Welcoming remarks by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations
 

Excellencies, distinguished representatives, colleagues,

 It is a privilege to welcome you to the annual update of the United Nations Stand-by Arrangements System (UNSAS). This year, however, it is a particular pleasure to see those of you who have worked closely with us over the past year, and given us so much real assistance in taking the Brahimi Panel recommendations, and indeed the subsequent hard work by the Special Committee of Peacekeeping Operations (Special Committee), in turning those recommendations into a tangibly improved Stand-by Arrangements System.

As usual, my comments will be frank. Last year the message was to “stay the course” with the UNSAS, and enable it to evolve into a more operational and rapidly deployable resource. That process continues, and we have turned a significant corner in accomplishing the work required to achieve the states of readiness envisioned by the Brahimi Panel. My report today represents a compass bearing of where we are on this path. Most important is that, together, we are well under way.
The challenge has been to improve the system in order to enable those resources made available by the Member States to be deployed in the shortest amount of time by the Secretariat to those Peacekeeping Missions where they are needed.

Achieving rapid deployment, in concert with the Brahimi Panel’s 30/90-day deployment targets has called for a fresh look at existing methods and procedures. We will fine-tune our planning and pre-deployment techniques, and if necessary trade time for money, where it is warranted.

Achievements

We have reviewed, line by line, the recommendations of the “Brahimi Panel”. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations has also reacted to the recommendations of the Special Committee, and has devoted its attention to the priorities fixed by Member States and Secretariat. Before turning to the challenges ahead in the Stand-by Arrangements System, I would like to highlight the significant progress that has been achieved.

-     The General Assembly’s approval of over $ 140 million for the creation of the Strategic Deployment Stocks (SDS) is a major step forward in enhancing our rapid deployment capacities. Since 1 July 2002, DPKO has started requisitioning the material required to support one complex mission. The procurement and delivery of SDS equipment is well under way and we can say that we already have enough stockholdings to be able to support the start-up of a smaller peacekeeping operation.

-     DPKO has begun developing a new inventory management system, which will be fully functional by 1 July 2003. A policy of stock rotation and maintenance will be implemented starting with the next budget cycle (2003-2004).

-     The Military and Civilian Police Divisions have taken into consideration the Member States’ proposals and have improved the On-Call List concept. As a result, the Military Division has identified 154 On-Call List positions, nine of which constitute the Core Planning Element. Member States have been asked  to commit to, in advance, the provision of qualified experts to fill any of the nine key positions within seven days notice, and to fill within 14 days notice the remainder of the positions on the List. The Civilian Police Division has designed a model civilian police headquarters consisting of 100 positions, and has produced the job descriptions for each post. That list has been broken into three stages of development, because not all personnel are needed at once nor can they be introduced into a peace operation at the same time. The Personnel Management and Support Service is creating a roster of staff to fill the approximately 110 job specializations required for the start-up phases of a field mission. These staff will be available on 96-hours notice and would deploy for up to three months.

-     The new “Rapid Deployment Level” in the UNSAS went into effect on 25 July 2002. This represents a level of commitment whereby pledged resources can be deployed to a new UN mission within 30 to 90 days of the adoption of a Security Council mandate and appropriate governmental approval. The Rapid Deployment Level has been tailored to enable both the Secretariat and the Member States to save time through detailed pre-deployment planning and preparation. The Terms of Reference for the Rapid Deployment Level have been established and the recruitment process has begun. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Uruguay have already joined the Rapid Deployment Level, with six units.

-     A new project has been developed to encourage closer cooperation between Regional, Sub-regional and International Organizations and DPKO.  The Level Two Hospitals Initiative is based on the employment of Swedish donated hospitals with personnel from Regional and International organizations trained to the required standard using the equipment provided. We have learned from past experience that deploying medical facilities from single nations is difficult, and new strategies are required.  This initiative has the potential to provide much needed hospitals to the United Nations peacekeeping operations, through the cooperative efforts of nations from a Regional, or International Organization. The continuous medical training conducted by the member of the organization is, of course, a significant additional benefit.
 

The Next Steps

The response to the “On-Call List” initiative has been encouraging.  However, we need to widen the geographical representation for the military component, in order to have the flexible response required to meet global contingencies. In this respect, I appeal you to come forward with new bids. I expect the “On-Call List” system for all the three components: military, civilian and civilian police to become effective over the course of 2003.

I encourage you to work together with the Military Division to determine within each Member State what resources could be made available for the Rapid Deployment Level and to begin all the required discussions. This process will give the Member State an approximate idea of the reimbursement it is to receive in case of an eventual deployment.

Cooperation between the Secretariat and Regional and International Organizations is an area where there is much work to be done, and many benefits to be realized. The Level Two Hospitals Project “Strengthening Medical Partnerships” is a most worthwhile endeavour to begin with in this new area of cooperation, and DPKO will use this initiative as the basis to consider other, more ambitious cooperative force generation projects.

This afternoon, you will be briefed by the Acting Military Adviser, the Acting Civilian Police Adviser, and the Chief of DPKO’s Personnel Management and Support Service.  Each will present the initiatives in their areas of responsibility and will highlight areas where we are seeking increased cooperation and support from Member States.

Major-General Chitra Bahadur Gurung, our acting Military Advisor, will start with an update of the initiatives developed during this year to reconfigure UNSAS in order to make it work for the current generation of multi-dimensional peacekeeping operations.  The Chief of the Force Generation Service, colonel Virinder Dadhwal, will review the newly introduced Rapid Deployment Level and will highlight the improvements brought to the mission headquarters “On-Call List”, including the development of the Level-Two Hospitals Project.
These new concepts represent important and much needed improvements to UNSAS and I urge you to give them your fullest attention and support.

From Antero Lopes, our acting Civilian Police Advisor, you will hear how the new multi-dimensional peacekeeping missions require new categories of personnel.  As an illustration, the “rule of law” sector includes not only police, but also correctional officers and legal personnel as prosecutors and judges.  This is not only needed in the interim-administration missions but also, equally importantly, in missions tasked with advisory and training concepts.  DPKO and Finland hosted a conference in Helsinki, in February 2002 where the Civilian Police Division presented its proposal to launch a 100-person civilian-police roster.  The meeting discussed the categories of personnel needed, training requirements and mechanisms to keep the roster updated and ready for rapid deployment.  DPKO had invited comments and suggestions from the Member States and the inputs provided were taken into consideration in drafting the final terms of reference. This was followed by the presentation of the draft proposal to Member States in August 2002. I take this opportunity to again urge your full and active support to this activity.

And, finally, from Alejandro Henning, the Chief of the Personnel Management and Support Service, you will hear how we have been working on a draft memorandum of understanding to be circulated to Member States in order to identify national governmental and non governmental civilian resources to strengthen our support capacities particularly for early deployment activities. This initiative  will hopefully assist us in developing more effective civilian personnel stand-by arrangements.

In closing my brief remarks today, I would like to renew my thanks for your continuous and active support to the Secretariat and the peacekeeping missions.
The UNSAS is a most important planning tool, and we must work together to use this tool to its full potential. Significant progress has been made within the last year, and we must maintain the momentum.
I ask that you to consider, most carefully, contributing to the UNSAS to the maximum extent possible, in order to deploy the best possible blend of troops, police and civilians to our peacekeeping missions.

 I thank you, for your continued support.
 
 

Background

Good afternoon and welcome to the 2002 annual military update on the Stand-by Arrangements System.

As the Under-Secretary-General has mentioned in our update and in the Secretary-General’s Report that we will issue early in 2003, DPKO wishes to be more informative on the actual status of the System and what we are trying to do with Member States to make the stand-by arrangements more effective.

Today, the Military Division will report on the current status of military contributions and provide information regarding the new initiatives we have taken within the United Nations Stand-by Arrangements System.

Rapid deployment involves considerably more than just being able to move quickly. Specifically we need:

· Those units required to start up a mission, such as a HQ Support Unit,
· Enabling Units,
· Mechanism in place, at all levels, to ensure that deployment is as rapid as is possible, and
· Close liaison with Regional and International Organisations.

Chief Force Generation Service, Colonel Virinder Dadhwal, will describe the new initiatives we have taken.
 

Closing Remarks

That concludes the briefing on the current status of the military contributions and the new initiatives.

In essence we are continuing to work closely with the Member States to improve and develop the UNSAS, in line with your suggestions.

We are particularly looking at how we can more effectively maintain and use our UNSAS database, specifically to react more rapidly to UN Security Council requirements, either with individuals, a Force HQ or critical capabilities. We have implemented the new Rapid Deployment Level, as requested by you, and now we are looking forward to receiving pledges, available at short notice. Those capabilities that are essential to permit a smooth mission “start up “ are particularly important to us.

 The geographic base of participants in the “On-Call List”, for military personnel, must be expanded and the system must be fully utilized for the next new peacekeeping missions.

We will be continuing to explore options for co-operation with Regional, Sub-regional and International Organisations, such as the Level Two Hospitals concept described today.  This could extend in due course to the concept of “ coherent brigade groups’ outlined in the Brahimi Report.

We will also continue to encourage all TCCs to enter the UNSAS at a level at which they can feel comfortable.

Thank you for your attention. I am now open for any clarifications or questions.