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EU Presidency Statement - OIOS Reports on the Financing of UN Peacekeeping Operations

Mr. Chairman,

I have to honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

The EU considers the comprehensive report of the OIOS on the impact of the restructuring of DPKO (A/58/746) to be one of the most important reports before our Committee this session. We consider its readership should not, however, be limited to 5th Committee delegates. Some of the OIOS' recommendations require not just administrative changes, but policy decisions aimed at enhancing the entire operational capacity of DPKO and its interaction with PKOs. As such, we consider it essential that the report should be brought to the attention of Security Council and C34 members.

As we have stated on numerous occasions, the EU is strongly committed to effective UN peacekeeping, a core function of the organisation. It was in this spirit that the EU supported strongly the recommendation of the Panel on UN Peace Operations to reinforce the capacity of DPKO to plan, deploy and manage PKOs. The OIOS report offers a timely insight, especially given the huge surge the UN faces in its multi-faceted peacekeeping operations, into the capacity of DPKO to ensure effective back-stopping of all PKOs.

We entirely concur with the overall thrust of the OIOS report: the reforms are on track; there are certain areas that need attention; but that some reform measures require longer gestation periods to produce the desired impact than others. In our opinion the OIOS recommendations encapsulate succinctly the areas that need to addressed by the Secretary-General. Some of the OIOS' comments in respect of current shortcomings give us cause for concern and we trust, given the massive challenges facing DPKO over the coming months, that the Secretariat will act upon the OIOS recommendations urgently.

We note that many of the issues are recurring themes for this Committee; recruitment, IT, training, COE reimbursement etc, and that we will, no doubt, be considering these issues in depth at other stages in this Committee's work. We will comment separately on the issue of recruitment below in the context of A/58/704, but we would like to flag up a few specific areas which we consider of great importance.

The integrated mission task force concept is welcome but we note with concern that the principles have not been fully implemented. It must now be further developed on an inter-departmental basis, both in mission planning and working practice, to ensure a fully integrated mission concept of operations is produced, rehearsed, understood and owned by all stakeholders.

The EU fully concurs with the OIOS that while the Military Division of DPKO offers good operational support, what is lacking is an assessment of the military capacity, preparedness and effectiveness of forces in the field. It would be sensible for such an assessment to take place no later than one year after deployment.

The report notes that there is as yet no IT strategy or strategic plan for DPKO. This is unacceptable. The EU expects the resources we pour into IT throughout the UN system to have a beneficial impact on the general efficiency and working methods of the staff, in particular the General Service staff. To read that DPKO is continuing in an unstructured fashion is regrettable. We fully support, therefore, the OIOS recommendation for the Director of Change Management to establish a departmental IT committee to formulate and implement a strategic IT plan.

We also agree that:

• Ongoing in-depth consultation between DPA and DPKO is essential to ensure coherent approaches especially in respect of UN Missions in West Africa, and regional synergies exploited where possible.
  
  
• the strengthening of the linkage between the budgetary benchmarks and the Security Council reporting process is needed;
  
  
• the drawing-up and dissemination of guidance, incorporating lessons learned from staff returning from the field, must be done via a more formalised mechanism than at present.
  
  
• the exact role and operational functions of the Situation Centre requires clarification if it is to perform as expected, particularly in support of safety and security of UN personnel in the field.
  
  
• the Director of Change Management, a key post in the implementation of the Brahimi reforms, must play a more pro-active role in reviewing the organisational structure of DPKO, and in ensuring best practices are institutionalised including through the maintenance of authoritative policy documents.

This report touches upon the important and complex issue of recruitment and highlights teething problems with Galaxy and the rapid deployment roster, the use of Field Service staff (on which the GA pronounced last year), further delegation of recruitment authority, and the need for generic job profiles. The EU considers that all of these must, of course, be addressed urgently by the Secretariat if DPKO is to be in a position soon to handle the peacekeeping surge. This report is complemented by A/58/704 which highlights shortcomings, particularly with the Galaxy on-line tool, inconsistent job profiles, lack of clarity in eligibility requirements, and the possible standardisation of ranking applicants.

The EU notes that although the system of desirable ranges does not apply to most posts in DPKO and that most TCCs are represented, geographical representation and gender balance remain important issues for many member states, and further improvements could be made. The EU will explore all issues related to recruitment in more detail in the informals.

Mr. Chairman, turning to the report on trust funds,

The EU welcomes the comprehensive review of peacekeeping trust funds contained in A/58/613. The EU is in full agreement with the recommendations and is pleased that the Secretariat has unconditionally accepted them. We commend the Secretariat for establishing the trust fund working group to review the administration and management of trust funds and would welcome clarification of the role it will play in overseeing the administration and management of trust funds.

The EU considers that there should be a certain amount of automaticity with respect to the review of trust funds, not least to avoid the need for another OIOS review in a few years time. We would suggest that when a trust fund has been financially inactive for one year its continuation should be reconsidered and appropriate action taken. We would request the Working Group to consider this.

The EU welcomes the issuance of standard operating procedures for peacekeeping missions administering trust funds. It is essential, especially given the current variances between missions in administering trust funds, that these guidelines were promulgated. It will also be essential to ensure that these guidelines are being strictly adhered to. Could the Secretariat clarify who will be responsible for ensuring rigorous compliance by the executing agencies with the new procedures?

Also, while we might accept that application of standard administration costs could depend on the size and nature of each trust fund, we would welcome an update of the discussions which have taken place within the working group on this particular recommendation of the OIOS.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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