FIFTH COMMITTEE TO RESUME CONSIDERATION OF BAN'S

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000877 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PREL UNGA SUBJECT: FIFTH COMMITTEE TO RESUME CONSIDERATION OF BAN'S PROPOSAL TO STRENGTHEN DPA REF: A. USUN 000261 ¶B. USUN 000246 ¶C. USUN 000226 ¶D. STATE 029449 ¶E. 07 USUN 001013 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. Summary: The Fifth Committee (C5) is scheduled, on October 17th, to resume its consideration of SYG Ban's proposal to strengthen the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and the related report of the ACABQ. DPA is led by Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. Consideration of the proposal was postponed at the first resumed session of the 62nd GA in March 2008 based on concerns expressed by the US, Japan and Russia. (See Paragraph 3 below for a brief summary of the proposal.) ¶2. C5 consideration coincides with the proposal for extra-budgetary support for DPA circulated on September 2nd by USYG Pascoe (sent directly to Acting Assistant Secretary Hook and Under Secretary Kennedy and faxed to IO/MPR) (see paragraph 4),the statement by SYG Ban in the Security Council on September 23rd calling for additional resources for DPA's mediation efforts (www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sc9452.doc.h tm),and the presidential statement adopted at that meeting in which the Council asked the SYG to submit a report, within six months, on mediation and its support activities and to make recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of UN mediation (S/PRST/2008/36). Consideration of these proposals will also coincide with C5 consideration of the SYG's proposal to strengthen the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the development pillar, which has previously been linked to consideration of the DPA proposal. End Summary. ¶3. Ban's DPA Strengthening Proposal: Ban's proposal, issued on November 2, 2007 as A/62/521 and Corr.1, calls for an almost across-the-board strengthening of DPA with an additional 96 posts to: build the capacity of its regional divisions, strengthen its policy planning and mediation support functions by establishing an integrated Policy, Partnerships and Mediation Support Division, augment its Electoral Assistance Division, and reinforce the capacity of its Executive Office. If the proposal would have been adopted in full in late 2007, it would have cost $21 million in the 2008-2009 biennium and $34 million in subsequent bienniums. Adoption of the ACABQ's recommendations in A/62/7/Add.32 at the March 2008 resumed session of the GA would have reduced the cost for the 2008-2009 biennium to $12.9 million with the creation of 60 of the 96 proposed posts. (See Reftels E and B for a review of the proposal and for reporting on its consideration at the March 2008 resumed session.) ¶4. Extra-Budgetary Support for DPA: USYG Pascoe, on September 2, 2008, sent a letter to the major contributors and other Member States requesting support for his proposal for voluntary contributions of over $13 million to augment the UN Trust Fund in Support of the Special Missions and Other Activities Related to Preventive Diplomacy and Peacemaking to assist DPA during the period from July 31, 2008 to December 31, 2009 "in being more operational and in responding quickly to unanticipated 'surges' in activities, especially in the areas of mediation and elections." Comment: The 44-page proposal is described as addressing urgent, case-specific demands and providing funding for projects of limited duration in the area of preventive diplomacy and elections. However, the proposal addresses a number of the ongoing, core activities of DPA covered in Ban's strengthening proposal, including regarding mediation, working relations with regional organizations, and information management and other capabilities required to manage the Department. End Comment. ¶5. Consideration of the SYG's proposal on DPA and the development pillar is currently scheduled to begin on October 15th. USYG Pascoe does not indicate when he would like a response to his request for support for his extra-budgetary proposal. Khalilzad