FOURTH COMMITTEE APPROVES DRAFT RESOLUTIONCONCERNING REVIEW OF PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

Press Release
GA/SPD/167

FOURTH COMMITTEE APPROVES DRAFT RESOLUTIONCONCERNING REVIEW OF PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

As Debate Concludes Speakers Raise Issues of Humanitarian Intervention, Sunset Clause’s Peacekeeping

The General Assembly would decide to keep open during its fifty-fourth session the item “Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects”, by the terms of a draft resolution approved by the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this afternoon, as it concluded its consideration of peacekeeping operations.

By other terms of the draft, which was approved without a vote, the Assembly would endorse the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, and urge Member States to implement those recommendations. The assembly would also decide that the Special Committee should continue its efforts for a comprehensive review and consider any new proposals, so as to enhance United Nations capacity to fulfil its responsibilities in the field.

During this afternoon’s, debate prior to adoption of the text the representative of Ukraine said that human rights violations, irrespective of their motivation, scale and origin, could not be tolerated. Unless clear and universally accepted legal norms were elaborated for “humanitarian intervention”, no enforcement action under the humanitarian pretext must be taken without Security Council authorization.

Haiti’s representative said that any State which set out to exterminate any part of its population jeopardized its sovereignty and endangered the integrity of its territory. Some borders should be breached in order to spare those women who had not yet been raped, those children who had not yet been burned alive and those homes that had not yet been torched.

Israel’s representative said peacekeeping missions should not be extended indefinitely once they had completed their assigned tasks. It was not beyond the ingenuity of the Security Council to introduce a “sunset clause” or the equivalent into a force’s mandate, without falling into the trap of premature disengagement. Distinctions between peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building were significant. They should be rigorously maintained, and each activity should be carefully defined.

Fourth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/SPD/167 13th Committee 21 October 1999

Also making statements today were the representatives of Turkey, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Nepal, Georgia, Tunisia, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, United Republic of Tanzania, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Malawi, Angola and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Before action on the text, Mohammad Sattar, Secretary to the Committee addressed the budget implications arising from the draft resolution.

The Fourth Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. Monday, 25 October, to begin consideration of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon to conclude its general debate on the comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations.

It was also expected to take action on a related draft resolution (document A/C.4/54/L.2) by which the General Assembly would decide to keep open during its fifty-fourth session the item “Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects”.

Also by that draft, the Assembly would decide that the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations would continue its efforts for a comprehensive review. It would also review implementation of its previous proposals and consider any new proposals so as to enhance United Nations capacity to fulfil its responsibilities in that field.

Further by that text, the General Assembly would reiterate that Member States that became personnel contributors to United Nations peacekeeping in years to come or participated in the future in the Special Committee for three consecutive years as observers, would, upon written request, become members at the following session of the Committee.

By other terms, the Assembly would urge Member States, the Secretariat and relevant organs of the United Nations to take all necessary steps to implement the Special Committee’s proposals, recommendations and conclusions.

The draft resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Canada, Egypt, Japan, Nigeria and Poland.

Statements

MEHMET KEMAL BOZAY (Turkey) said that his country was determined to continue contributing to peacekeeping operations and diversifying its presence in them. Turkey actively participated in many peacekeeping operations, including the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG). It had already declared its readiness to take part in the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) and the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET). Its contributions to the Stabilization Force (SFOR) and the force in Kosovo – KFOR -- were also noteworthy.

In June, Turkey had hosted a training seminar in Ankara, he continued. Another important training activity, on the control of refugees in peacekeeping operations, had been held in Turkey in October. The International Training Centre of the Turkish armed forces actively provided training to both local and international staff. On Turkish initiative, an agreement on the establishment of a multinational peace-force in South-Eastern Europe had been signed in Skopje last year. As a result of that initiative, the headquarters of the South-Eastern European Multinational Brigade became operational in Bulgaria in September. His country was ready to work with other countries in exploring ways and means for enhancing Africa’s peacekeeping capacity.

His country supported strengthening the rapid reaction capacity of the United Nations, he said. A Rapidly Deployable Mission Headquarters would greatly enhance the capability of the Organization to respond to conflicts in a timely manner. The United Nations Standby Arrangements System should be refined and enhanced. Each crisis should be approached individually. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations should be strengthened. The United Nations remained the sole global collective-security organization, and it should not desist from its leading role in the promotion of international peace and security. Turkey attached particular importance to the role of preventive diplomacy to forestall the outbreak or aggravation of conflicts. It also supported efforts to enhance early warning and preventive action.

BERHANEMESKEL NEGA (Ethiopia), associating himself with the statement by Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, underlined the need for the consent of States directly concerned, and the importance of close consultation and coordination with such States at all stages of peacekeeping operations, from contingency planning and establishment to their actual operation and termination. In that regard, Ethiopia was dismayed and concerned at a recent experience whereby the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had disregarded the important principle of consultation. He hoped that the necessary steps would be taken to ensure that the proper approach was followed in the future.

He said that due to the complexity and sensitive nature of humanitarian intervention, especially in light of recent experiences and given the trend to legitimize that concept as a basis for future actions, it was absolutely essential that the matter be further discussed and elaborated by the appropriate mechanisms of the General Assembly.

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s bulletin on the observance by United Nations forces of international humanitarian law, he said that the well-documented experience in a number of peacekeeping operations where peacekeepers had been involved in gross human rights violations clearly demonstrated that the adoption of guidelines to prevent similar situations in the future was long overdue.

He said his country attached great importance to the cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). He stressed the need for a follow-up mechanism to coordinate efforts aimed at enhancing African peacekeeping capacity. Such a mechanism, while ensuring the lead role of the United Nations and the OAU, should also be open to participation by all African countries and other Member States involved in efforts to enhance African capacity.

SANTIAGO APUNTE (Ecuador) subscribed to the statement by Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and said that peacekeeping operations constituted an achievement of the international community, which helped promote international peace and security. At present, there was a danger that peacekeeping efforts could be weakened by the lack of appropriate financing. In particular, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations needed to receive adequate funding. The lack of funds was a cause of concern, for it could impede the right of the Member States to cooperate in the implementation of the postulates of the Charter.

His country had participated in peacekeeping activities from the beginning of such operations, he said. It had declared its willingness to participate in the Standby Arrangements System. Transparency was needed when a decision on a country’s participation in peacekeeping operations was made. In conflict resolution, peaceful means should be emphasized, for peacekeeping operations should be temporary in nature. They could not replace the peaceful means of settlement.

Peacekeeping operations should not be carried out to the detriment of other important activities, such as economic and social development, he continued. Training was particularly important for the countries that intended to participate in peacekeeping, and it should be strengthened in order to achieve the appropriate level of expertise. In that area, he wanted to express his gratitude to the Government of Canada for its assistance in the training of Ecuadorian personnel.

BERTRAND FILS-AIME (Haiti) said that one of the long-term priority tasks of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations was to enhance the safety and protection of peacekeeping personnel in the field. Haiti welcomed the entry into force on 18 January this year of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. However, if the Department’s staff continued to be reduced, it would be unable to fulfil its role, which was no longer limited to military aspects, but also involved civilian police work, humanitarian assistance, demobilization, disarmament and the proliferation of small arms. He joined those opposing reduction of the Department’s staff.

Regarding the relationship between the sovereignty of States and the universality of human rights, he said the time had passed when a blind eye could be turned to crimes against humanity; when, in the absence of television, such crimes could be carried out in silence. Haiti, independent since 1804, understood as well as anyone else the meaning of sovereignty. Any State that set out to exterminate a majority or minority part of its population jeopardized its sovereignty and the integrity of its territory. Some borders should be breached in order to spare those women who had not yet been raped, those children who had not yet been burned alive and those homes that had not yet been torched. In such cases of extreme emergency, Haiti counted on the competence, promptness and wisdom of the Security Council to maintain international peace and security.

ARJUN JUNG BAHADUR SINGH (Nepal) subscribed to the views expressed by the representative of Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and said United Nations peacekeeping could not be considered a substitute for a permanent solution of a conflict. Peacekeeping facilitated maintenance of ceasefires and the cessation of hostilities. Moreover, it was useful in providing a conducive atmosphere for the pursuit of a peaceful resolution and putting an end to a conflict through peaceful means. The purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter should be strictly adhered to in all peacekeeping operations. Participation in such operations should not be restrictive or limited to a particular region, but should be as geographically broad-based as possible.

Since peacekeeping operations were increasingly entrusted with larger mandates requiring more resources, the United Nations needed to be set on a more secure financial base, he continued. The 1999 peacekeeping budget had gone up from the original estimate of $700 million to the revised estimate of $1.2 to $1.6 billion. Delay in the payment of assessed contributions by some Member States resulted in a grotesque situation affecting developing countries -- the situation of the poor helping the rich. Reimbursement owed to some developing and least developed countries could be as high as 125 times the annual assessed contribution owed to the United Nations by those countries.

Logistics and communications, which were so vital for the deployment of new missions and liquidation of old ones, had been adversely affected by the lack of resources, he said. It was necessary to match expectations with resources. “Let us not cripple the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in this area”, he said. “The DPKO should remain in a razor-sharp readiness for any peacekeeping contingency”. The credibility and effectiveness of any new operation was very much influenced by the swiftness of its deployment. The United Nations rapid-response capability must be enhanced. It was high time to complete the full staffing of the Rapidly Deployable Mission Headquarters without any delay. The safety of the United Nations and associated personnel must be ensured, and he welcomed the coming into force of the Convention on that issue.

PETER CHKHEIDZE (Georgia), recalling the outrage caused by the recent kidnapping of members of UNOMIG in Abkhazia, Georgia, said that the efforts of the Government of Georgia had fortunately yielded results and those kidnapped had been released. The incident reflected all the challenges confronting peacekeeping operations.

He said that the incident had occurred in an environment of lawlessness and disorder that had erupted in the zone of conflict in Georgia, in particular the Gali district of Abkhazia. Under present circumstances, bearing in mind the scale of violence indiscriminately targeting the Georgian population and United Nations personnel, the integration of self-defence units and civilian police into UNOMIG should be considered.

As seen in Kosovo and East Timor, the shift towards multidimensional peacekeeping operations was basically related to the spillover of intra-State conflicts, he said. Their complex nature called for an integrated approach, so as to address security, human rights, displacement concerns and arms smuggling in relation to each other. Further, in order to match the complexity of current conflicts, the United Nations needed to be equipped with corresponding tools and capabilities. That entailed further development of the Standby Arrangements System, including the full establishment of the Rapidly Deployable Mission Headquarters by adding the requisite military expertise. Moreover, due regard had to be paid to the development of rapid civilian police deployment capacities.

MOHAMED SALAH TEKAYA (Tunisia) joined the statement made by Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and said that the instruments of preventive diplomacy, collective security and international law must be strengthened. Many areas of tension and conflict still existed around the world, in particular in Africa. That situation required concerted and coordinated action on behalf of the international community. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations should be able to face the new challenges. The principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, as well as non-interference, impartiality and consent of the parties, should be emphasized.

It was especially important to resolve conflicts in Africa, he said. The efforts of the OAU and its machinery of conflict prevention and resolution required particular support on the part of the United Nations. The collective capacity of African countries to deal with the conflicts on the continent should be developed. He appreciated the interest of the United Nations in the situation on the continent and its participation in Africa. However, the efforts made to strengthen African capacity did not absolve the international community from the collective responsibility under the United Nations Charter to maintain international peace and security.

Recent conflicts clearly showed the international commitment to preserving peace, he continued. The Special Committee had started exploring new procedures, and he welcomed the results reached by the Committee. Tunisia had always been dedicated to the peacekeeping efforts and it had participated in peacekeeping operations since the 1960s. Last June it had reaffirmed its support by signing a Memorandum of Understanding for participation in the Standby Arrangements System.

FARES KUINDWA (Kenya), associating himself with the statement made by Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that for many years his country had contributed military units, military observers and civilian police monitors to United Nations peacekeeping operations in various parts of the world. Currently, Kenya had deployed military observers and civilian police monitors in six United Nations peacekeeping operations, both in Africa and elsewhere. In addition, it would be contributing an infantry battalion to the proposed United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and an infantry company to the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET).

He urged the Security Council to establish clear criteria for authorizing peacekeeping and enforcement action, with equal and uniform intensity and commitment whenever situations arose, regardless of geographical location. It was regrettable that the Council’s inertia with respect to some of the conflicts in Africa had cast doubt over the international community’s commitment to the continent. Delegation by the Council of responsibility to any other bodies in any region was unacceptable and would create serious doubts about the Council’s credibility and relevance.

His Government was deeply concerned that continued borrowing from peacekeeping funds to finance regular budget activities had reduced the effectiveness of the United Nations in fulfilling its obligations and penalized hard-pressed Member States. He expressed its deep concern that the continued delays in reimbursement for troops and contingent-owned equipment adversely affected the capacity and will of Member States, particularly the developing countries, to participate in future United Nations peacekeeping operations.

JIMMY OVIA (Papua New Guinea) supported the position of the Non-Aligned Movement and said he shared concerns on the Secretariat’s handling of appropriate guidelines for United Nations peacekeepers. He called on the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to be more considerate and transparent in its consultations with Member States.

The broad mechanics of the peaceful settlement of conflicts were clearly set out under Chapters VI and VII of the Charter, he continued. It was incumbent on all the Member States to pay their legally assessed contributions in full, on time and without any conditions. When awarding procurement contracts, the United Nations should consider giving lowest priority to Member States with the capacity to pay who did not fulfil their financial obligations. Although his delegation was sympathetic to suggestions that all peacekeeping operations should be financed by assessed, rather than voluntary contributions, the abolition of the latter may further inhibit the consensus on the issue of rapid response by the United Nations to potential conflicts and/or humanitarian crises. His delegation urged that the present system be retained and enhanced. More efforts should be applied by all Member States domestically to secure the payment of their assessed contributions.

On procurement, he said that United Nations should give priority to developing countries. It should also treat offers of troops contributors preferentially, whenever the procurement of goods and services for their own personnel was concerned, as long as they met existing standards and the prices were competitive. Regarding timely intervention, he said that the United Nations should approach all conflicts, irrespective of location, in a timely manner and on an equal basis. The principle of non-interference was limited to actions by individual States against the territorial integrity of another Member State. That principle was, however, subject to the collective interests of the United Nations as contained in Chapters VII and VIII of the Charter. Indecision and lack of a quick response had resulted in the loss of human lives and destruction in some recent conflicts.

Continuing, he reiterated his country’s gratitude to the Members of the South Pacific Forum, led by Australia, for their part in monitoring the peace process on the island of Bougainville. Normalcy had not been fully re-established as yet and his Government was seeking the endorsement of the Security Council for an extension for the United Nations peace monitors presently on the island. With the support of the United Nations Observer Mission and the Peace Monitoring Group, all the parties involved in the Bougainville peace process were working hard to maintain momentum in reconstruction and rehabilitation. Many challenges remained to be met, however.

TREVOR HUGHES (New Zealand) said his country was making a substantial contribution to the INTERFET, which would shortly become New Zealand’s biggest deployment overseas since the Second World War. New Zealand would make its contribution, including the associated air and naval elements, available to the United Nations peacekeeping force, which should succeed INTERFET as soon as possible.

He said New Zealand was greatly concerned at an apparent campaign of disinformation against INTERFET, as well as UNAMET and contributing Member States. There was a close link between public information and the security of personnel. The INTERFET had been deployed at the request of the Indonesian Government and had been given its mandate by a unanimous vote of the Security Council.

The future of United Nations peacekeeping remained under threat from limited resourcing, he said. The need for adequate staffing of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations must be regarded as a top priority. There had been changes in its structure in recent times, all in an attempt to improve efficiency. However, the Department was still far from defining the permanent capacity required to respond adequately to the changing levels of peacekeeping activity.

He said that the very great demand for mine action in the world today had created a need for the establishment of a United Nations Mine Action Service. Since its inception, that body had definitely proven its worth and now needed adequate funding and staffing to allow it to continue providing the same outstanding service. Staff in funded positions in the Service should not be seconded to other areas of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in an effort to shore up personnel shortages. Those problems must be resolved by increasing the Department’s staffing to an appropriate level to enable both the Department and the Mine Action Service to carry out their vital work.

VOLODYMYR YEL’CHENKO (Ukraine) said that despite all its difficulties, the United Nations had responded to recent challenges. There was evidence of the supreme legitimacy of the Organization in the maintenance of international peace and security. United Nations peacekeeping operations remained a unique instrument in the hands of the international community. Peacekeeping in Africa was an important area of the Organization’s activities. All the conflicts in any part of the world should be dealt with by the Security Council on an equal footing.

Since 1994, Ukraine had been advocating the establishment of a United Nations preventive mechanism for global monitoring over potential sources of conflict, he continued. The most topical issue of the current session was the so-called “humanitarian intervention”. The solution to that fundamental issue should be sought in other forums, but there was no doubt that the existing global security system should accommodate new realities. Any violations of human rights, irrespective of their motivations, scale and origin, could not be tolerated under any circumstances. Unless clear international legal norms and criteria for “humanitarian intervention” were elaborated and universally accepted, no enforcement action under the humanitarian pretext must be taken under regional arrangements or by individual States without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council. United Nations cooperation with regional organizations should be intensified on the basis of Chapter VIII of the Charter, provided the key role of the Security Council was maintained.

Safety and security of personnel should constitute top priority in all peacekeeping operations, he said. As the initiator of the very idea of the Convention on the Safety of the United Nations and Associated Personnel, his country emphasized the importance of elaborating further avenues to increase safety on the basis of the provisions of Convention. In that regard, he wanted to reiterate his country’s proposal regarding inclusion of reference to the Convention in the model status-of-forces agreement, to increase the responsibility of host governments and the conflicting factions. He also favoured the initiative by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to conduct a general review of security requirements. He was not, however, satisfied with the hasty publication by the Secretariat of the guidelines for United Nations peacekeepers without agreement of all members of the Special Committee.

MUSINGA BANDORA (United Republic of Tanzania), aligning himself with the position of the Non-Aligned Movement, noted the structural changes that had been undertaken to enhance the United Nations capacity for planning, conducting and supporting peacekeeping operations. That notwithstanding, the improvement had benefited only a few missions. For the most part, planning and financing for specific missions remained slow and uncertain, particularly where African peacekeeping missions were concerned. That unstructured manner of resourcing African peacekeeping operations continued to be of serious concern. That concern was made more urgent by the hesitancy seen in deploying the requisite resources to African operations.

He said that the operations of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR), the expanded Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia and the more recent Mission in Congo-Brazzaville had faced serious constraints and had been undermined by a lack of logistical and financial resources. Against that background, it was feared that the same fate would befall the planned missions in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere in Africa.

Noting the Security Council’s primary duty for maintaining international peace and security, and the supportive role of regional organizations, he said the Council’s functions should not be totally devolved to the regions or to groups of countries within them, even if they had the capacity to assume those functions fully. In line with that premise, the emerging concept of “lead States” and their utilization to spearhead regional peacekeeping operations should be carefully examined. Unless it was clearly understood and creatively utilized, it could lead to the role of the United Nations being circumscribed. Such an arrangement could be used where it was feasible and desirable. However, where there was no agreement, or where it was not practical, the United Nations should quickly assume a direct role, rather than waste valuable time looking for a “lead country”.

JUAN LARRAIN (Chile) associated with the statements by representatives of Uruguay on behalf of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. He said that traditional peacekeeping operations had evolved into multidimensional exercises. Kosovo and East Timor were perfect examples of new realities. The Security Council should establish clear mandates for peacekeeping operations and approve new peacekeeping missions, for which adequate funding should be provided. The principles of consent of the parties, impartiality and the use of force only in self-defence should be respected. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations should be strengthened, and its capabilities should be improved. The Department should enhance the efficiency of its support for the training of personnel of the different nationalities who participated in peacekeeping operations.

The year 1999 marked the fiftieth anniversary of Chile’s uninterrupted participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, he said. His Government had organized a number of commemorative activities to mark that occasion. Next May, a seminar would be held in Santiago, Chile, in which distinguished personalities and experts in peacekeeping operations would participate. Chile was completing its full integration into the system of reserve forces agreements. Next month, a Memorandum of Understanding would be signed with the United Nations regarding standby arrangements -- a document that listed civil, military and police experts.

FERNANDO PETRELLA (Argentina), endorsing the statement by Uruguay on behalf of the MERCOSUR countries, as well as Bolivia and Chile, stressed the need to strengthen early warning machinery, preventive diplomacy and the reconstruction of countries after conflicts. Actions to rebuild peace would be more effective when combined with resources to help the countries concerned recover their stability. Coordination among the main bodies concerned would increase efficiency in the allocation of resources. No peacekeeping operation could be successful if it lacked the necessary funds and personnel.

He said that peacekeeping personnel currently participated in peace-building, humanitarian assistance, establishment of impartial police forces, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants, organization of elections, demining and long-term development plans. To meet those new requirements, personnel should be chosen through specific criteria and receive better training.

United Nations peacekeeping operations were an effective tool of international policy, he said. In that framework, they had multiple advantages over multinational forces. Multinational forces could be justified only by the urgency of their deployment and the availability of resources. Their use should be restricted and they should be deployed only in conformity with the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter and in accordance with a Security Council mandate.

MARIA ELENA CHASSOUL (Costa Rica) said that there could be no social justice without democracy and development. She wanted to express her delegation’s dissatisfaction with management of humanitarian issues in conflict situations and advocate the need for a new vision. The traditional concept of peacekeeping operations should be extended to include not purely military components, but also political, social and economic aspects. Reducing military burdens should result in the liberation of domestic resources for genuine economic and social development.

Special attention should be paid to strengthening the international capacity of the United Nations and international community to mobilize logistical and financial support to Africa and the OAU in preventing and resolving conflicts, she continued. The Security Council had urged all States and relevant bodies to provide financial and technical support to strengthen regional and subregional arrangements in Africa. Her delegation supported that call. Despite intrinsic difficulties, peacekeeping operations were a basic tool for the United Nations in helping African States resolve their conflicts and support development.

Strengthening the capacity of African States remained a basic priority, she said. However, measures to help African States in conflict resolution should not be used as justification for reduced United Nations participation in the region. That participation remained crucial. Adequate resources should cover all aspects of genuine peaceful development on the African continent. A correct approach to international support and cooperation should be aimed at helping African countries to progress in that direction.

T.O. OSANG (Nigeria) associated himself with the concepts of preventive diplomacy, preventive deployment and preventive disarmament in peacekeeping and as a post-conflict peace-building strategy that addressed the root causes of armed conflict. That strategy, among others, sought to prevent the emergence and escalation of conflict, thereby avoiding unnecessary human and material loss.

He said that the increasingly multidimensional and complex nature of peacekeeping required, more than ever before, that the United Nations work in partnership with regional organizations in peacekeeping operations. Although the United Nations and the OAU shared common ideals on international peace and security, the Organization had not given enough support to OAU efforts to guarantee peace, security and stability on the African continent. The United Nations should pay equal attention to the plight of Africans in conflict, as it had done elsewhere.

The success of the ECOMOG in West Africa was testimony to the viability and necessity of regional initiatives in peacekeeping, he said. The ECOMOG had achieved tremendous success in solving the crises in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The United Nations and the entire international community should encourage and promote all similar efforts. Nigeria appreciated the recent decision to establish UNAMSIL, which would take over the functions of ECOMOG. Nigeria appealed to the Security Council to take urgent steps towards the realization of the Mission’s goals.

YOUSEF LAMDAN (Israel) said that in the light of his country’s rich experience with the United Nations peacekeeping forces, the need for clearly defined mandates, objectives and common structures was self-evident today. However, it had not always been so. Israel had experience with a United Nations force, sill in place, with a well-defined mandate, and it functioned superbly. It also had experience with a force whose mandate was, in his country’s opinion, defective from the outset. Turning to a parallel point, he said that, in the case of a cross-border conflict, it might well be that a United Nations force would be stationed on only one side of the border. Admittedly, there may be legal and other questions about the locus standi of the State on the other side of the border, in the process of establishing such a force. However, common sense would suggest that it was desirable to obtain the second country’s acquiescence, at the very minimum, to the United Nations mandate before it set out on the hazardous task of peacekeeping.

Objectives that were attainable should be emphasized, he continued. When a United Nations force had such a task -– for example, to supervise the implementation of an agreement between two sovereign States and where the force insisted on the scrupulous implementation of its objective -- it had an excellent chance of success. It helped, of course, if the two State parties to the agreement had an interest and the political will to fulfil the agreement. On the other hand, a force with an objective that was neither clear, nor in its power to effect would rapidly run into difficulties. Much depended on the leadership role played by a central United Nations command. An inherent difficulty lay in the nature of United Nations forces, which naturally tended to look to their home commands for leadership. It was up to the United Nations to set policy and offer leadership.

The primary role of the Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security was not a pious axiom, he said. Israel had had experience with a United Nations force that had been set up by the General Assembly within the framework of “uniting the peace”. That force was withdrawn almost overnight when the host country demanded it leave, and the road was opened to war. One of the “ifs” of history was the question of whether it would have been more difficult to remove that force if it had been established by the Security Council. One of the primary functions of the Council should be to consider changes in a force’s mandate during a mission. He referred to a truce supervision force that had been in place for 50 years, even thought the relevant truces were long obsolete. His country had witnessed a kind of “creeping change” in the force’s mandate without proper review, in order to justify its continued existence. That was scarcely good management.

Peacekeeping missions should not be extended indefinitely, once they had completed their assigned tasks, he said. It was not beyond the ingenuity of the Security Council to introduce a “sunset clause” or the equivalent into a force’s mandate, without falling into the trap of premature disengagement. Distinctions between peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building were significant. They should be rigorously maintained, and each activity should be carefully defined. Above all, military forces should not undertake civilian operations. It was all too easy for a United Nations force to be sucked into the civilian aspects of a conflict and to rapidly lose its neutrality. In conclusion, he said that events of recent years had shown that the United Nations did not have an exclusive role in peacekeeping, especially in the parallel sphere of peacemaking. If the United Nations wished to maintain its predominance, it must continue to prove that it was up to the task and that it could continue to retain the confidence of parties of conflict.

MEKKI MTEWA (Malawi), associating himself with the statement of the Non- Aligned Movement, said his Government was ready to provide troops in the service of peace in Africa, as well as other parts of the world. Malawi’s previous participation in African crises and its expressed desire to join the United Nations Standby Arrangements System underlined Malawi’s commitment to the promotion of peace.

He supported the view that the question of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons should be an integral part of peacekeeping operation. The prevalence of those weapons continued to be a source of criminal activities, disturbances and a threat to peace. Criminals took advantage of unstable climates and used those illicit weapons in the commission of crimes. The existence of illicit arms had first been noticed in Malawi after the arrival of refugees during the civil war in Mozambique, he said. Criminals used the porous borders between the two countries to smuggle weapons in and out of Malawi. However, that problem was being addressed with the cooperation of police forces in neighbouring countries as well as the SADC’s Interstate Defence and Security Committee.

HELDER LUCAS (Angola) endorsed the statement made by the representative of Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and said that peacekeeping could be most useful as a temporary measure. The United Nations must adhere to the fundamental pillars that supported peacekeeping, including the consent of the parties, the non-use of force except in self-defence, impartiality, clearly defined mandates and secure financing. He commended the efforts undertaken by the United Nations to enhance the African peacekeeping capacity. The partnership between the United Nations and the OAU and subregional organizations had already produced positive results.

Angola was a model case of the kind of challenges that the United Nations encountered in its peacekeeping capacity, he said. Activities of peacekeeping only made sense if the parties in conflict had the will to fulfil peace agreements and achieve reconciliation. That was precisely what had not happened in Angola. Now, the military option was the only remaining alternative for the Angolan Government to solve a problem that the United Nations, through a large-scale peacekeeping operation, had been unable to do. Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) was responsible and that sinister character should be inscribed on the list of war criminals to be captured and brought to the criminal courts. That could be the honourable conclusion to the failed peacekeeping operation in Angola, which had caused such great frustration to the Angolan people and to the international community.

SANJA ZOGRAFSKA-KRSTESKA (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said her country supported the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), by which the mandate of UNMIK had been determined. At the same time, it would like to see comprehensive implementation of the Stability Pact for South- Eastern Europe, adopted in Cologne, Germany. Socio-economic problems were among the root causes of many conflicts and must be addressed in a proper way. That was why the South-Eastern European countries viewed the Stability Pact not only as an expression of their political commitment to integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, but also as a basis for the comprehensive reconstruction and development of their region.

She said her country had a great understanding of the need of African countries for peacekeeping operations. The deployment of those operations was a way to prevent further conflict, as well as to resolve current ones. A partial resolution of African crises should be avoided. The economic development of African countries and their integration into the global economy, as well as prevention of their further marginalization, should be a priority for the international community. Due to its financial position, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could not participate to any great extent in peacekeeping operations. It had contributed towards the resolution of the Kosovo crisis by making its national capacities available to the efforts of the international community.

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