PRESS BRIEFING ON FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF BRAHIMI PEACE OPERATIONS REPORT

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING ON FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF BRAHIMI PEACE OPERATIONS REPORT

A new report, which presented the financial and budgetary implications of the implementation package presented by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette on the Brahimi report, was now available, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno, told journalists at a press briefing at Headquarters this afternoon.

Joining the Under Secretary-General in introducing the new report (document A/55/507) on the costs of implementing the report of the Panel on the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations was United Nations Controller Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, and Director of Programme Planning and Budget Division Warren Sach.

A main focus of the Brahimi report was the need to undertake an integrated approach to peacekeeping, Mr. Guéhenno explained. In the implementation proposals, emphasis was placed on the establishment of an Executive Committee on Peace and Security Information and Strategic Analysis Secretariat, which was a cross- sectoral structure that would operate under the Department of Political Affairs. Its role would include bringing together, from United Nations departments and throughout the whole United Nations system, the intellectual and operational resources needed.

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations had a key role to play in implementation of the reforms, he continued. There would be a great emphasis on “beefing-up” the military and the policy side of peacekeeping. There would also be a redefinition of the Lessons Learned Unit, which would become a Peacekeeping Doctrine and Best Practices Unit, with a much more operational focus, that would serve as the institutional memory of the Department. Support for missions within the Department would also be strengthened.

Turning to the financial aspects of the implementation report, Mr. Halbwachs said there were a number of recommendations in the Brahimi report that the Secretary-General had said could be implemented as early as January 2001. These were the elements for which resources were now being sought from the General Assembly.

The current implementation report only included the basic elements, Mr. Halbwachs continued. An annex to it would come out on Friday, which would be more than 100 pages. The annex would contain detailed budgetary requirements which would be reviewed by the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) and its Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).

The Secretary-General was asking for some $7.5 million from the regular budget next year for implementation of Brahimi recommendations, he explained. That included 35 additional posts funded from the regular budget. Member States’ approval for an additional $14.6 million and 214 posts funded through the peacekeeping Support Account, would also be sought next year. Over the next two years, at full costs, the amount needed to implement the recommendations addressed in this report was some $71 million, including $12 million from the regular budget and $59 million from the Support Account.

Brahimi Report Briefing - 2 - 30 October 2000

These were modest figures, he said. Twelve million dollars represented less than half of 1 per cent of the current level of the regular budget. Fifty-nine million dollars represented 1.43 per cent of current peacekeeping costs.

The 35 additional posts sought under the regular budget were mostly to enable the creation of the Executive Committee, but also included several human rights posts and some within the Peacekeeping Department itself. The 214 Support Account funded posts would also be mostly in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (181) but some would be in the Department of Management.

Asked by a correspondent if $71 million would be the full cost of implementing the recommendations for the next two years, Mr. Halbwachs said that $71 million was the full cost of what the Secretary-General believed could be implemented right away. A second report would be produced some time next year which would deal with the remainder of the recommendations. Doubtless additional resources would be needed to implement those other recommendations, but at this point he could not say how much.

Mr. Guéhenno added that the present package was an emergency package, which addressed only the most critical needs of peacekeeping operations. Many of the recommendations of the Brahimi report, such as a 30 or a 90-day deployment capability, required a detailed assessment. It was more important to address the critical needs first.

Asked if the $71 million was the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of the total projected cost, Mr. Guéhenno said that he certainly hoped not. The budgetary constraints of all Member States had to be taken into consideration. However, any total figure could only be determined following thorough, substantiated studies that had not yet been undertaken.

Asked how these new resource requests could be reconciled with the United States’ demand for zero budget growth, Mr. Halbwachs explained that the Secretary- General had endorsed the Brahimi report recommendations and costed some of them. The 189 Member States would have to decide what they wanted to do next. There had been no consultations undertaken with the United States or any other Member State. The figures would be presented to the Assembly as the costs of implementing those recommendations, and the General Assembly would then have to decide what course it wanted to follow.

Mr. Halbwachs explained that the Support Account was financed through the application of the same formula used for peacekeeping operations, in response to a request for clarification.

Asked to identify the key issues and recommendations of the next phase of proposals for implementation, Mr. Guéhenno explained that the key issue was how fast the United Nations would respond to crisis situations. If Member States wanted deployment within 100 days, then such a response would only come at a price. Member States would have to debate what level of responsiveness they wanted from their Organization, but further studies were needed before they could be given the information they needed to make such a judgement.

Asked to explain the inclusion of an intelligence unit, Mr. Guéhenno said the role of that unit would be to build bridges beyond the diplomatic community. There was a whole range of information sources, such as non-governmental organizations and academia, that should be tapped if the Secretary-General was to really understand a situation.

A correspondent noted that, in 1960, 60,000 to 70,000 people had been deployed to the Congo without any problem, and asked if that could be a model for modern deployments. Mr. Guéhenno explained that this could still be done if a country was prepared to lend 30,000 or 60,000 troops on two weeks notice, but that did not seem possible at this point. That was a political issue, he stressed.

Asked if the numbers for new posts mentioned were net figures for what would be added to the payroll, Mr. Guéhenno explained that, if approved, there would be a net increase of 35 posts under the regular budget and 214 under the Support Account. In addition, 24 posts would be redeployed internally.

He added that today, in the regular budget, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had only 55 posts at Headquarters in New York. At present there were 404 people working in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, to support some 38,000 people in the field. Only 11 staff members handled the Headquarters’ support for United Nations police operations throughout the world. That was a ridiculous number when you considered the complexity of the operations.

Asked for a timeline on Brahimi report-related budget changes, Mr. Halbwachs explained that the detailed annex he had spoken of would be out this coming Friday (3 November). The ACABQ would start looking at it some time next week. The Fifth Committee would then take up the report before the end of the year.

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