CONCERN OVER HIGH READINESS BRIGADE EXPRESSED AT SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
Press Release
GA/PK/152
CONCERN OVER HIGH READINESS BRIGADE EXPRESSED AT SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
19980331 Several speakers expressed mixed feelings about the arrangement for the Denmark-led Multinational United Nations Stand-by Forces High Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG), as the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations continued its general debate this morning. While some saw it as an exclusivist duplication of the existing United Nations standby arrangements system, others viewed it as a necessary support that complemented the Organization's peacekeeping activities.The representative of Malaysia said that while his country had no serious qualms about SHIRBRIG, it was sceptical about its usefulness as many Member States had pledged the availability of their brigades under the standby arrangements system. Rather than promoting SHIRBRIG, it would be more meaningful and effective for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to focus on improving the existing system.
The SHIRBRIG would be an important contribution to the strengthening of the Organization's preparedness for rapid reaction to conflict situations, said the representative of Ukraine. However, Ukraine also shared the misgivings expressed by some Member States about the existing tendency to set it up as a new privileged formation of those Member States which had wide capacities to finance their participation in it.
The representative of Argentina said his country had signed the memorandum of understanding to demonstrate its support for SHIRBRIG, which should be seen as an additional collaboration with the United Nations and would act in coordination with the Organization.
Initiatives to establish SHIRBRIG should be given careful consideration said the representative of Jamaica. Tragedies might well have been averted if the international community had developed mechanisms for swift and decisive response to certain conflicts. Such mechanisms should be inclusive and draw upon as many Member States as possible.
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The representative of Kyrgyzstan also said that among the peacekeeping issues of concern to delegations were the use of gratis personnel; delay in peacekeeping reimbursements to troop-contributing countries; the need for further transparency in procurement procedures; lack of progress in establishing the rapidly deployable mission headquarters; and low geographical representation of civilian police officers at higher levels.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Japan, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Syria, Cuba and Iran.
The Committee will resume its general debate at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 1 April.
Special Committee Work Programme
The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations met this morning to continue its general debate. It had before it a report of the Secretary- General on the implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee (document A/AC.121/42). The five-part report covers such issues as guiding principles, definitions and implementation of mandates; consultations with troop contributors; enhancing the capacity of the United Nations; and cooperation with regional arrangements. (For information on the report, see Press Release GA/PK/150 of 30 March.)
Statements
HISASHI OWADA (Japan) said that the earlier a peacekeeping operation was deployed, the greater its chances of success. Japan recognized that the rapidly deployable mission headquarters could greatly enhance the capability of the United Nations to respond to conflicts in a timely manner. It was hoped that the financing of that plan would be studied, with careful thought given to the relations between the staff of such a headquarters and of the existing Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) staff.
Japan supported the phase-out of gratis personnel, but also recognized that it must be carried out in such a manner as not to affect the proper functioning of that Department, he said. The Special Committee should also analyse carefully the effects of the Secretary-General's proposal to convert a certain number of positions currently occupied by gratis personnel to posts under the Support Account budget, so that the Department could remain capable of meeting the ongoing reforms of the United Nations.
He said that the issue of small and light weapons had not been adequately discussed in the Special Committee. It was obvious that once an active conflict ended, the collection and effective disposal of arms and leftover weapons became a crucial requirement. The establishment of guidelines for the collection and disposal of small arms and light weapons would be of valuable assistance to negotiators of a peace settlement and peacekeeping missions.
The question of cooperation between the United Nations and regional initiatives in peacekeeping was one of growing importance in light of the limited resources of the Organization and the growing efforts of regional bodies effectively to cope with conflicts at the regional level, he said. It was essential that the regional body concerned act strictly in accordance with the Charter and that the Security Council provide it with a clear mandate.
SUDJADNAN PARNOHADININGRAT (Indonesia) said a study being undertaken by the Department's Lessons Learned Unit regarding cooperation with regional organizations in the context of peacekeeping and peace support, must take into account existing instruments and mechanisms operating in each of the regional
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organizations or arrangements. Indonesia also concurred with the Secretary- General that all deliberations concerning changes to the mandate of a peacekeeping operation be carried out in a transparent and democratic manner. His delegation also supported the United Nations stand-by arrangements to enhance the rapid-deployment capacity of peacekeeping operations.
Commenting on the decrease in the establishment of new peacekeeping operations, he said the trend provided further momentum for the phasing out of gratis personnel. In addition, the Secretariat should begin identifying its staff requirements during low- and high-intensity activities and should inform the Special Committee on the matter, to enable it to develop effective recommendations to the General Assembly.
Noting that the Mine Action Service of the Department would become the focal point within the Organization for coordination of mine-clearance activities, he welcomed greater coordination within the United Nations system for demining activities. He asked what mechanisms had been agreed upon by the Department, United Nations agencies and other major actors to that end. He commended the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for approaching the mine clearance problem from a development perspective.
He said his country welcomed the adoption of Assembly resolution 51/218E that established uniform and standardized rates for the payments of awards in the cases of death and disability. It also appreciated the Secretariat's efforts to reduce the backlog of claims and stressed that every effort must be exerted to settle claims as soon as possible. Reimbursement of contingent- owned equipment, an issue that needed to be resolved as early as possible should also take into account the interest of the developing countries.
Expressing concern with current procurement practices for peacekeeping operations, he said while financial obligations for operations were borne by the general membership, the majority of procurements were being carried out in a limited number of countries. As the existing practice amounted to oligopoly, and would limit competition as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of future peacekeeping procurements, Indonesia concurred with the recommendations of the Secretary-General that more efforts should be exerted towards making the procedures concerning procurement more flexible.
VLADIMIR GALUSKA (Czech Republic) said that despite the significant decline in the number of personnel deployed in peacekeeping missions and the fact that no new mission had been established over the past two years, with the exception of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA), his Government continued to regard peacekeeping missions as the most important form of international conflict management. It remained convinced that with no viable alternative in place, peacekeeping operations -- working in concert with other means of conflict and crisis management, such as
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preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and post-conflict peace-building -- remained the best and most instrumental tools for the peaceful settlement of disputes, whether of an intra- or inter-State nature.
He said that for several years now, the Secretariat and Member States had concentrated on improving the Organization's capacity to react rapidly and effectively when faced with a crisis; to draw lessons from terminated missions; and to work out relevant, specialized expertise. With that in mind, it appeared that certain positions within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations should be exclusively assigned to military specialists.
The impact of the phasing out of gratis personnel on the Department's capability to carry out its core tasks could not be over-emphasized, he said. There was a fear that until a secure and stable funding of DPKO had been agreed upon, the impact might not be a positive one. The Special Committee had a unique responsibility to take those indications into consideration and possibly take a stand on it, with a view to maintaining the capacity of the Department to plan, manage and conduct peacekeeping activities in the transition period.
NABIL ELARABY (Egypt) said that the Department was at an important turning point because of the continuous decrease of military forces participating in peacekeeping operations; there had been an end to new operations with the exception of MINURCA; and because the Assembly had adopted a reform plan phasing out gratis personnel. Those and other issues should persuade the Special Committee of the need to consider the future form of peacekeeping.
With regard to the role of civilian police in peacekeeping, he said that 100 Egyptian nationals were participating in various missions. Emphasizing the importance of the role played by civilian police as observers or in a training capacity, he said the Special Committee should establish general guidelines for civilian police in peacekeeping and their place in traditional peacekeeping practices.
FERNANDO ENRIQUE PETRELLA (Argentina) said this year marked the fiftieth anniversary of United Nations involvement in peacekeeping and was also the fortieth anniversary of Argentina's participation in such operations. Argentina was deeply gratified at the successful conclusion of operations in Guatemala and Croatia. The completion of the mission in Central America had opened a door to a region that was becoming a model of democracy in the international arena.
He said Argentina supported the efforts of the Secretariat and Member States to shorten the response time to crises. This year Argentina had signed the memorandum of understanding to demonstrate its support for the Denmark-led Stand-by High Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG). It was hoped that in the future new countries would also join the Brigade, which should be seen as an
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additional collaboration with the United Nations and would act in coordination with the Organization.
He said repeated attacks on peacekeeping forces was something inconceivable. His country expressed solidarity with a group of Uruguayan military observers in Tajikistan. Argentina appealed to all States that had not yet done so to ratify the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. The work of the civilian police was appreciated. Reconstruction work must continue in the field once conflict had come to an end. Reaffirming the role of the United Nations in peacekeeping, he said its role was a unique one in the current international system.
VOLODYMYR D. KHANDOGY (Ukraine) said an enhanced United Nations in the field of peacekeeping should become an integral element of the Organization's reform efforts. The Assembly had requested the appropriate organs to consider specific measures aimed at enhancing the rapid deployment capacity of the United Nations, and those measures should be given priority attention in the course of present deliberations.
Ukraine also supported all measures aimed at establishing the rapidly deployable mission headquarters, including proposals regarding the possible funding of its core posts by the support account, he said. It intended to enlarge and diversify its contribution to the United Nations standby arrangements. Last November, Ukraine and Poland had signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint peacekeeping battalion to participate in international peace, promoting humanitarian operations under the auspices of the international organizations. The joint unit would become an integral part of the standby arrangements.
The SHIRBRIG would be an important contribution to the strengthening of the Organization's preparedness for rapid reaction to conflict situations, he said. However, Ukraine also shared the misgivings expressed by some Member States about the existing tendency to set it up as a new privileged formation of those Member States which had wide capacities to finance their participation in it. Member States should consider ratifying the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, so as to bring about its entry into force as soon as possible.
Ukraine had accumulated considerable arrears in financing United Nations peacekeeping operations because of the existing inflexible ad hoc system of the apportionment of their costs, and several hasty and unjustified decisions by the General Assembly. Some of the arrears had been inherited or rather Ukraine had been forced to inherit them. The Assembly recognized the fact that the problem of arrears lay far beyond Ukraine's control. A resolution adopted at its fiftieth session had started the transition of Ukraine to Group (C) of the peacekeeping scale of assessment. His delegation hoped that process would soon be completed. [Group (C) countries are assessed at 20 per cent of their regular budget assessment rates.]
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HILLARY WILLIAMS (Jamaica) said it would be misleading to conclude that the reduction in the number of peacekeeping missions and troops had occurred because of a decrease in conflicts. The fact was that rather than a reduction in conflict, it was the nature of conflict that had changed. Most of today's conflicts were of an intra-State rather than inter-State character.
The United Nations, she said, must continue to explore ways of dealing with the challenges posed by conflict situations throughout the world. Mandates must be carefully considered and clearly set out for new and continuous peacekeeping missions. Missions must be properly funded and steps must be taken to ensure timely reimbursement to troop-contributing countries and to contingent-owned equipment. There was also a need for procurement to be done in a more geographically equitable manner. The Department must be adequately staffed to ensure the efficient management of peacekeeping during periods of high as well as low intensity. Consequently, once the number of core and surge posts in the Department had been identified, those posts should be properly funded, but not at the expense of development programmes.
Ways to create a rapid deployment capacity in the United Nations would continue to be examined, and Jamaica had joined in the effort to establish a rapidly deployable mission headquarters, she said. Initiatives to establish a SHIRBRIG should be given careful consideration. Tragedies resulting in untold human suffering might well have been averted if the international community had developed mechanisms for swift and decisive response to certain conflicts. Such mechanisms should be inclusive and draw upon as many Member States as possible.
Jamaican recognized the important complementary role played by regional organizations in peacekeeping and welcomed the cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) in Haiti as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in addressing crises in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sierra Leone, respectively.
FAYSSAL MEKDAD (Syria) said while United Nations peacekeeping operations were important for world peace and security, they were not solutions. They were interim measures to prevent the escalation of crises while the search for comprehensive solutions was being carried out. In all peacekeeping operations there should be a set time-frame for activities and involvement. The Organization had launched the first of its operations 50 years ago in the Middle East and was still performing its functions there successfully and responsibly. The Secretariat report should have been the backdrop of present discussions in the Special Committee, but the fact that it was not presented in the six official United Nations languages had made that impossible.
Syria was fulfilling its financial obligations to peacekeeping operations in a plan that had been agreed with the Secretary-General. His country also understood the opinions expressed by Member States concerning the
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expansion of the Bureau. While Syria was willing to contribute troops, it reaffirmed the Non-Aligned Movement's position of not accepting anything that did not give equal measure to all Member States. Regarding the phasing out of gratis personnel, Syria urged the Committee to move towards implementation as stated in relevant resolutions.
Syria favoured the awarding of more procurement contracts to least developed and developing countries, he said. Peacekeeping operations should be implemented according to the mandates and the particularities of the countries in which operations were being performed. His delegation supported the requests by the Non-Aligned Movement, including repayment to developing countries. It was hoped that current and future discussions would help enhance the development and effectiveness of all United Nations activity in peacekeeping operations.
PEDRO NUNEZ-MOSQUERA (Cuba), expressing support for the statement for the Non-Aligned Movement yesterday, said peacekeeping forces had played an important role in maintaining international peace and security. However, peacekeeping operations could not be considered as a substitute for peaceful resolution of conflicts, but rather as a measure of last resort, requiring specific clear mandates and reasonable chances for success.
He asked whether it would not be more feasible to move up the December 1999 deadline for the phase-out of gratis personnel. It was hoped that the Special Committee would be able to rectify the alarming situation reflected in the composition of the staff of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations. On the financing of peacekeeping operations, Cuba continued to note with concern the attitude of the chief contributor which continued to withhold its contribution in an effort to achieve its own political goals. That action was inconsistent with the Charter.
The Cuban delegation had previously expressed its concern over the establishment of SHIRBRIG, he said. Without prejudice to the right of sovereign States to organize themselves in the manner they deemed suitable, Cuba believed that the establishment of the Brigade as part of the standby arrangement system should be considered by the Special Committee.
ABDUL KHALID OTHMAN (Malaysia) said the Secretariat should produce a timetable leading to the complete phasing out of gratis personnel. It was hoped that with the phase-out, the issue of geographical balance of posts in the Department could finally be remedied. In light of the phase-out, Malaysia would welcome any proposal from the Department to restructure itself, taking into account the downsizing of peacekeeping missions in the field.
On procurement, he said that in the past, it had been reported that lucrative multimillion dollar contracts had been awarded to selected developed Member States. Of the $468 million in procurement last year, for instance, less than 1 per cent was from developing Asian countries. That imbalance in
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awarding of contracts certainly needed to be seriously looked into. To allow developing countries better access, the geographical base for procurement of goods and services should be enlarged.
He said that Malaysia recognized the need to improve United Nations ability to expedite the movement of troops in mission areas and fully supported the concept of the rapidly deployable mission headquarters. However, owing to the slowness in the establishment of that office, the Special Committee should consider giving the task to the existing Mission Planing Division, now that peacekeeping missions worldwide had decreased drastically.
The setting up of SHIRBRIG initiated by some Member States had created some concern, especially among members of the Non-Aligned Movement, he said. While Malaysia had no serious qualms about SHIRBRIG, it was sceptical about the usefulness of its existence as there were brigades already pledged by many Member States under the standby arrangements system. Rather than promoting the SHIRBRIG, it would be more meaningful and effective for the Department to focus on improving the system that was already in place.
MARAT OUSSOUPOV (Kyrgyzstan) commended the efforts of the Secretariat to improve peacekeeping operational and logistical activities, and in training for peacekeeping operations.
He said some concerns of delegations had not been met so far, including the utilization of gratis personnel. The Special Committee had recommended that the use of such personnel be only for a limited and specified period. Phasing out of gratis personnel could have restored the geographical balance of posts within the Department. Core posts, funded from the regular budget, and surge posts, funded from the support account, could be used for the same purpose. Both could serve at the initial stage for the restructuring and the reform of the Department, to enhance the capacity of the United Nations to fulfil its responsibilities in the field. Delay in reimbursement to troop- contributing countries, need for transparency in the procurement procedures, lack of progress in the establishment of the rapidly deployable mission headquarters, and low geographic representations in civilian police at higher levels were among other areas of concern.
An achievement of the Special Committee had been the adoption of a uniform scale of death and disability compensation. The Secretariat should develop certain procedures for compensation cases that could not be closed before the termination of a peacekeeping mission. Help from the United Nations should come promptly when it was most needed. He expressed support for the proposed expansion of the Committee Bureau, to reflect the existing reality and to include major troop-contributing countries along with those which were the main contributors to the peacekeeping budget and played a constructive role in preventive diplomacy.
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MEHDI DANESH-YAZDI (Iran) said that the initiative by a group of States on SHIRBRIG had become a source of concern in the Special Committee. That Brigade should not be promoted and projected as a United Nations brigade and should by no means duplicate the Organization's standby arrangements system in which countries of different regions could participate.
He said that consideration of a more efficient structure inside the Department seemed to be an imperative. Iran therefore welcomed the idea of revising the regulations on procurement, recruitment and delegation of authority within the Department for the betterment of its functioning. The United Nations procurement system should unquestionably be efficient, cost- effective and responsive to the needs of the Organization, and therefore, should be conducted in a transparent manner and on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
The question of loaned and gratis officers in the Department, was yet to be resolved, he said. The continued presence of those personnel in the Department had adversely affected the principle of equitable geographical balance, which was the pillar of the recruitment of personnel in the United Nations system.
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