EU Presidency Statement - Review of Peacekeeping Operations

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, and the EFTA Countries, members of the European Economic Area, Iceland and Liechtenstein align themselves with this statement.

Mr. Chairman,

At the outset I would like to thank the Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, for his presentation at the start of our session. In the past three years the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has undergone wide organizational changes, pursuant to the Brahimi report. While major reforms were made to the Department structure, processes and procedures, more needs to be done to build on this process. The planning, organization and management of UN peacekeeping operations still needs to be adapted to a challenging environment. Developments in New York need to be translated into improved operational effectiveness in the field. Member States should continue to support improvements to UN action in this crucial domain.

The European Union wishes to focus on a few priority issues. They all basically refer to the evolving nature of UN peacekeeping operations, which entails major consequences at both the policy and operational levels.

POLICY ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

Mr. Chairman,

The United Nations is increasingly called upon to launch peace operations of a complex and multidimensional nature. In such operations, there is a greater need for close cooperation between UN departments and organs as well as with other actors. Some operations under DPKO responsibility do not have a UN military component, but rather carry out a mandate alongside or following a regional or multi-national authorized force (MNF). The European Union urges the DPKO to develop close working relationships with these organizations.

One such example was the great progress in tangible co-operation between the European Union and the United Nations in peacekeeping this past year.

In particular, responsibilities were handed over from the UN International Police Task Force to the EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU Military Operation called "Artemis" was rapidly deployed in Bunia (Democratic Republic of Congo). The latter operation was decisive in supporting the UN peace operation (MONUC) in fulfilling its mandated tasks and allowing time to deploy credible UN forces in the region. Moreover, there was an excellent cooperation between the EU, the UN and the DRC authorities in order to re-establish a functioning legal system in Bunia. The EU is also considering ways to help establish an Integrated Police Unit in Kinshasa, in cooperation with the UN. Furthermore, EU Member States and the European Commission provided assistance for ECOWAS rapid deployment in Liberia, as called for by the United Nations.

Another example is cooperation between African regional or sub-regional organizations, in particular the African Union and ECOWAS, and the United Nations. The AU and ECOWAS have shown in Ivory Coast, Liberia and Burundi to be willing and capable of initiating and conducting peacekeeping missions either as a vanguard for a UN peacekeeping operation, or operating in instances where the UN is not militarily involved. The EU and its Member States continue to attach great importance to enhancing African peacekeeping capacities and are providing considerable financial support to African peace and security mechanisms and facilities, at the regional and sub-regional level.

The European Union invites the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to analyse and assess the lessons learned from these and similar cases of UN cooperation with regional organizations in crisis management operations.

Another area where more focussed attention is needed is the rule of law. The UN should ensure a comprehensive approach to the establishment of the rule of law in the mission areas. To this end, we support the strengthening of UN capacities in the rule of law, the enhancing of system-wide co-ordination within and outside the United Nations, and the improving of consultations with Member States to mobilize their available resources and expertise. Furthermore, the EU feels that rule-of-law elements should be included, as appropriate, in mission mandates. In this regard, we call for effective co-ordination in the planning of peacekeeping operations with civilian police, judicial and corrections components, and the formation of pre-deployment assessment teams comprised of all the rule-of-law elements, as appropriate. We welcome the offer by the Secretary-General to provide a report on the rule of law and look forward to assisting him in this endeavour.

The EU reiterates its support for the principle of gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping, particularly as set out in Security Council Resolution 1325. We note that further effort must be made, in line with this and other relevant Security Council Resolutions, to ensure that a gender approach is applied in all operations. We welcome the commitment to these principles shown by DPKO and other parts of UN Secretariat. We re-emphasize that adequate technical expertise is necessary for implementing gender mainstreaming, and in particular that the Secretariat should have proper back-up capacity to guide and support the needs of gender focal-points in the field. We look forward to receiving information on the activities of the gender position within the Best Practices Unit, and expectations for its future work.

Finally, the European Union would again like to request a broadening of the DPKO's information capacity and additional research and analysis. Such a capacity would establish a solid, comprehensive, and reliable instrument, which is indispensable to the planning of complex operations. In addition, we encourage strengthened and more systematic sharing of information and analysis between UN departments and organs.

OPERATIONAL ISSUES

The rapid changes in UN peace operations have led to new operational requirements that the UN must address.

Rapid deployment, mission support, materiel readiness and pre-deployment training require the establishment of appropriate management mechanisms, policies and procedures. This is particularly necessary when the UN establishes peacekeeping missions taking over from regional or multinational forces (as in the case of UNMIL in Liberia) or, conversely, when a transfer of responsibility takes place from UN to a regional or multinational force. In order to ensure deployment of peacekeeping contingents in a timely manner, properly equipped and trained for their tasks, the European Union calls on the Secretariat to review the policy and mechanisms for civilian and military pre-deployment training and ensure the effective use of the strategic deployment stocks for these purposes. In this context, we re-emphasize the need to build greater awareness among United Nations peacekeepers of their responsibilities under the Code of Conduct, and of HIV/AIDS prevention. We ask that the Secretariat report on the aforementioned issues at the next Special Committee.

We attach particular importance to the issue of civilian police and civilian personnel. Police personnel are deployed in about half the UN peace missions currently under way, while civilian personnel are present in all of them and their proportion is constantly growing. More attention should therefore be devoted to effective training, preparation and pre-deployment training of such personnel. In order to carry forward this goal, the Presidency in cooperation with the European Commission is organizing an international training Conference in Rome, dedicated to the memory of Anna Lindh, on 21-22 October. The Conference will look at concrete ways of cooperation among international and regional organizations. The EU looks forward to the Secretariat's report on the issue of privileges and immunities for civilian police and corrections personnel, as called for by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations in its report A/57/767.

We attach great importance to the safety and security of United Nations and associated personnel in peacekeeping operations. The safety and security of or humanitarian and other personnel working under the United Nations flag must be further ensured. It is crucial that future peacekeeping operations include this essential need in their mandates, to prevent and address any threats against personnel. The EU calls for reinforcing the authority of the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator and for closer coordination between this Office and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Mr. Chairman,

Peacekeeping will continue to be an important tool to manage crisis situations and bring about sustainable peace. However, it is nowadays increasingly important to see the whole continuum from conflict prevention, to crisis management-including peace-keeping-to peace building. In this regard, DDR plays an important role and should be dealt with in an integrated approach together with security sector reform and rule of law. Since interlinkages between these different phases are clear, a strategic approach, at the mission planning stage, is essential to enable smooth transitions from one phase to another. Moreover, DPKO should look into enhanced collaboration with other international actors who actively support additional components of a peace-building strategy.

Mr. Chairman,

The European Union is actively supporting and participating in peacekeeping operations from the Balkans to Africa. Conflict prevention and crisis management are essential components of the EU's contribution to the safeguarding of international peace and security. More than 40,000 men and women of the European Union are currently deployed on UN-led or UN-authorized peace operations in the world. We are determined to further develop and strengthen co-operation between the UN and the EU and its Member States in the field of peacekeeping. The Joint Declaration on UN-EU cooperation in civilian and military crisis management, recently signed in New York, is intended as a further tool at the UN's disposal to achieve its goals. It will contribute to deepening UN-EU cooperation and provide it with reliable, sustainable mechanisms in the areas of planning, training, communication and best practices. The European Union confirms its commitment to ensuring early, concrete follow-up to the Joint Declaration.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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