PEACEKEEPING: SECURITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000094 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KPKO UNSC SUBJECT: PEACEKEEPING: SECURITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS CHALLENGES TO FULFILLMENT OF ITS MANDATES ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. U/SYGs Le Roy and Malcorra told the Security Council in an informal briefing on February 17, that the need for strong Council unanimity of political support, the lack of adequate resources from TCCs/PCCs to match Council mandates, and the increasing complexity of modern peacekeeping missions were their biggest strategic challenges. Le Roy hoped the upcoming session of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations would help to clarify the concepts of protection of civilians, robust peacekeeping and early peacebuilding tasks. Malcorra said that complex missions necessitated a transition from approaching field support on a mission-by-mission basis to creating a global service delivery system. A wide-ranging discussion followed, including discussion of a Chinese suggestion that the Secretariat should make a distinction between peacekeeping and peacebuilding tasks. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) In a Security Council briefing on February 17, UN Undersecretaries-General Alain Le Roy (Department of Peacekeeping Operations-DPKO) and Susanna Malcorra (Department of Field Support-DFS) outlined strategic challenges faced by the Secretariat in carrying out peacekeeping mandates and areas where additional Council support was needed. The meeting was organized by the French presidency, as part of an ongoing initiative to improve the Security Council's engagement with the Secretariat on peacekeeping policy. In opening the meeting, French PR Araud noted that the meeting was also in keeping with the Presidential Statement (PRST) of August 5, 2009, which recognized the Council's need for "enhanced awareness" of the strategic challenges faced across peacekeeping operations, and which welcomed briefings by DPKO and DFS "on a regular basis." ¶3. (SBU) Acknowledging a responsibility to tell the Council "what it needs to know rather than what it wants to hear," U/SYG Le Roy said the largest strategic challenges were the need for unanimity of political support for peacekeeping mandates, a deficit of necessary capabilities to fulfill the tasks of some peacekeeping mandates, and the need for clarity among the Secretariat, troop and police contributors (TCCs/PCCs) and the Security Council on the meaning of critical tasks, such as the protection of civilians (PoC), "robust peacekeeping," and early peacebuilding. Referring to capabilities, Le Roy said peacekeeping mandates had become increasingly complex, requiring highly sophisticated capabilities, which often involved transportation and communications assets. Many potential TCCs/PCCs did not have these capabilities readily available, he said. At the same time, TCCs and PCCs needed clarity on what was expected of them in fulfilling PoC mandates, on the concept of robust peacekeeping, and on early peacebuilding activities. Le Roy said a lack of consensus on these concepts had hindered the ability of DPKO to fulfill complex mandates, citing MONUC as a prime example. DPKO hoped to be able to address the issues he outlined during the month-long session of the GA Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) that would convene on February 22. Le Roy also noted some of the priorities outlined in the Council's August 5, 2009 PRST that DPKO had acted upon, including holding meetings with TCCs/PCCs at least a week in advance of mandate renewals, offering briefings to the Council by Technical Assessment Missions upon their return, and the use of benchmarks on a consistent basis to monitor progress throughout the life-cycle of missions. ¶4. (SBU) Answering questions, Le Roy acknowledged that the cost of UN peacekeeping had exploded in recent years along with the increase in complex operations, but he also said that UN peacekeeping was still a bargain considering the comparative cost for a member or regional organization to carry out a mission on its own. He also noted that peacekeeping expenditures were small compared to worldwide arms expenditures. Le Roy assessed that the growth in UN peacekeeping deployments during the 2000s had likely peaked, with no new missions on the immediate horizon and existing missions such as MINURCAT, MONUC, UNMIL and UNOCI potentially nearing a transition phases that would lead to downsizing. Responding to a suggestion from China that peacekeeping and peacebuilding tasks should be clearly delineated, Le Roy said that the eventual transfer of responsibilities to a UN Country Team needed to be part of integrated mission planning processes. He also cautioned that when transferring from a peacekeeping to a peacebuilding mandate, there was a risk of declining interest from donors. ¶5. (SBU) U/SYG Malcorra echoed Le Roy's emphasis on the need for strong Council unanimity, and pointed out that complex mandates, including protection of civilians, required "responsive, flexible and agile" missions in highly challenging and dangerous environments. Illustrating some of the current DFS challenges, Malcorra pointed to the staffing deficit for the UNAMA mission in Afghanistan, commenting that even if all positions were filled, the UN lacked sufficient security-compliant staff housing. In Somalia, she said the AMISOM trust fund had recently begun disbursements, but that there was still work to do reimburse the expenses of TCCs. The Haiti earthquake had been a huge loss to the UN, leaving a vast gap at the hear of MINUSTAH and a new set of support challenges, including provision of mortuary and forensics services, counseling to families and survivors, and deployment of around 300 Secretariat staff on a temporary basis to the mission. Malcorra said that in upcoming C-34 discussions, she would focus on the need to transform field support from a mission-specific focus to a global delivery system that could service multiple missions, deploy faster, and accommodate the expeditionary nature of modern peacekeeping. A global delivery system would also help reduce the overall cost of peacekeeping by achieving efficiencies. ¶6. (SBU) During the informal discussion that followed, Chinese Permrep Zhang expressed concern that peacekeeping mandates had become more complex and longer, citing MONUC as an example, and wondered whether the Council should listen to "doubts and misgivings" that had been expressed by some SRSGs about the feasibility of certain tasks. Zhang also said there was confusion on the difference between peacekeeping and peacebuilding tasks and suggested that the Secretariat should attempt to define the two concepts. Zhang worried that tasks which should be purely "technical" could sometimes take on a "political" aspect. ¶7. (SBU) Ambassador Wolff said that while conceptually it might be possible to make a distinction between peacekeeping and peacebuilding tasks, in practice peacebuilding tasks often contributed to maintaining peace and should be integrated when necessary. Wolff said that the Council must engage in an honest and critical review of peacekeeping missions well in advance of mandate expiration in order to assess their effectiveness. He encouraged wider use of benchmarks to monitor progress and earlier consultations with TCCs/PCCs. Wolff also said the UN needed to address its institutional impediments to hiring personnel to fill shortfalls. Wolff looked forward to a change in tone and culture in future discussions of peacekeeping, including in the C-34, which could reflect a collective ownership and responsibility for improving UN peacekeeping. ¶8. (SBU) Mexico, Turkey, Brazil and Austria stressed that peacebuilding activities needed to be linked with peacekeeping missions and often needed to be undertaken concurrently. Brazil added that post-conflict engagement needed to encompass social and economic development. The U.K. cautioned against adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to peacebuilding and said that international peacebuilding offices might not always be the right solution. Russia agreed with China on the need to make a distinction between peacekeeping and peacebuilding. ¶9. (SBU) Nigeria and Uganda both said that TCCs/PCCs were experiencing peacekeeping fatigue, partly due to the lack of timely reimbursement, and a lack of clarity on how to perform required tasks. Nigeria suggested that improvement in the reimbursement process would make it attractive for former TCCs to resume participation in UN peacekeeping. The U.K. expressed concern about the tendency of the Council to begin to see individual tasks, such as the successful conduct of elections, as ends in themselves rather than steps toward achieving overall mission objectives. ¶10. (SBU) Austria welcomed the Secretariat's efforts to develop operational guidance for missions on the protection of civilians, and Lebanon noted that as host country for UNIFIL, such guidance would have a positive impact on the security of its own civilians. Brazil said PoC guidance should focus on how troops could address mandated tasks within limited resources. Referring to robust peacekeeping, Brazil said a definition as such was not necessary, but rather clarity on the peacekeepers' responsibilities. ¶11. (SBU) Japan highlighted the work of the Security Council's Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations, which it chairs, and said that its Spring program of work included a discussion with TCCs and the Secretariat on how to fill critical gaps between mandates and capabilities, as well as a continuation of the discussion begun under the French presidency on how to achieve mission transitions and exit strategies. ¶12. (SBU) The French Permrep did not participate in the substantive discussion, but at the end of the session, he said he hoped Lebanon would host a similar informal briefing during its May Council presidency in line with the intention expressed in the August 5 PRST to hold regular briefings. Austria welcomed the French presidency's initiative to review peacekeeping, which would also include a meeting of the Military Staff Committee for all 15 Council members later in the week. RICE