Summary: November 4, 2004: STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN UNION BY H.E. MR. DIRK JAN VAN DEN BERG, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE. Agenda-item 108: Programme budget for the bienium 2004-2005, Strengthening the safety and security system for the UN (New York)
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, and EFTA country Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.
First, allow me to thank the Secretary General for presenting his report A/59/365 on 1 November. He has outlined clearly the new and more menacing security environment in which the UN now has to operate and has presented a detailed plan for a new security management system. The abduction of three UN electoral workers in Afghanistan last week serves as a reminder of just how threatening the working environment has become for UN staff. Our thoughts are with their families and friends during this
distressing time.
We also thank the Chairman of the ACABQ, Vladimir Kuznetsov, for presenting the ACABQ report in A/59/539 and to USG Dileep Nair for presenting his report A/59/396 on the utilisation and management of funds appropriated during the 2002-3 biennium.
The EU has been alarmed by the serious deficiencies in the present system and shares the conviction of the Secretary General that a new strategy, a new mindset and new structures are needed that will allow UN staff to carry out their duties in greater safety. The importance of adequate security to the UN's ability to deliver its mandates, all of them, should not be under-estimated. We recognise that it is not possible to remove all the risks but it is possible to mitigate them and to
manage them in a responsible and co-ordinated manner without adopting a bunker mentality.
At our last session, the EU made clear our strong concerns that field security should be strengthened and that the Secretariat should be equipped with the right supporting structure at HQ. Particular issues that required attention in our view were an increased field presence of security professionals, enhanced threat assessment and risk analysis capabilities, rigorous monitoring of compliance with HMOSS and MOSS and adequate security -related training for all staff, both security professionals
and others, especially those in high risk duty stations. We have urged the SG to raise security awareness at all levels throughout the Organisation. We have insisted on clear reporting lines and on accountability at the highest levels. And we have argued for a co-ordinated approach across the UN system.
We support the Secretary General in his efforts to do just that. We are grateful to all those who have been involved in drawing up the proposals set out in this report and look forward to more detailed discussion with them in due course.
The Secretary General's report sets out clearly and convincingly the case for a unified and strengthened central structure at Headquarters. Security is too important to follow a piecemeal approach. In our view, it is more than time to establish a robust and effective system of professional security management that can be put into effect as soon as possible. The UN staff have the right to expect us to deliver this. The proposed new Directorate will ensure that security policy and procedures are
developed and managed in a consistent and robust manner across all Headquarters and duty stations and in the field. We must ensure clear lines of reporting and accountability on security, especially in complex missions where the Funds and Programmes and humanitarian agencies have their own security personnel in the field. Equally, we emphasise the importance of transparency with regard to the total costs of security throughout the system.
We welcome the emphasis on strengthening security in the field, including the focus on training. In particular, we welcome the proposals for a single accountable senior official in the field and the single reporting chain to the Director of Security. Moreover, we welcome the proposed strengthening of the safety and security measures and services at the UN headquarters and the other main UN locations as an important element for a strengthened and unified security management structure.
We have noted the comments of the ACABQ on staffing of the new structure at HQ and their proposals to remove a number of the middle management positions that the EU considers key for the establishment and implementation of what is a substantial reform of security management. We will seek further clarification from the ACABQ of their justification for such proposals and the implications thereof.
We do however share the ACABQ's doubts about the working relationship at HQ between the proposed new Directorate and the DPA and DPKO. We will wish in the informals to hear further detail on how these three Departments will work together, in particular with respect to threat assessment and compliance with MOSS of field offices and peacekeeping missions. The EU believes that all departments of the UN must work together to ensure that security policies and standards are developed and applied with
consistency. In this context we would welcome information on the conclusions of the recently concluded OIOS management audit of field security and will seek assurances that these have been taken into account in preparing the present report.
The EU will also wish to explore further the proposals that the proposed new Directorate would assume responsibility for personnel recruitment and procurement. We welcome the reassurance provided to the ACABQ that the proposal for a stand-by stock is not intended as the establishment of a separate logistics base. We have noted the ACABQ's recommendations that administrative support functions will continue to be split between 4 separate departments without additional reinforcement and will want
to explore the consequences of this compared to the Secretary General's proposal. We will also want to pursue further options for increasing training opportunities.
The proposals for additional security construction to ensure compliance with HMOSS will need to be considered both in the light of the OIOS report on the utilisation and management of the $56m requested in A/56/286, and on a update from the Secretariat on plans for expenditure of the $38m for which we gave commitment authority in June this year. We note that the proposals submitted in A/59/365 are based on recommendations of external security experts but also note with some concern the apparent
absence of prioritisation and the long time lags in some cases. OIOS and ACABQ have drawn attention to the serious delays in implementation of previously approved projects, in particular in Geneva. The EU will require firm reassurances from the Secretariat that when funds are requested for urgent infrastructure work, they are indeed committed and utilised with urgency. This does not so far seem to be the case.
We will also seek clarification as to the implications of the CMP for the proposals for a global access control system and ICT business continuity plans as they relate to the NY HQ.
The Secretary General has proposed a change to the current cost-sharing arrangements for field security. The EU takes note of the views of the ACABQ on this issue and looks forward to an informed exchange of views based on more detailed explanations from the Secretariat on the weaknesses of the present system and means to overcome them. In principle, the EU is of the view that financing of the safety and security of the United Nations at the headquarters and in the field should be clear,
predictable and secure. In this context and in particular with regard to co-financing of security at the headquarters in New York and Vienna, the EU would like to highlight the importance that all bodies participating in these arrangements honour their obligations in full and on time.
Mr Chairman,
The budget proposals contained in A/59/365 Addendum 1 are complex and will require careful consideration. But let me assure you that the EU will approach informal consultations on this issue in a constructive manner. Our positions will be governed by our firm conviction that we, the Member States, owe it to the UN staff to provide the appropriate resources for their safety and security.
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