UN - P-5 DISCUSS DPA STRENGTHENING

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001069 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PREL UNGA SUBJECT: UN - P-5 DISCUSS DPA STRENGTHENING REF: A. STATE 146297 ¶B. USUN 001013 ¶C. USUN 001029 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. Summary: The five permanent members of the Security Council (P-5) met at the Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR) level with Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, on November 21 to discuss SYG Ban's proposal to strengthen the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). While all five DPRs agreed that DPA strengthening was justified, they cited various considerations that would most likely need to be addressed before action could be taken on the proposal. Ambassador Wolff, while noting that Ban's proposal is compelling and that a strengthened DPA will better serve P-5 equities, lamented the fact that Ban did not present a comprehensive proposal encompassing DPKO/DFS and DPA when he presented his DPKO/DFS restructuring proposal earlier this year. He cautioned that the division of labor between DPKO/DFS and DPA should be clearly defined and that the challenge is to rationalize what has already been done under DPKO restructuring with what needs to be done in DPA. Ambassador Wolff said that, in any event, it is unlikely that the proposal will be considered in the Fifth Committee during the main part of the session considering the scope and complexity of the proposal and the limited amount of time available before the session ends in December. Paragraphs 3 - 8 below summarize the views expressed on various aspects of the proposal. End Summary. ¶2. The DPRs of the P-5 met at the UK Mission with DPA U-SYG Pascoe on November 21 to discuss SYG Ban's proposal to strengthen DPA. Pascoe opened the meeting by reviewing the major components of the proposal including building the capacity of DPA's regional divisions, strengthening DPA's policy planning capacity and mediation support function, and establishing a network of regional offices. See REF B for a more complete review of the proposal. He said that the relatively small cost involved would prove to be a good investment since a strengthened DPA would play a more effective role in mediating disputes before they escalate and require peacekeeping operations. ¶3. DPA/DPKO Coordination: While Pascoe Pascoe argued that there is very little duplication between the two departments and that the problem is one of limited capacity and not overlap, all DPRs said that the roles of DPA and DPKO should be more clearly defined. The UK DPR said it was unclear which department played the lead role on a number of issues, particularly since DPKO/DFS have assumed operational control over several special political missions (SPMs). The Chinese DPR said several large integrated peacekeeping operations managed by DPKO/DFS carry out functions that overlap with DPA. Ambassador Wolff said the division of labor between DPKO/DFS and DPA should be rationalized. ¶4. Regional offices: It was generally agreed that a number of issues needed to be clarified regarding this component including the role of such offices, the funding required, and their relationship with other members of UN country teams. The French DPR said it is important to promote the "One UN" approach in this regard. The Chinese DPR referred to the importance of system-wide coherence. U-SYG Pascoe said that country teams need political expertise and that this would facilitate coherence. Admitting that this component of the proposal was not clearly defined, Pascoe explained that these regional offices would not be established as a group but considered individually in consultation with the countries and regional organizations involved. ¶5. Piecemeal Approach: It was generally agreed that the membership was not well-served by Ban's piecemeal approach. The Chinese DPR said Ban started with DPKO. DPA is next; to be followed by DESA. He wondered what will come after DESA. The UK DPR said it would have been beneficial for Ban to articulate an over-arching framework. Pascoe said it is not a piecemeal approach: Ban was elected to reform the UN and the only way to do so was step-by-step. ¶6. Prioritization: The UK DPR asked Pascoe if it is possible to prioritize the various components of the proposal. The Russian DPR said DPA strengthening should be done in phases. Pascoe replied that DPA's weaknesses are across-the-board and should be addressed comprehensively. ¶7. Regular vs. Peacekeeping Assessments - The French DPR emphasized that the P-5 needed to be aware of the fact that consideration of the division of labor between DPA and DPKO/DFS (and the fact that DPKO supports a number of large SPMs) could lead to proposals calling for the funding for several SPMs to be moved from the regular budget (U.S. 22% assessment) to the peacekeeping scale (U.S. 26% assessment). ¶8. Timing: The DPRs agreed that DPA reform should be delinked from the general budget process and carried over into the new year for further detailed consideration Khalilzad