DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE, ACCOUNTABLE SECURITY INSTITUTIONS ‘OUR SHARED OBLIGATION’,

ESPECIALLY IN POST-CONFLICT COUNTRIES, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s briefing to the Security Council on the role of the United Nations in supporting security sector reform, in New York, 12 May:

It is an honour to join you for this discussion on the United Nations role in security sector reform.

This issue is of special importance to the responsibility of the United Nations, and of this Council in particular, for maintaining international peace and security.

I am grateful to you, Mr. President and the Government of the United Kingdom for bringing us together for this important and timely debate.  I also very much appreciate the tireless efforts of the Governments of Slovakia and South Africa in promoting this discussion.

This month, we mark the sixtieth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping.  Maintaining international peace and security remains a daunting challenge for our Organization.  Despite our efforts over these six decades, conflict and violence continue to pose a threat to nations and peoples.

Unquestionably, Member States remain central providers of security for States and their populations; this is their sovereign right and responsibility, as is the work to reform their security sectors.  It is, however, the responsibility of the United Nations to determine how we can best support Member States in delivering enduring security through effective institutions.

In February 2007, I addressed this Council for the first time on security sector reform.  The term is a relatively new one.  But, in practice, the United Nations experience in this area goes back decades, spanning a range of activities and United Nations departments, offices, funds and programmes. 

As early as 1989, the United Nations was tasked with supporting a newly independent Namibia in developing preliminary structures for its armed forces.  Since the early 1990s, our peace operations have assisted national authorities in establishing new policing institutions and in strengthening the capacity and integrity of defence structures.  In Angola and Mozambique, our mandates included support for the integration, reform and training of armed forces and partnerships with bilateral donors in coordination and delivery.

From El Salvador and Cambodia in the past to Liberia and Sierra Leone today, the United Nations has assisted parties in security reform in the context of good offices, mediation and peacekeeping operations.  From Guatemala to Afghanistan, from Burundi to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our experience in mediating and implementing peace agreements shows that, if these agreements are to succeed and endure, the work to reform security institutions needs to be addressed from the outset.

In other words, the United Nations has rich and varied experience in what has come to be known as security sector reform.  And yet, too often, we have remained an ad hoc partner for national and international stakeholders.

What has been lacking is a common framework and a coherent system-wide approach.  Despite our hands-on record, we have only limited institutional structures to guide engagement on the ground.  We need to strengthen our ability to provide consistent, well-coordinated and high-quality technical advice, during peace processes and in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development.  We need to make our approach less piecemeal and more holistic.

That is why, at the request of the Security Council and General Assembly, I issued a report in February entitled “Securing peace and development: the role of the United Nations in supporting security sector reform”.  As many of you know, it was the product of broad consultations with Member States, regional groupings and organizations, as well as research centres, academic institutions and NGOs.  It was also subject to wide-ranging consultations within the United Nations system, both at Headquarters and in the field.

The starting point for the report is a broad discussion of the concept, underscoring its linkages to many important processes.  It makes clear that, in any context, security reform must be approached both strategically and holistically.  On one level, it is a highly specialized field.  On another level, it is obviously linked to budgetary questions, economic development, good governance and sound public management.  On yet another level, it requires prudent, measured and consistent steps, as well as a well-functioning understanding with the full range of national stakeholders and partners.

The report before you, therefore, defines security sector reform as a process of assessment, review and implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation, led by national authorities.  The goal is strengthening the effective and accountable security of a State and its people, underpinned by respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Allow me to underscore a few key principles that will guide our approach.  These reflect the discussions of Member States in the Security Council and General Assembly.

First and foremost, the United Nations should engage in security sector reform at the request of national Governments, or in response to Security Council mandates and General Assembly resolutions.

Second, Member States are the primary providers of security, and national ownership is the cornerstone of our approach.  As the Security Council noted last year, “it is the sovereign right and primary responsibility of the country concerned to determine the national approach and priorities of security sector reform”.

Third, the United Nations should work in collaboration with key international partners.  Such partnerships are vital in ensuring expertise and resources. This is imperative already at the outset of any peace negotiation and mediation, as successful security sector reform is a necessary precursor of any peacekeeping exit strategy and, ultimately, of economic and social development.

Fourth, the United Nations approach must be flexible and tailored to the individual country, region or environment.  States and societies define and pursue security according to their particular context, history, culture and needs.  There can be no rigid one size fits all.

Finally, our approach must be gender sensitive and consistent with international law, with particular attention to sexual and gender-based violence.  We must help ensure that the security sector assumes its responsibility in eradicating the unspeakable epidemic of violence against women that has become the common aftermath of conflict.

Member States have recognized the need for a coherent system-wide approach to security sector reform, and the need to avoid duplication by creating new frameworks.  Let us therefore focus, as a first priority, on professionalizing our approach.

My report proposes a number of straightforward and pragmatic measures:

-- Developing United Nations technical guidelines and training in the area of security sector reform;

-- Strengthening field capacity as well as capabilities and expertise for central backstopping;

-- Enhancing coordination and delivery of security sector reform support; and

-- Establishing a compact security sector reform support unit at Headquarters, to serve the whole United Nations, in particular peace operations.

These priorities represent the minimum we must do to enhance our performance.  But, beyond these, developing effective and accountable security institutions -- including those responsible for the provision of justice -- is more than just a goal.  It is our shared obligation, especially in countries recovering from conflict.

It is an obligation intricately linked to our capacity to respond rapidly and decisively in times of crisis and to address long-term perspectives.  It is central to our ability to create an interrelated system of rapidly deployable capabilities, operating under the United Nations Charter.  This is why I warmly welcome the Council’s intention to debate this strategic issue later this month, with the participation of the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom.

Mr. President, Excellencies, I am grateful for your commitment to our collective endeavour to strengthen the United Nations role in security sector reform.

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For information media • not an official record