Special Committee on

Peacekeeping Operations

199^th Meeting (AM)

SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS ADOPTS 2007 REPORT

Consensus Reached on ‘Guiding Principles’ Section

The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations this morning adopted by consensus its draft 2007 report and its provisional agenda.

The draft report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and its Working Group (C-34 Report 2007) referred to the Committee’s general debate on 26 and 27 February, during which it discussed the “Peace Operations 2010” proposal to reform United Nations peacekeeping in five priority areas –- including personnel, doctrine, partnerships, resources and organization -- in order to better meet the Organization’s growing peacekeeping challenges, as well as the Secretary-General’s proposal to restructure and strengthen management of Headquarters peacekeeping capacities by creating a Department of Field Support and a Department of Peace Operations. 

The draft also included the Committee’s proposals, recommendations and conclusions made during its two 2007 substantive sessions; from 28 February to 2 March, 3 to 16 March and 23 March.  They focused on, among other things, guiding principles, definitions and implementation of mandates; safety and security; conduct and discipline; strengthening operational capacity; strategies for complex peacekeeping operations; cooperation with troop-contributing countries; cooperation with regional arrangements; best practices; training; personnel matters; and financial issues and other matters.  The report also contained an Annex that listed the Committee’s membership during its 2007 session. 

The representative of the Dominican Republic, speaking on behalf of Rio Group, welcomed the adoption of the draft report, calling it a substantive document aimed at improving diverse aspects of United Nations peacekeeping operations.  While the Committee could not agree during its 16 March meeting on the report’s section on guiding principles, thanks to two months of informal consultations, the delegates had reached consensus. 

Cuba’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, stressed the importance of the report’s adoption to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and to future peacekeeping missions.  She firmly supported the section on “guiding principles” as essential to DPKO and international peace and security.  The Non-aligned Movement had shown its firm commitment to arrive at a compromise solution so that the report could be adopted by consensus.  However, she lamented that it took the Committee three months to adopt the report and warned that such a time lapse should not become a precedent.

The Committee will meet again on Tuesday, 29 May, at a time to be announced.

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For information media • not an official record