SYG BAN PROPOSES RESTRUCTURING OF DPKO

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000074

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2011
TAGS: PREL AORC KUNR KPKO UN UNGA
SUBJECT: SYG BAN PROPOSES RESTRUCTURING OF DPKO

Classified By: Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, Charge d'Affaires,
for reasons 1.4 b,d.

Summary and Comment
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1. (U) Secretary-General Ban has proposed restructuring the
Secretariat to downgrade the Department of Disarmament

SIPDIS
Affairs (DDA) and split the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations (DPKO) into two distinct departments. Ban has
asked the GA to give its blessing to the proposals, which he
would then proceed to implement immediately. (In part,
because Ban would like to carry out the restructuring before
naming his senior leadership team.) Under his proposal, the
budget and administrative actions necessary to formalize the
restructuring would proceed through the normal procedures of
the Fifth Committee later this year. USUN has emailed Ban's
non-paper to the Department.


2. (C) The President of the General Assembly convened a small
group of Perm Reps, including Ambassador Wolff, on Monday
morning, January 29, to discuss the SYG's proposals.
NAM/G-77 delegations are unhappy with both the process that
Ban is pursuing and the substance of his proposals. EU and
other Western delegations share some of these concerns,
grumbling that they do not understand the urgency or logic
behind his ideas. Press attention here is focused on
opposition to Ban's proposal. Ban, who is out of town as
this develops, faces a significant challenge to win support
for his proposal and an early test of his leadership.


3. (C) We believe it is difficult to assess, with any real
certainty, the real world impact of the restructuring on the
work of the two departments. Beyond our own views of the
proposed reforms, we need to ensure that Ban does not come
away from his first confrontation with the general membership
with an understanding that he is beholden to the NAM/G-77 to
get things done in the building (or worse, that it is too
hard to get anything done and so there is no point in
trying). While supporting the SYG, however, we should be
careful that our support for his plan does not bolster
conspiracy theorists who are already seeing a "U.S. hand"
behind Ban's restructuring effort. End Summary and Comment.


4. (U) Secretary-General Ban originally asked President of
the General Assembly (GA) Khalifa to convene a meeting of the
GA on February 5 in order to pass a resolution that would
give political support to the SYG's proposal to restructure
the Secretariat. Ban has proposed two main reforms: 1)
downgrading the Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA),
which would then be led by an SRSG instead of an Under
Secretary-General, and 2) splitting DPKO into two

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Departments, one for operations and one for logistics, (each
of which would be headed by an U/SYG). In the face of
widespread criticism of the proposals, the SYG's spokesman
announced on January 30 that he will delay his request for
action past February 5, in order to allow time for
consultations with Member States.

Downgrade DDA
(after the NAM rejects the first idea)
--------------


5. (U) Ban has proposed downgrading the Department of
Disarmament Affairs (DDA) and reconstituting it as a separate
office under his direct supervision. Instead of being led at
the U/SYG level, the new office will be run by an SRSG for
Disarmament Affairs. The office will "promote and support
multilateral efforts on disarmament and nonproliferation of
weapons and mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons,
pursuant to maintenance of international peace and security
as well as global efforts to combat terrorism."


6. (U) This proposal replaces the previously mooted idea to
incorporate DDA under the Department of Political Affairs.
The proposal to merge DDA into DPA was strongly opposed by
the NAM, with whom the SYG's Chef du Cabinet, Vijay Nambiar,
has been negotiating over the past couple of weeks.

Splitting DPKO in two
--------------


7. (U) In addition, Ban proposes to split DPKO into two
departments: a Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and a
Department of Field Support (DFS); each to be headed by an
Under Secretary-General.


8. (U) The DPO will plan, direct, manage, and provide
political guidance to all field operations currently under
DPKO. The DPO will coordinate all the different components
of mission planning including: policy, support, military,
police, and civilian elements. It will also serve as an
identifiable and accountable interlocutor for Member States,
UN, and non-UN partners. It will also manage the

Secretariat's interaction with troop and police contributing

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countries and reporting to the Security Council as well as to
the Special Committee on Peacekeeping.


9. (U) The DFS will be responsible for providing support to
UN field operations, including personnel, finance,
procurement, logistics, communications, information
technology and other administrative and general management
issues. To ensure efficiency, coherence, and oversight of
this new Department, existing headquarters related to field
operations will be consolidated as needed.


10. (U) Ban claims that this restructuring will enhance the
speed, efficiency, management, and oversight of support
and/or peacekeeping resources. Unity of command will be
maintained through the SRSG in field missions who will report
to the SYG through the DPO. The primary responsibility for
all peacekeeping decisions will rest with the Under
Secretary-General for DPO. Under this proposal, DFS will

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report to and receive direction from DPO on issues related to
UN peacekeeping; however, with respect to administrative and
management issues, the DFS will receive direction from and
report to the Deputy Secretary-General.

Lukewarm Reaction:
On both process and substance
--------------


11. (C) The Secretary-General appears to have gotten a very
lukewarm response to his proposals, which has not been helped
by the fact that the ideas are being advanced while the SYG
is on his first overseas trip. In a meeting with GA
President Khalifa on January 29, the NAM and G-77 expressed
concern at the apparent effort to diminish the importance of
the UN's disarmament body. They have, similarly, told
Khalifa that the Secretary-General's proposals on
restructuring DPKO are "not convincing." South African
Permanent Representative Kumalo is quoted in the press as
openly questioning the "downgrading" of DDA "because
disarmament is very important to us." Kumalo went on to
allow that we should let Ban come back and explain himself
since he's "only been in the job for a month."


12. (C) A Pakistani delegate told USUN that they do not
understand why the SYG has made this his first priority when
there are "hundreds of other things" to be done. A CANZ
colleague said that Ban's proposal had "raised eyebrows" in
her mission as peopled tried to understand the logic behind
the DPKO proposal. One of Khalifa's advisors said that the
Secretary-General has "trapped" himself by linking the

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restructuring to the appointment of his senior team,
including all of the U/SYG's. The NAM and G-77 may demand
that Ban submit the DPKO restructuring proposal to the GA's
Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. They are also
very reluctant to agree to a General Assembly resolution that
would give the SYG approval to restructure the Secretariat,
without first working the proposal through the Fifth
Committee process. Both of these procedural hurdles would
give the NAM/G-77 more bureaucratic leverage over the
proposed changes.


13. (C) The Europeans, too, are unhappy with the proposals,
and in particular that the SYG has begun his term by
negotiating almost exclusively with the NAM and G-77 and not
more broadly with the membership. They are concerned about
the breakup of DPKO, which has recently been a European-led
Department, particularly in light of press reports that the
SYG is considering an American to head the Department of
Political Affairs and a Japanese to head the new Department
of Field Support.

Next steps
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14. (U) Khalifa has committed to reporting delegations'
reactions back to the Secretary-General following her January
29 meeting with PRs. In addition to Ambassador Wolff, the
meeting included the PRs of Cuba (for the NAM),Pakistan (for
the G-77),Russia, China, Germany (for the EU),Canada, New
Zealand, Mexico and Nigeria (for the African Group). Neither
the UK nor France were invited; NAM and G-77 reps were each
invited as there are "both administrative and political
aspects" to Ban's proposals.


15. (C) As a result of the criticism received, the SYG's
office announced on January 30 that GA action to "approve"
the restructuring will be delayed past February 5. This
gives Ban time to argue his case personally on his return to
New York. He now has a significant hurdle to win support for
his proposal in what has turned into an early test of his
leadership. In addition, because he has not yet appointed
his senior management team, Ban has a thin stable of people
to argue the case on his behalf in UN corridors.
WOLFF