UN - STRENGTHENING DPA - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001029 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2012 TAGS: AORC PREL UNGA SUBJECT: UN - STRENGTHENING DPA - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS REF: A. STATE 146297 ¶B. USUN 001013 Classified By: Ambassador Alejandro Wolff for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 4. ¶2. (SBU) During the course of Fifth Committee deliberations this past week, Mission Experts have been approached by a number of their counterparts in other Missions, including our friends and allies e.g., UK, Germany, Japan and Australia, regarding the SYG's proposal for strengthening the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). These states refer to the many questions that the proposal raises concerning coordination/division of labor between DPA and DPKO as well as other UN entities, such as the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Support Office, as well as the significant costs associated with the proposal during a time of the largest growth in the UN budget in the history of the Organization. These same states have also expressed the concern that because the proposal relates to a Department headed by an American, the USG, contrary to its usual practice, will be tempted to endorse the proposal before there has been an opportunity to address the significant questions raised by the proposal. They have indicated, given the late date on which the SYG submitted the proposal and the numerous and complex issues raised by the budget and other time bound matters that are before the Fifth Committee, that the most practical and wisest approach would be to carry the proposal over to the Resumed Session of the Fifth Committee in March. Moreover, they expressed the concern that the early endorsement of the proposal by the USG before the Committee has an opportunity to address the outstanding questions would complicate not only consideration of the DPA proposal but also of the biennium budget and other important matters before the Fifth Committee. ¶3. (SBU) During a meeting November 15 between the Chairman of the Fifth Committee (Mr. Humidon Ali of Malaysia) and Ambassador Wallace, the Chairman expressed the same concerns regarding the impact that the SYG's proposal on DPA will have on the work of the Committee. He said that the proposal was presented too late, is too complex, and does not have the support of the membership now. Continuing, he stated that any effort to force consideration of the proposal in this session could jeopardize action on other very important matters before the Fifth Committee. These other matters include not only the $4.8 billion dollar biennium budget, on which we seek substantial savings, but also other important matters, such as the continuation of the OIOS Procurement Task Force. ¶4. (C) Mission renews its request for guidance and its recommendation that the USG, while generally supporting the need to enhance DPA, defer taking a position on the SYG's proposal pending the examination of all organizational and financial resource implications of the proposal (See USUN 001013). Khalilzad