PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR PEACEKEEPING

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR PEACEKEEPING

One of the major challenges for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations was simultaneously addressing day-to-day issues, while keeping an eye on the global picture and attempting structural changes, correspondents were told Monday afternoon at a Headquarters press briefing.

Jean-Marie Guehenno, the new Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, likened the situation to steering a car traveling at 100 miles per hour and having to change parts at the same time. Implementing the Brahimi Report, a study on United Nations Peace Operations commissioned by the Secretary-General, would be one of his top priorities, he said. The Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, had assembled a team to translate the report’s various recommendations into practical measures.

He added that he would also focus on the ways in which Headquarters and the field could function as an efficient team working together and how the operational and political sides of things could be brought closer together.

He had made three extremely useful visits to missions -- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Sierra Leone -- to see how the people on the frontlines felt about peacekeeping. The people there were confronted on a daily basis with a lot of practical, operational problems described in the Brahimi Report. Integration between the political considerations and guidelines and the operational constraints was not always adequate. It was a reflection of a number of structural issues that had to be addressed.

Asked if he thought anything was missing in the Brahimi Report, Mr. Guehenno said he believed the Report had missed practically nothing and had identified all the key issues. Perhaps, though, those in the field might place a greater emphasis on the importance of some issues, for example, the close link between policing and justice. Sometimes putting in place an effective judiciary was seen as an important part of peacekeeping.

Asked how he felt about the shift in thinking that leaned toward a more “robust” response from United Nations peacekeepers, Mr. Guehenno said robust rules of engagement could be important in maintaining the authority and credibility of the United Nations. There was once a time when the “blue flag” was enough to deter. However, robust rules of engagement and asserting oneself were not the same as waging war, and they should not be equated. He stressed that it was important to uphold the authority of the United Nations.

To a question about his involvement in restructuring the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Mr. Guehenno said he had been in contact with a number of countries, many of which had expressed interest in beefing up the force there. A comprehensive effort was needed in Sierra Leone, one that would focus not simply on the very visible need for security, but also on the political aspects of the situation. Families in Sierra Leone had been deeply wounded. Children were both victims and killers. The Department of Peacekeeping was working hand in hand with other departments to address such

Guehenno Press Briefing - 2 - 3 October 2000

related issues as health and development, in order to put an integrated framework in place that could lead to long-term solutions.

In response to a question as to why it took so long to transport troops, Mr. Guehenno said the delay was a result of logistics, as well as politics. The United Nations had no standing fleet. No contractor would be on call without a substantial amount of money. All ministers of defence understood that “readiness” was a costly proposition. The narrower the time frame, the greater the cost. It was a trade-off. Member States would have to decide how much readiness they needed and wanted and how much they were willing to pay for it.

Mr. Guehenno said he had spent half his career in diplomatic service and half in financial and managerial positions. He had always had a great interest in political/military issues, especially in how to develop European military defence. It was now a very timely issue, as Europe had announced that it would provide contributions that could be used by the United Nations. “We’ll keep my compatriots from Europe to their word, I hope”, he said.

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