troops, among other measures. Caution was necessary to avoid setbacks suffered by the Organization in the past, which could provide useful lessons for the future.
Colombia agreed with concept of a rapid-reaction capability of the Organization. It also supported the position of the Non-Aligned countries regarding the staffing of the Department. He called for the expansion of the membership of the Special Committee to ensure participation by all Member States. Consultations between troop-contributing countries, the Security Council and the Secretariat should be improved. The recent statement by the Security Council President on the subject had been welcome.
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