UN - FIFTH COMMITTEE BEGINS CONSIDERATION OF BAN'S

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000246 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PREL UNGA SUBJECT: UN - FIFTH COMMITTEE BEGINS CONSIDERATION OF BAN'S PROPOSAL TO STRENGTHEN DPA REF: A. USUN 000226 ¶B. USUN 000133 ¶C. USUN 000168 ¶D. 07 USUN 1069 ¶E. 07 USUN 1013 ¶F. 07 STATE 146279 ¶1. Summary: The Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, on March 17th, began its consideration of Secretary-General Ban's proposal to strengthen the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) (A/62/521 and Corr.1). U-SYG Barcena of the Department of Management introduced the report (see paragraph 3 below). Lynn Pascoe, the U-SYG for Political Affairs, in a detailed statement, emphasized the necessity of early adoption of the proposal (paragraph 4). The Chairperson of the ACABQ, Susan McLurg, introduced the report of the Advisory Committee (A/62/7/Add.32) (paragraph 5). 28 delegations delivered statements offering varying degrees of support for the proposal with virtually all raising concerns they intend to address during the committee's informal consultations beginning March 18th. Most delegations agreed that it was necessary to fully address all concerns before taking a decision on the proposal. Some delegations suggested a linkage to the DESA (Development Pillar) proposal and that the consideration of this proposal may take considerable time (paragraphs 6 - 14). ¶2. Summary continued: US Del (paragraph 15),while expressing strong support for DPA's mandate and recognizing the need to strengthen the Department, emphasized that the proposal raised a number of concerns that needed to be fully addressed before action could be taken. USDel also underlined that the proposal must be considered in the context of the budget and the $1 billion in anticipated add-ons to the initial budget passed in December. The statements made available in full text, including by U-SYG Barcena, U-SYG Pascoe, ACABQ Chairperson McLurg, the EU, G-77, Rio Group, CANZ, African Group, ROK and Japan have been sent to IO/MPR via email. End Summary. SECRETARIAT SIPDIS ¶3. DM U-SYG Barcena: Referred to a statement made by the SYG on October 25th of last year in the context of the proposed 2008-2009 budget in which he outlined the importance of the link between peace and security, human rights and development - the three main arms of the work of the UN, and his intention to keep engaging with Member States on the reform and strengthening of DPA, DESA and other departments. Barcena said that with "our worldwide peacekeeping operations having been organized" it is now time to turn to conflict prevention and peace-building. ¶4. DPA U-SYG Pascoe: Emphasized that the UN needs to become more effective not only at stabilizing conflict situations and dealing with the humanitarian side-effects, but at preventing and resolving them through political means. Explained that Ban's proposals call for a more effective use of tools such as preventive diplomacy, mediation and the good offices of the SYG in the service of Member States and regional organizations. Highlighted the fact that while DPA's political and electoral experts recently made critical contributions to averting a larger tragedy in Kenya, their involvement resulted in greatly diminished attention to other critical situations. Argued that the constraints facing DPA are well-documented in reports and evaluations and reviewed the major components of the proposal which would increase DPA's staff by 101 posts, up from the current base of 223, and cost $21 million in the current biennium. ($34 million in future bienniums with full incumbency of staff.) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY QUESTIONS ¶5. ACABQ Chairperson McLurg: Explained that while the Advisory Committee recognized that there are organizational and resource restraints in certain areas of DPA and recommended acceptance of some additional capacity (resulting in a reduction of $8.1 million from the 2008-2009 estimate of $21 million and a reduction of 41 of the 101 proposed posts). At the same time, the ACABQ reiterated the concerns it had identified with the proposal including the need for a clear division of labor and coordination between DPA and DPKO as well as other Secretariat departments, specialized agencies, funds and programs, regional commissions and other relevant UN actors. MEMBER STATES ¶6. Peace and security/development linkage: The G-77 emphasized that conflict prevention efforts will never be successful unless they go hand in hand with parallel efforts addressing the root causes of conflicts in particular by achieving sustainable development through sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty. The G-77 also urged the ACABQ to issue its report on the SYG's development pillar as a matter of priority since a stronger UN needs a stronger development pillar because "there can be no peace without development." ¶7. Regular budget context: As noted above, USDel emphasized that the proposal must be considered in the context of the 2008-2008 budget and potential add-ons to the budget passed in December of over $1 billion. The EU also expressed concern about the piecemeal approach to the budget while recognizing that there are organizational and resource constraints in DPA that limit its capacity. The EU looked forward to discussing the proposal on its merits. Norway said that possible efficiencies or savings must be explored in any exercise to "strengthen a department." CANZ said all opportunities for "reallocation" must be exhausted and that extra resources requested should stand up to a critical analysis. Japan said that the SYG's piecemeal approach seriously undermines Ban's accountability to Member States, that the SYG's plan of reform should have been presented as a whole in the form of the biennial budget, and that new requirements should have been carefully selected with a sharp focus on high priorities, through redeploying resources "from activities no longer in use." The ROK said that the Secretariat must ensure cost-effectiveness and SIPDIS cost-efficiency in its process of restructuring and that it should take into account and factor in the concerns of Member States on budgetary issues. ¶8. DPA regional divisions: The African Group welcomed the SYG's proposal and expressed concern that the ACABQ recommended against many of the posts requested for Africa. The Rio Group objected to the subdivisions proposed in the Americas Division while the G-77 concurred with the view of the ACABQ that some Divisions do not warrant the proposed multiplicity of units. Japan noted the lack of communication and coordination between the regional divisions in DPA and DPKO. ¶9. DPA/DFS division of labor / system-wide coordination: Norway and Japan said that the roles of DFS and DPA in support of SPMs need to be clarified. CANZ called for better coordination across the UN system in addressing potential conflict situations. ¶10. Regional offices: The G-77, Philippines and Vietnam asserted that such offices could only be established with the agreement of all concerned countries in the region. The Rio Group was not convinced that a regional office should be established in Latin America. Japan said that other field presences including peacekeeping operations and funds and programs should be taken into account when new field offices are being considered. ¶11. Inclusion of "political elements" in the proposal: The Rio Group objected to inclusion in the proposal of "inappropriate references and judgments" about the Latin America and Caribbean region. Nicaragua, in a hard-hitting statement, echoed these concerns, objecting to the inclusion of such "tendentious" political elements and counter-productive and historically false "barbarisms." Nicaragua also lamented the fact that the Secretariat did not issue a corrigendum to the report as promised. (Note: the G-77 and NAM, in a letter dated March 7, 2008 to U-SYG Pascoe (A/C.5/62/24) (REFTEL A),objected to these "political elements", (including language pertaining to the new Central America/Mexico Section of the Americas Division referring to the fact that the subregion is still assailed by "destabilizing factors, such as transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and gang violence." In its letter, the G-77 also raised a number of other concerns regarding the proposal. The Secretariat, responded to the letter (A/C.5/62/25) but did not issue a corrigendum.) Algeria said that the Fifth Committee should not be used for political purposes. ¶12. Electoral assistance: Several delegations, including Argentina, CANZ, Norway, Panama and Brazil, supported strengthening the Electoral Assistance Division. ¶13. Equitable geographical representation: The G-77 said that the current geographical imbalance in DPA must be ameliorated, asserting that citizens of the concerned regions are the most knowledgeable of the specificities and the needs of their regions. ¶13. DPA's mandate: The G-77 emphasized that DPA has no mandate other than those provided by relevant resolutions and decisions of the UN and welcomed the assurances in U-SYG Pascoe's letter (A/C.5/62/25) that the SYG's proposals do not entail any expansion of the functions already assigned to DPA. ¶14. Republic of Korea: Asserted that preventing tensions and disputes from escalating into conflicts in a much better way to secure international peace and security than post-conflict measures, that it is high time to give conflict prevention its deserved place, and that the ROK is fully supportive of Ban's proposal since it is appropriate, relevant and timely. UNITED STATES ¶15. U.S. Statement: We would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Alicia Barcena of the Department of Management and Under-Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe for their introduction of the report of the Secretary-General on Strengthening the Department of SIPDIS Political Affairs (A/62/521),as well as the Chairperson of the ACABQ, Ms. Susan McLurg, for her introduction of the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (A/62/7/Add.32). Mr. Chairman, DPA plays an important role in seeking to prevent and resolve conflicts before they escalate and require peacekeeping operations. We join other Member States in commending the efforts of the Under-Secretary-General and his team in pursuing these vital objectives of the Organization. The United States strongly supports DPA's mandate and recognizes the critical need to strengthen the Department. Notwithstanding our strong support, the proposal raises a number of questions and concerns that must be fully addressed before action can be taken. As noted in the ACABQ's report, the Secretariat has failed to address a number of concerns, including those raised in several reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). Principal among these, is an understanding of the functions and activities of DPA and how they relate to other UN entities carrying out related functions. In this regard, as both OIOS and ACABQ have noted, there is a lack of a clear division of labor between DPA, DPKO, DFS and other UN entities, including the Peacebuilding Support Office. My delegation understands that other delegations also have identified concerns. Of course, the questions and concerns of all Member States must be fully addressed before this committee can conclude its review of the proposal. Mr. Chairman, Finally, we believe that this proposal, like other proposals, must be considered in the context of the budget. My delegation continues to believe that the piecemeal, ad hoc approach of the current budget is inconsistent with sound budgeting practices. Moreover, the Secretariat has identified more than $1 billion in potential "add-ons" to the initial budget passed this last December that are to be addressed during this session and the remainder of the biennium. Approval of these add-ons would result in the biggest ever increase in the UN budget - some 25% - and the largest ever UN budget. In this context, we had hoped that the Secretary-General, in presenting proposals such as this, that require additional new resources, would identify offsetting savings and efficiencies. As we consider how to address the Secretary-General's proposal on strengthening DPA, we need to take into account both the many outstanding questions surrounding the proposal as well as the serious concerns raised in regard to the budget. Mr. Chairman, we look forward to working constructively with our colleagues on this important matter. KHALILZAD