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