Sixtieth session Agenda item 32 Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations Report of the Secretary-General Summary In its 2005 report the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on progress made in the implementation of the recommendations contained therein. The present report reviews progress in the context of an assessment of United Nations peacekeeping reform over the past five years. The report considers the evolution of global peacekeeping in that period and the current challenges that United Nations peacekeeping faces to effectively support and strengthen transitions from conflict to sustainable peace. It proposes an agenda to meet these challenges based on five priority areas for reform — partnerships, doctrine, people, organization and resources — and invites the Special Committee to consider this agenda at its forthcoming session. The report includes an annex detailing the progress of the Secretariat in implementing the recommendations made by the Special Committee at its 2005 resumed session on a comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations. A supplementary matrix (A/60/640/Add.1) provides further details on the implementation of each recommendation of the Special Committee. I. Introduction 1. The report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations of 17 August 2000 (see A/55/305-S/2000/809), under the chairmanship of Lakhdar Brahimi, was the first comprehensive review, in over 50 years of peacekeeping, of the Organization’s capacities and procedures for planning and conducting peace operations. The impetus for my decision to request that report was the sudden surge, in 1999, in global peacekeeping demands, and careful reflection on lessons learned from difficult experiences of United Nations peacekeeping operations in the mid-1990s. With the guidance of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, many of the recommendations of the report of the Panel were translated into a substantive plan of reform for United Nations peacekeeping (A/55/502 and A/C.4/55/6). 2. In 2003, a new and sustained surge in demand for United Nations peacekeeping began. Over the past two and a half years complex peace operations have been launched in Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Liberia and the Sudan. The peace operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was significantly expanded while, over the course of 2005, United Nations operations in Timor-Leste and Sierra Leone underwent major transitions towards longer-term peacebuilding. The bulk of United Nations peacekeepers, having successfully fulfilled their mandate, will withdraw from those two countries by early 2006. In Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq and Liberia the United Nations supported national elections and is currently assisting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti in election preparations. As of December 2005, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations directs 16 peacekeeping operations and two other peace operations. It provides administrative and logistics support for an additional 13 United Nations special political missions and offices around the world, as well as to the African Union Mission in Darfur, the Sudan. The total number of uniformed personnel in the field currently stands at approximately 70,100. Civilian personnel number 15,000. 3. I wish, at the outset, to express my sincere gratitude to those Member States and individuals who commit their resources and skills in the service of peace and, in particular, to welcome those countries that have become contributors to United Nations peacekeeping for the first time in 2005. Their engagement means survival and the prospect of a life free of fear for millions of men, women and children around the world. It is a commitment that can demand great sacrifice. I pay tribute to the 118 peacekeepers who paid the price with their lives in 2005. 4. The challenges presented by this latest period of rapid increase in United Nations peace operations have dominated the attention of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. That four complex peace operations were planned and launched in 2004 alone and preparations for the conclusion of two established complex peace operations were set in motion in 2005 is a demonstrable indication of the improved capacity of the Secretariat to plan, direct, support and transition out of peace operations. This is a direct result of the peacekeeping reforms that have been undertaken, with the cooperation of Member States, over the past five years. Nevertheless, the focus on operational challenges has meant that the Secretariat has had less opportunity to address some of the long-term, institutional development elements of the reform agenda. It has also prevented us from collectively addressing the evolving agenda of global peacekeeping, identifying key forthcoming challenges and the ways United Nations peacekeeping can best address them. 5. Five years after the launch of the United Nations peacekeeping reform process, in a year when the Organization considered how the United Nations could be best equipped to meet the needs and challenges of the twenty-first century, it is now incumbent upon us to set the agenda for the next 5 to 10 years of United Nations peacekeeping. At the core of this agenda are five objectives: (a) to improve our ability to support and strengthen a fragile peace once the Security Council has taken the decision to establish a United Nations peace operation; (b) to enhance the security and safety of the uniformed and civilian personnel who are taking great risks in the field; (c) to ensure that we manage the resources entrusted to us by Member States in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible and are held to account against the highest standards of integrity; (d) to increase the sum and quality of global peacekeeping by working with and in support of regional peacekeeping capabilities; and (e) to prevent United Nations peacekeepers, by their presence or actions, from having any negative impact on populations and countries where they are deployed. 6. The present report proposes the basis of an agenda for the consideration of the Special Committee. Section II assesses the implementation of peacekeeping reforms over the past five years. Section III addresses the evolution of global peacekeeping and the challenges that we now face to effectively support and strengthen transitions from conflict to sustainable peace. Section IV outlines an agenda of five priorities to meet these challenges. Given the consideration by the Special Committee in 2005 of the report of my Special Adviser on sexual exploitation and abuse, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of Jordan, “A comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations” (see A/59/710), the present report includes an annex detailing the progress of the Secretariat in implementing the recommendations of the Special Committee. In response to positive feedback from the Special Committee, I am again submitting a supplementary matrix (A/60/640/Add.1) that provides further details on all recommendations contained in the Special Committee’s 2005 report (A/59/19/Rev.1). II. Status of reform 7. The reform plan that has shaped the agenda of United Nations peacekeeping since 2000 has brought substantial improvements to the way we plan, launch and direct peace operations. United Nations peacekeeping is more consistently directed at situations for which it is designed, in support of a peace process and with the basic consent of the parties. The mandates of United Nations peacekeeping operations now leave no ambiguity about the duties of peacekeepers, within their means, to protect civilians under imminent threat, promote human rights and target essential elements for immediate post-conflict stabilization. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, rule of law and quick-impact projects are core aspects of this effort. The Secretariat now has a defined system for rapid deployment and, with the strategic deployment stocks and the provision of a pre-mandate commitment, materiel and financial tools to facilitate it. In this regard, the establishment and replenishment of mission start-up kits, which now include a mission headquarters start-up, at the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, has been particularly important. The revision of financial regulations and rules in 2003 and of the Procurement Manual in 2004 has streamlined procedures and made them more field-oriented. Systems contracts have been renewed and expanded to cover a broader range of equipment under contractual arrangements. Field missions have been given greater flexibility in the management of their budgets and in their capacity to procure locally. 8. Increased staff levels have strengthened Headquarters capacity to plan and support operations. The additional military planners, police, political officers and logistics and finance experts recruited in 2002-2003, after a comprehensive assessment by external management consultants of appropriate staffing levels, have been important in managing the latest surge of new missions, although this task has deflected such staff from the training, planning and policy-development tasks they were initially envisaged to undertake. The separation of military and police functions and the establishment of a Criminal Law and Judicial Advisory Unit introduced new capacities in the area of rule of law. The Secretariat now has specialist expertise in the cross-cutting areas of gender, HIV/AIDS and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. The creation of a Peacekeeping Best Practices Section is helping the Secretariat to become a learning organization, drawing on lessons and best practices from previous and current peace operations, Member States’ experiences, regional organizations and other peacekeeping partners. Best practices officers and focal points are in place in seven United Nations peace operations. 9. One essential success in the reform agenda is improved cooperation between the Secretariat and troop-contributing countries. The creation of dedicated capacity for force generation has provided a focal point for almost daily formal and informal contact with troop-contributing countries. Likewise, the Police Division is in regular contact with those countries providing police personnel. In 2005 the Department of Peacekeeping Operations initiated a series of informal briefings and meetings with the Special Committee, which have provided opportunities for early and transparent consultation on key policy issues. Informal working groups of the Special Committee have been established to assist in implementing and elaborating its recommendations with regard to issues such as the standing police capacity concept. The input and guidance of Member States benefits the quality of the Secretariat’s work and facilitates the early sharing of information and commitments. 10. These reforms amount to a substantial record of progress in United Nations peacekeeping. There are six areas, however, where the rate of reform has not matched the demands of a rapidly changing global peacekeeping environment, as set out below. United Nations standby arrangements 11. The reform of the United Nations Standby Arrangements System (UNSAS) was a central element in the effort to increase the capability of the United Nations to rapidly deploy military and police personnel. This reform comprised three elements: regular communication between participants and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on the status of national commitments in UNSAS; arrangements for the provision of specialized enabling resources and strategic lift capabilities to UNSAS; and the commitment of brigade-sized forces to UNSAS by regional organizations. Some good progress has been made with regard to improving communication with Member States, including revised templates for quarterly updates on the status of committed national resources and the creation of a military on-call list for staff officers and military observers. 12. There has been little progress, however, in other areas. Few Member States have signed on to arrangements to participate in the rapid deployment level added to UNSAS in 2002. The weakness of the UNSAS rapid deployment mechanism was evident in the launch of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS). Despite almost one year of pre-mandate planning for the operation, including through the deployment of an advance mission, no Member State expressed interest in elaborating draft memorandums of understanding in advance of a Security Council mandate. The on-call list of 100 United Nations police has not had a significant impact in accelerating the deployment of police to new operations. The provision of specialized enabling resources to UNSAS also remains problematic, particularly strategic airlift capacities to move troops and contingent-owned equipment to and from mission areas. Although the 2005 World Summit Outcome (see resolution 60/1) reiterated the call for regional organizations to consider putting their peacekeeping capabilities under United Nations standby arrangements, no regional entity has, to date, responded to that appeal. In the light of this mixed record of reform in standby arrangements, I share the view of the Special Committee that a comprehensive review of UNSAS is required. Civilian personnel 13. The recruitment and retention of qualified, motivated and disciplined civilian peacekeeping staff have proved difficult. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations, in cooperation with the Office of Human Resources Management, has taken a comprehensive approach to identifying human resource needs and has begun to establish generic job profiles and vacancy announcements as a starting point for the development of rosters of pre-vetted and qualified personnel in a wide variety of occupational groups deployed in United Nations peace operations. While the Galaxy system has been fully deployed for advertising Headquarters and mission posts, refinements are required to facilitate the electronic screening of almost 150,000 applications received this year. Further delegation of administrative and recruitment authority to managers in the field is also under way. These efforts are hampered, however, by onerous rules and non-competitive regulations and conditions of service that apply to civilian peacekeeping staff, despite the urgent recruitment needs of current operations. Policy doctrine and development 14. While some progress has been made in developing principles and policies, the focus on managing the most recent surge has prevented the Secretariat from being able to apply the military, police and civilian resources and expertise required to put in place a mechanism for the elaboration, promulgation and dissemination of United Nations policies and practices in peacekeeping. At the same time, the growing complexity of peacekeeping mandates is expanding the range of issues for which clear and consistent policies are required. Integrated planning and the role of integrated mission task forces 15. The integrated mission task force concept represented an ambitious mechanism by which integrated planning would be conducted with all United Nations partners throughout the life cycle of a complex peace operation. While the mechanism has functioned well as a forum for information exchange, it has been less successful at providing strategic planning and management, in part because its most crucial innovation, the secondment of staff with decision-making authority, is a resource-heavy commitment that is difficult to implement. The Special Committee has underscored its belief that there is scope for better integrated planning and coordination at Headquarters and in the field. Strategic analysis and information and the role of information technology 16. The report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations argued that successful mission planning and management required the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to have adequate capability for strategic information and analysis. Member States decided that a separate information and analysis unit was not required. There was, however, broad agreement that the Secretariat needed to make better use of information technology (IT) systems in directing and managing peace operations around the world. IT is crucial for supporting the flow of information and knowledge management between Headquarters and the field. In modern field operations it is a vital tool in the collection, analysis and dissemination of information on which the safety and security of personnel are hugely dependent. IT is also a central part of effective communication with the local population in mission areas, as well as with the public in troop-contributing countries and beyond, a task which the Special Committee has underscored. While good progress has been made in increasing public information capacities in the field, resource considerations have prevented the development of comprehensive IT and public information strategies at Headquarters. Organization and management culture 17. The reform process initiated in 2000 brought substantive organizational and management change to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. These reforms have contributed to Headquarters planning and support and to more delegation of authority to field missions. But challenges remain in ensuring the presence of the necessary expertise in the field for successful delegation; overcoming stovepiped approaches to the field at Headquarters; assisting senior staff in rationalizing administrative management to devote more energy to strategic management and midterm planning; increasing accountability; and maximizing the potential of technical expertise, particularly military and police, in directing and supporting the full range of tasks undertaken in complex missions. III. Challenges for United Nations peacekeeping 18. There are five pressing reasons why we now need to address outstanding areas of progress as a matter of urgency. The first reason is to ensure the success of our current missions and the safety and security of our personnel. In operating at full capacity, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is forced to thinly stretch personnel, logistics and financial resources at Headquarters and in the field. In best-case scenarios, this strategy is acceptable. In a number of the operations where United Nations military, police and civilian personnel are deployed today, however, such scenarios do not always predominate. There is, instead, evidence of worst-case behaviour from factions that remain outside a peace process; from ex-combatants frustrated at the failure of a peace agreement to generate immediate returns; from criminal gangs that exploit conflict for their own, lucrative, ends; and from individuals and groups that stand to lose power and influence in the changed political arrangements that a peace process typically ushers in. The presence of such actors poses serious risks for the safety and security of United Nations peacekeeping personnel. The Special Committee has repeatedly expressed its concern about the precarious security environment that prevails in many field missions. Precisely because United Nations peacekeepers are stretched on the ground, it is incumbent on the Secretariat to have adequate and professional capacity to plan for and address contingencies that may arise and thereby ensure the safety and the success of the mission and its personnel. We have made good progress in some important areas, particularly with the development of a model for joint operations centres and joint mission analysis centres and their impending establishment in all multidimensional missions. Further strengthening of our capacity to safely negotiate insecure environments is required, including through the improved use of information technology in the field. 19. The second reason is to ensure that the high standards of accountability and conduct we have collectively set for United Nations peacekeepers are not undermined by weak oversight and lack of guidance or discipline. The revelations of sexual exploitation and abuse in a number of United Nations peacekeeping operations that were addressed in the report of my Special Adviser on the issue were a shameful reminder of what can go wrong when systems of guidance and oversight are not in place. The Special Committee’s consideration of that report, and the raft of reforms that we have agreed to implement as a result, demonstrates the progress that can be made in increasing accountability and discipline in United Nations peace operations. However, we have a considerable way to go, and we cannot wait for damaging revelations of misconduct to be the driver of progress. 20. The third reason is to maximize effective financial and resource management. We need to retain the confidence of Member States that resources are used in a cost-effective and responsible manner, particularly as we continue to adapt peacekeeping procurement and financial mechanisms to be more flexible in response to the needs of complex and often large field operations. The more we delegate to the field, the more confident we need to be that effective reporting and oversight mechanisms are in place. 21. The fourth reason why we must improve in those areas that remain weak is to adapt to and better address future peacekeeping challenges. It is not only the number of peace operations around the world that is growing; the scope of the tasks of peace operations is also increasing. In many cases we operate in parts of the world where the State either has collapsed or is severely weakened. United Nations peacekeepers are often called upon to take the lead in providing security and public order for local populations. These tasks include countering violent threats to peace and disarming and demobilizing ex-combatants. They also include the protection of civilians; the protection of key installations and infrastructure; and assisting in the reform and establishment of national security institutions such as the army and the police. 22. It is not only the security tasks of peacekeeping operations that have expanded; we are collectively confronting the reality that security is only one part of the quest for a self-sustaining peace. The establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund reflects this recognition. Peacebuilding cannot start upon the conclusion of a peacekeeping operation. It is not an exit strategy for United Nations peacekeepers, but the guiding principle of our entry. Even in the process of initial stabilization we must begin to treat the symptoms of chronic deprivation and start the long-term effort of building a sustainable peace. This is leading us to undertake a broader range of tasks in United Nations peace operations, to support and assist local capacities in areas such as public administration, restructuring of rule-of-law institutions and local governance. It is also leading us to give greater consideration to the question of how we can better engage and work with the local communities whose ownership is essential to successful peacebuilding. We need to have the skills to plan and carry out these non-military tasks effectively at the outset. 23. The fifth reason is that United Nations peacekeeping must be able to work effectively with the increased range of actors, both United Nations and non-United Nations, involved in peacebuilding. The engagement of regional arrangements in peacekeeping, in particular, is to be welcomed as offering new opportunities to make a net gain in our collective ability to promote peace and security under the responsibilities of the Charter of the United Nations. To take advantage of this potential, and to faithfully uphold the responsibilities of the United Nations in the maintenance of peace and security, we must actively engage with our partners. Global, equitable and comprehensive peace operations require shared understanding, common standards and frameworks for cooperation. The Secretariat can play an important role in setting these standards and in facilitating effective partnerships among regional organizations. IV. Meeting the challenges: adaptation, flexibility and professionalism 24. To successfully meet these challenges and achieve the objectives of United Nations peacekeeping, I am proposing an agenda of five priority areas where I believe we need to concentrate our collective efforts: partnerships, doctrine, people, organization and resources. A number of these elements have already been identified by the Special Committee. I would invite the Committee, at its forthcoming session, to explore with the Secretariat how we can best take forward the implementation of this agenda. Partnerships 25. The essence — and the challenge — of complex peace operations, as the Special Committee has pointed out, is the integration of all parts of the United Nations system in the planning and delivery of field operations. The breadth of capacities that the United Nations system can bring to a post-conflict context is unparalleled: our record of maximizing this potential, however, has been mixed. In July 2005 my Policy Committee initiated a substantial new drive to make integration the guiding principle of United Nations peace operations. 26. One key initiative is to implement integrated planning at Headquarters and in the field at all phases of a peace operation, from pre-mandate preparation to mission start-up, mandate implementation, periodic review and closure. Comprehensive integrated planning will enhance the Secretariat’s capacity to identify responsibilities for implementation and improve accountability in the field. I have set out new guidance on integrated missions to assist in clarifying the authority, roles and responsibilities of different members of the United Nations system. This is an important step in facilitating greater coherence in integrated missions and in delineating the areas where we need to establish better frameworks for establishing and coordinating priorities. One clear example of this is the need to balance the imperative to provide a peace dividend through, for example, quick-impact projects, with the need to set in motion long-term capacity-building programmes that are at the heart of sustainable peacebuilding. As part of this coordination effort, we need to agree on detailed guidelines on how we cooperate with our humanitarian and development partners in the sequencing and the implementation of priorities. 27. The inter-agency review of the integrated mission planning process is the first step in implementing this commitment and is due to be completed in the first half of 2006. As recommended by the Special Committee, an integrated mission planning process handbook and training course for all stakeholders will be important tools in helping disseminate the revised process and will be among priority products of the review. The input of Member States will be an important step to ensure the quality and effectiveness of these tools. 28. In order to achieve maximum impact in post-conflict countries, we need to bring together the distinct capabilities of the different parts of the United Nations system in a coherent way. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations, for example, has particular expertise in military and police-related areas of peace operations. Yet these are not the only tasks required in a complex peace operation — human rights, elections, capacity-building and humanitarian and development activities are all critical components of a sustainable recovery process. Against this backdrop we need to forge strategic partnerships within the United Nations system that build on complementarities while reducing overlaps between the different actors. This is particularly the case for cross-cutting tasks such as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, rule of law, security-sector reform, public administration and support for political processes. While the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has functional expertise in these areas, none of them can be neatly segmented: the experiences of the integrated disarmament, demobilization and reintegration standards and the Mine Action Service have demonstrated how each United Nations partner brings different skills and input to the collective endeavour. We need to identify key partners in post-conflict contexts and the types of partnership arrangements needed to synergize activities in different functional areas. Security-sector reform in post-conflict countries is a particular area where the relevant United Nations partners must elaborate a strategic framework for coordinated action, based on the identification of existing competencies and expertise as well as the means for their effective deployment. 29. The emergence of regional organizations as peacekeeping actors in their own right offers substantial opportunities for partnership with the United Nations. In September 2005 the World Summit affirmed the importance of our relationship, and we already enjoy substantial operational cooperation with a range of regional actors. The challenge is to translate this experience into predictable frameworks for cooperation in peace operations. One mechanism is the negotiation of arrangements for cooperation, as we have already undertaken with the European Union, in areas such as common peacekeeping standards, joint training and exercises, communications and best practices. Such mechanisms could include, as the 2005 World Summit proposed, arrangements for the provision of regional capacities in support of United Nations peace operations. We have discussed possible frameworks for our cooperation in the past. I believe that now it is time to move ahead and implement these arrangements. There is no one-size-fits all approach. I thus propose to take up with each interested partner the elaboration of concrete modalities for operational cooperation in peacekeeping. 30. In this context, the Special Committee has underscored the need to further deepen the relationship between the United Nations and the African Union (AU). The Secretariat has been actively supporting the enhancement of African peacekeeping capacities for some time now. This includes the training of African military and police personnel, the systematic identification and evaluation of AU needs and support for the development of AU planning and management capacities, including the establishment of an AU situation centre. The United Nations Assistance Cell set up of AU headquarters in October 2004 is intended to provide specific planning and management support for the AU Mission in Darfur. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations has deployed military, finance, logistics and police experts to the Assistance Cell in support of the AU Mission. 31. To date, however, Secretariat support for AU has been provided in an ad hoc way, driven by contingencies rather than strategy, administered by different people and contact points, and enabled by resources intended for the running of the United Nations Secretariat. No dedicated staff are assigned to this partnership, and there is no specific budget dedicated to it. The Special Committee has specifically recommended a longer-term programme that would include staff exchanges and secondments and the provision of a core planning and advisory capacity to AU. The commitment of the 2005 World Summit to establish a 10-year AU capacity-building plan is an opportunity to realize a strategic, long-term partnership. AU has already indicated to the United Nations the areas in which it would like to move this partnership forward and has placed particular emphasis on support for the enhancement of AU peacekeeping capacities. To meet this request, I propose to create within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations a dedicated full-time capacity that could serve as a single point of contact for AU and other partners on matters related to AU peacekeeping. This capacity would be the source for setting capacity-building strategies, coordinating and implementing assistance and support related to peacekeeping. It would be interdisciplinary and include experts in identified priority areas such as logistics, training, doctrine, and strategic and operational planning. Doctrine 32. Meeting the challenges of the future, and working successfully in partnerships, requires us to define and clearly articulate what United Nations peacekeeping can do, and how. This is the first step towards establishing standards for United Nations peacekeeping that can be translated into guidance for missions and staff in the field. While every peacekeeping experience is unique, an enormous amount of experience has been garnered over decades of United Nations peacekeeping. The Special Committee has repeatedly recommended that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations systematically collect best practices from a wide variety of field, national and regional sources and use them to develop generic peacekeeping policies, procedures and guidelines. 33. In 2005 we embarked on a comprehensive effort to implement the Committee’s recommendation. Given the enormous ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding the most basic precepts of peacekeeping, this task is an enormous challenge. What do we mean by terms such as “robust peacekeeping”, and what does this mean for a police officer or soldier serving in a United Nations mission? Does it involve similar tasks from mission to mission? What are the conditions under which we adopt particular approaches to the protection of civilians? What is involved in tasks such as support for the extension of State authority, and what guidance can a civilian peacekeeper rely on to assist him/her in carrying out advisory and support tasks in, for example, strengthening of the rule of law? The mandates of United Nations peacekeeping operations do not provide the sort of detailed guidance that personnel need in the field. The terminology used is a subject of debate, as the Special Committee has pointed out. Do we agree that “peace operations” is a term that describes multidimensional operations with wide mandates that include capacity for robust response in support of political, humanitarian and development actions to secure a sustainable peace? And are we agreed that this description is a more accurate reflection of the functions of United Nations peacekeeping today? These are fundamental questions that we must address as we embark on a new agenda to improve the way we collectively respond to conflicts in our world today. The Special Committee has a particular role to play in this debate, given the focus of its work and the expertise its members bring to bear on issues related to peacekeeping. 34. The guidance project of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations offers a framework for this endeavour. It has three key components: first, the completion of an inventory of existing written practice in peacekeeping tasks, mission management and support; second, the prioritization of areas in need of further policy development and the tasking of the drafting of such guidance materials; and third, the establishment of a system for the review of guidance materials and their dissemination to the missions. The products of this substantial, multi-year task will be fed into and shape the training, performance and evaluation of staff and will include the objective of facilitating mission management and interaction. It will be a living doctrine that adapts to ongoing experiences and conditions. Putting it in place will require the active commitment and support of Member States and willingness to share experiences, policies and guidelines for peacekeeping in each of the three components. I invite the Special Committee to explore with the Secretariat how practical mechanisms for such engagement might be put in place. Personnel 35. Almost six decades of United Nations peacekeeping have demonstrated that the success of our collective enterprise depends on the people who constitute it. Despite the length of this experience and the recognition that peacekeeping is a core function of the Organization, the United Nations has not properly established and invested in the development of professional civilian peacekeepers. Of the 5,117 internationally recruited staff members currently serving in United Nations peace operations, 4,087 hold appointments of one year or less for service limited to a particular operation or office, and 695 are on assignment from other parts of the United Nations system. Only 335 have Field Service Officer status with conditions of service that constitute recognition of, the unique responsibilities for rapid deployment, mobility and hardship service routinely expected of field staff. 36. These conditions pose significant challenges to the recruitment and retention of highly qualified, professional, capable and accountable staff and leadership. Renewed efforts are now required to meet this goal: targeted planning and efforts to meet identified human resource needs, based on assessments of evolved needs of the past decade and projects for the medium term; harmonized and appropriate conditions of service; delivery of effective training and work experience opportunities to develop staff to meet the needs of peacekeeping; streamlined human resources systems, rules, regulations and salary and benefit packages that ensure timely and accountable administration and management; and effective conduct and discipline systems that ensure the highest standards of behaviour and accountability. Civilian personnel 37. The absence of a core of professional peacekeepers poses the greatest challenge to meeting the complex demands of existing and future peace operations. As the tasks of peace operations evolve and expand, experienced, skilled civilians play a central role in the design and implementation of mission mandates. We have so far failed to put in place a stable career service for civilian staff in the field. Without job security or opportunities for development we lose the best individuals and fail to institutionalize a body of knowledge, skills and leadership that can benefit future peace operations, particularly at the start-up phase of a mission, when rapid deployment of experienced staff is crucial. As part of Secretariat management reform, I have initiated a review of conditions of service across the United Nations system to explore how we can harmonize conditions of service and increase mobility across the United Nations system and adapt staffing rules and regulations to meet the needs of a complex Organization. As requested by the General Assembly, the Secretariat will submit to it during the resumed part of its sixtieth session a report on the reform of the Field Service category and at its sixty-first session a report on conditions of service for staff serving in the field. Mission leadership 38. The Special Committee has drawn attention to the need for rapid selection and training of mission leadership. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is currently developing a policy directive for the appointment of senior leaders which includes detailed job descriptions and required competencies such as experience in leadership and management, knowledge of the region/country and commitment to effective integration of United Nations efforts. This directive takes due account of the importance of establishing geographical and gender representation considerations in selecting staff for senior leadership positions and sets out mandatory training requirements for senior leadership. The Senior Leadership Induction Programme, initiated in June 2005, is a mandatory one-week course for all mission leadership. The Secretariat stands ready to discuss issues of senior leadership and selection with the Special Committee during its session. Training 39. In response to the request of the Special Committee to establish a single, multidimensional training unit, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has created the Integrated Training Service (ITS). ITS comprises the Training and Evaluation Service of the Military Division, the Civilian Training Section of the Office of Mission Support and assets from the Police Division and will be the focal point at Headquarters for the integrated training centres now established in many field missions. ITS is currently elaborating a strategy for an integrated Department-wide policy which will include general induction training, training in cross-cutting areas, such as conduct and discipline, and specialist functional training. 40. ITS will build on and in turn inform ongoing work in doctrine and guidance, lessons learned and best practices and the conduct and discipline processes. Training, guidance and best practices constitute, in effect, a triangular relationship that will collectively produce more than the sum of its individual parts. The success of these intertwined elements, and in particular ITS, depends on the input and experiences of Member States, regional organizations and national and regional peacekeeping training centres. The existing standard training modules illustrate the positive benefits of close cooperation and provide the basis on which ITS will build. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations proposes to establish a mechanism with interested Member States and regional organizations for exchanging training materials and, where appropriate, elaborating common guidelines and training courses. In addition, ITS will establish an integrated training team of trainers to support United Nations training for African and emerging contributing countries. It is proposed that this training team be located at the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, from where it will also support field mission training. The Secretariat looks forward to discussing integrated training further with the Special Committee at its 2006 session. Conduct and discipline 41. The Special Committee’s comprehensive recommendations on the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse in its 2005 report merit a substantive response, and to that end, further details on the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations are contained in the annex to the present report. One achievement that I would like to single out, however, is the creation of conduct discipline teams here at Headquarters and in eight peacekeeping operations. These teams provide oversight, policy development and guidance on all conduct and discipline issues affecting peacekeeping personnel, as well as tracking misconduct cases. They are a crucial step forward in addressing conduct issues in a systematic and comprehensive manner, and an essential resource to assist leadership in discharging managerial and command responsibilities. 42. To support field teams, elaborate and monitor policies, procedures and guidelines for conduct and discipline, and serve as an interface for troop-contributing countries, I am proposing to transform the present Headquarters team into a permanent, integrated conduct and discipline unit in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Organization 43. The Special Committee last year posed a very important question: to what extent does the complexity of peacekeeping mandates affect the operational efficiency of peacekeeping missions? The breadth of the tasks that United Nations peacekeepers now undertake, and the efficiency and cohesion that successful implementation demands, raises fundamental challenges for the organization and conduct of peace operations. If integrated multidimensional operations are to be efficient, cohesive and accountable, then their structures and processes need to reflect these goals. Every field mission is organized in distinct ways that reflect the context in which it operates, and promoting rigid uniformity across missions would be counterproductive. At the same time, a basic degree of predictability in set-up, structure and processes would considerably assist the efficiency and cohesiveness of field operations and make it easier for incoming personnel to effectively integrate and perform. One way of facilitating this is to build on past experience and lessons to elaborate mission templates. While it is vital that templates be flexible, their elaboration will nonetheless provide field mission managers with generic organizational structures, based on best practices and lessons learned, that can help them be effective, efficient and accountable. Templates will also be a useful tool in facilitating communication and cooperation between missions. Some of the essential components of mission templates are already being put in place in the field, such as conduct and discipline teams, integrated training units, best practice officers and focal points, and joint operations centres and joint mission analysis centres. 44. Another area where we stand to make significant improvements in balancing mandate complexity with operational efficiency is in the periodic review and assessment of mission performance. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations already has some capacity for evaluating military and police components of peacekeeping missions and monitoring the implementation of related recommendations. The Secretariat will continue to work to strengthen this capacity, which provides important support to senior mission leadership and to Headquarters in managing the challenges of complex peace operations. 45. Cohesive integrated field missions demand a cohesive integrated Headquarters. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations has benefited from increased military, police and specialist civilian expertise and is functionally stronger today than in the past. We need to continue and institutionalize this trend, ensuring that we have the appropriate expertise at Headquarters to provide support across the broad range of military and non-military functions of complex peace operations and giving functional experts the prominence they should have in the planning and management of field missions. Professionalism and efficiency require cohesive cooperation across all functional areas of expertise. Valuable time and resources can be squandered in separate, multiple consultation processes. Worse still, the absence of cohesive planning and support processes can lead to gaps in oversight or omissions that may undermine the success of a mission. The institutionalization of generic cross-departmental support capacities in training, guidance, conduct and discipline is an important step forward in providing the cohesive, accountable and efficient Headquarters that complex field operations demand. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations must continue to adapt its processes and structures over the course of the next five years to maximize this trend, institutionalize knowledge and experience, make the most of scarce resources and provide efficient, cohesive support to field operations. Such adaptation is also an important component in realizing transparent, efficient partnerships with Member States, United Nations partners and regional organizations. 46. In 2006 the Secretariat will continue to explore how best to configure the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to meet these objectives. I look forward to engaging with Member States in this effort, many of which have grappled with similar challenges in equipping domestic structures to negotiate the challenges of peace operations. The experiences of many national systems in establishing integrated planning and support capacities for global field operations may provide useful insights and best practices on how to address the challenge of engaging diverse political, military, police, specialist civilian, logistics, financial, personnel and public information support expertise at Headquarters so as to maximize the cohesion and effectiveness of support for the field throughout the mission cycle. Resources 47. United Nations peacekeeping stands or falls on the provision of sufficient capacity to implement given mandates. Resources should be used cost-effectively and accountably, while their management should be constantly improving. Adapting United Nations rules and regulations to enable greater efficiencies in the administration of a global field organization is one of the elements that we need to explore and a central component of my management reforms. This would enable the Secretariat to reallocate existing resources where needs arise in a flexible, efficient and transparent manner, without incurring new costs every time a new task arises. 48. Where Member States invest scarce resources, we have an obligation to maximize their impact. This requires timely action based on risk and cost assessments and innovative processes that are flexible and cost-effective. One of the examples where the Secretariat has tried to adapt clearly identified needs to limited resources is in relation to rapidly deployable police and military capabilities. The need is demonstrably urgent and acknowledged by Member States. The solutions we have proposed, however, attempt to balance this need with budgetary realities. The Secretariat did not propose large numbers of on-call reserves, but instead focused on creating small, professional, targeted competencies in the areas where they are most required. The standing police capacity proposal and proposals for an enhanced rapidly deployable military reserve capacity reflect these objectives. Ultimately, however, cost-effective United Nations peacekeeping requires us to collectively decide what the priorities are for future peace operations, so that we can position and use innovatively limited resources accordingly. Is the development of African peacekeeping capacities a central objective in the next 5 to 10 years? Do civilian specialist capacities need to be targeted? Are we sufficiently resourced to communicate with the wider body of public opinion in host countries, as well as in our home countries? If we believe these are urgent priorities, resources need to be directed to these goals. The Secretariat’s task is to use them responsibly and efficiently to maximum effect. Standing police capacity 49. Substantial advances notwithstanding, the demand for skilled police personnel to implement the mandates of contemporary peace operations in public security- security sector reform, re-establishment of the rule of law and local capacity- building far outstrips current capacities. To meet this demand, I proposed the creation of a standing police capacity, an initiative that was endorsed at the World Summit in September 2005. 50. Throughout 2005 the Department of Peacekeeping Operations worked closely with Member States to further elaborate the standing police capacity concept. The standing police capacity will initially be composed of 25 professional experts, supported by two administrative support posts serving for a period of two to three years. Its functions will be twofold: to provide rapid start-up of the United Nations police component in new peace operations, including serving as the initial United Nations police headquarters in the start-up phase of an operation; and to assist United Nations police components in existing peace operations, including through operational audits and specialist assistance in the areas of police management and local capacity-building. 51. The standing police capacity will function as a cohesive team, reporting through a director to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations Police Adviser. The decision to deploy it rests with the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, and, once deployed to a field operation, it will report to the mission Police Commissioner. The majority of the standing police capacity’s time will be spent in the field, normally on assignments of about three to four months. I propose that in order to facilitate maximum coherence, its duty station, for the first year of operation at least, be New York. At the conclusion of the first year, the Secretariat will undertake a review of the standing police capacity to assess its functioning and whether further adaptation and expansion of the initiative is required. 52. I hope that during its forthcoming session the Special Committee will once again positively consider the standing police capacity proposal. Were it to be approved, the Secretariat would propose to begin immediate competitive recruitment with a view to deploying the standing police capacity on its first assignment in the second half of 2006. Recruitment will be pursued through Member States’ national nomination systems and the Galaxy system. Job descriptions, recruitment and selection guidelines and training programmes are currently being elaborated by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Enhanced rapidly deployable military capabilities 53. The lack of depth in the military capacities of United Nations peacekeeping is a considerable source of concern. The Special Committee has recognized the importance of adequate reserve capacity while the 2005 World Summit noted the need for enhanced rapidly deployable capacities for peace operations facing serious challenges or crises. Despite this, Member States did not endorse the Secretariat’s strategic reserve proposal. I remain convinced of the need to find a workable solution that will balance the need for efficient use of scarce resources with the imperative to protect the lives of United Nations peacekeepers and the integrity of the mission through the provision of timely and effective external reserves when the situation requires. Not to do so would be a dereliction of duty. At a moment when we are charting a course for sustainable peacebuilding, it would be a bitter irony if we were to set the missions of the future up for failure. With the cooperation of the Special Committee, the Secretariat will continue to explore options for enhanced rapidly deployable capabilities. The three options currently under examination are the provision of regional arrangements in support of United Nations peace operations; the provision of short-term rapid capacity by troop-contributing countries; and inter-mission cooperation arrangements where proximity and conditions on the ground permit. I believe all three options must be pursued in parallel; the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has already made good progress in developing concepts for inter-mission cooperation. I hope that we can collectively take forward work on this during the Committee’s session. V. Observations 54. The core activity of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is the planning, conduct, support and transition out of integrated peace operations. We have a duty to Member States’ peacekeeping personnel and to the populations we serve to do this in such a way as to minimize the risks to their safety and to maximize their security and well-being. We have a duty to the populations we serve to carry out the activity effectively and responsibly. The essence of this is an efficient and professional approach to peacekeeping. The five priorities I have outlined above represent the essential building blocks for achieving this professionalism. They will not be accomplished in one year. I see them, instead, as the basis for a five-year agenda for United Nations peace operations, one that will better equip global peacekeeping — and United Nations peace operations within it — to face the challenges of the twenty-first century. I would hope to develop and adapt these five priorities through continuous and comprehensive consultation with the Special Committee. I invite the Special Committee to embark on this new agenda with the Secretariat at the 2006 session. Annex Implementation of the recommendations of the resumed session of the Special Committee on a comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations I. Key achievements 1. The overarching recommendation of my Special Adviser on the question of sexual exploitation and abuse (see A/59/710) was that the United Nations must establish and implement a policy of zero-tolerance on sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations. To this end, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has focused over the past year on raising the awareness of those with managerial and command responsibilities to address sexual exploitation and abuse; training on established standards of conduct; and investigations into allegations of abuse. Generic training materials on prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse have been produced and are now a mandatory part of induction programmes for all categories of peacekeeping personnel. I would urge Member States to incorporate such materials into predeployment training for uniformed personnel. 2. From 1 January 2004 to mid-October 2005, investigations were completed into allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse made against 264 peacekeeping personnel, resulting in the summary dismissal of 16 civilians and the repatriation of 132 uniformed personnel, including 7 commanders. Missions have put in place a range of measures to prevent and address sexual exploitation and abuse, including poster campaigns; the appointment of focal points to receive complaints; placing premises and areas where prostitution is suspected or known to occur off-limits; and issuing mission-specific codes of conduct. 3. To implement a uniform standard of conduct relating to sexual exploitation and abuse, legal agreements for experts on mission and with troop-contributing countries have been amended to include the specific provisions of my bulletin on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13). Contractual agreements with civilian peacekeeping personnel are being amended to include the provisions of that bulletin. 4. The Department has finalized a set of procedures and guidelines on public information activities relating to sexual exploitation and abuse. These are intended to expand the Organization’s outreach to host populations to inform them about the zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse; facilitate receipt of complaints; and improve feedback to victims on the outcome of their complaints and investigations. II. Outstanding recommendations 5. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is launching a secure electronic system in all missions to transfer information on allegations of misconduct, including sexual exploitation and abuse, to Office of Internal Oversight Services and Headquarters. A comprehensive database will be established at Headquarters and shared with missions to track and report on allegations, investigations and follow-up action in relation to all forms of misconduct for all categories of peacekeeping personnel. The database will also help ensure that offenders are not rehired. 6. In October 2005 I appointed a group of legal experts to advise on means to ensure the criminal accountability of United Nations staff and experts on mission in respect of criminal acts committed by them while serving in peacekeeping operations. This Group is expected to complete its work in the first quarter of 2006. Efforts are under way to appoint legal experts to examine the other two questions recommended for consideration in paragraph 40 of A/59/19/Rev.1, namely, to provide advice on whether, and if so how, the standards set out in ST/SGB/2003/13 could bind contingent members prior to the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding with a troop-contributing country, and to propose ways to standardize norms of conduct applicable to all categories of peacekeeping personnel. 7. Pending the development of a comprehensive strategy on welfare and recreation, all missions have been requested to improve welfare and recreation facilities for all categories of peacekeeping personnel, within existing resources. I would urge troop-contributing countries to ensure that adequate provision is made for welfare and recreation facilities for their contingents in the field. 8. With regard to victim support, pending the finalization and adoption of the United Nations comprehensive policy on support for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations staff and related personnel, missions have been instructed to refer any person alleging sexual exploitation or abuse by United Nations peacekeeping personnel to existing medical and psychosocial services in the host country, with costs to be covered from existing mission budgets. III. Priorities for the year ahead 9. Although significant progress has been made to eliminate sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeeping personnel, not all managers, commanders and personnel are vigorously pursing the United Nations zero-tolerance policy. I would urge Member States to continue to send a strong message to commanders and uniformed personnel serving in peacekeeping operations that their support and full cooperation are essential for eradicating this problem. I will do likewise with civilian mission leaders. 10. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Office of Internal Oversight Services have cooperated closely in the handover of all investigations for category I misconduct allegations, including sexual exploitation and abuse, to the Office of Internal Oversight Services. I would urge troop-contributing countries to participate fully in Office of Internal Oversight Services administrative investigations involving contingent personnel to ensure that evidence collected can satisfy national jurisdictional requirements for prosecution. 11. At the upcoming session of the Special Committee I will present a revised text of the 1997 draft model memorandum of understanding between the United Nations and troop-contributing countries that includes all the recommendations on sexual exploitation and abuse mentioned in A/59/19/Rev.1. To maximize the impact of the policy of zero tolerance, it is of the utmost importance that these recommendations be incorporated in a form that is legally binding on both the United Nations and troop-contributing countries. I look forward to working with Member States on the proposed text.   \* MERGEFORMAT 19 \* MERGEFORMAT 19 United Nations A/60/640 General Assembly Distr.: General 29 December 2005 Original: English 05-66722 (E) 240106 *0566722* A/60/640 A/60/640