VZCZCXYZ0006
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0094/01 0510046
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200046Z FEB 10
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8200
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000094 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KPKO UNSC
SUBJECT: PEACEKEEPING: SECURITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS 
CHALLENGES TO FULFILLMENT OF ITS MANDATES 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. U/SYGs Le Roy and Malcorra told the 
Security Council in an informal briefing on February 17, that 
the need for strong Council unanimity of political support, 
the lack of adequate resources from TCCs/PCCs to match 
Council mandates, and the increasing complexity of modern 
peacekeeping missions were their biggest strategic 
challenges. Le Roy hoped the upcoming session of the Special 
Committee on Peacekeeping Operations would help to clarify 
the concepts of protection of civilians, robust peacekeeping 
and early peacebuilding tasks.  Malcorra said that complex 
missions necessitated a transition from approaching field 
support on a mission-by-mission basis to creating a global 
service delivery system.  A wide-ranging discussion followed, 
including discussion of a Chinese suggestion that the 
Secretariat should make a distinction between peacekeeping 
and peacebuilding tasks. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a Security Council briefing on February 17, UN 
Undersecretaries-General Alain Le Roy (Department of 
Peacekeeping Operations-DPKO) and Susanna Malcorra 
(Department of Field Support-DFS) outlined strategic 
challenges faced by the Secretariat in carrying out 
peacekeeping mandates and areas where additional Council 
support was needed.  The meeting was organized by the French 
presidency, as part of an ongoing initiative to improve the 
Security Council's engagement with the Secretariat on 
peacekeeping policy.  In opening the meeting, French PR Araud 
noted that the meeting was also in keeping with the 
Presidential Statement (PRST) of August 5, 2009, which 
recognized the Council's need for "enhanced awareness" of the 
strategic challenges faced across peacekeeping operations, 
and which welcomed briefings by DPKO and DFS "on a regular 
basis." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Acknowledging a responsibility to tell the Council 
"what it needs to know rather than what it wants to hear," 
U/SYG Le Roy said the largest strategic challenges were the 
need for unanimity of political support for peacekeeping 
mandates, a deficit of necessary capabilities to fulfill the 
tasks of some peacekeeping mandates, and the need for clarity 
among the Secretariat, troop and police contributors 
(TCCs/PCCs) and the Security Council on the meaning of 
critical tasks, such as the protection of civilians (PoC), 
"robust peacekeeping," and early peacebuilding.  Referring to 
capabilities, Le Roy said peacekeeping mandates had become 
increasingly complex, requiring highly sophisticated 
capabilities, which often involved transportation and 
communications assets.  Many potential TCCs/PCCs did not have 
these capabilities readily available, he said.  At the same 
time, TCCs and PCCs needed clarity on what was expected of 
them in fulfilling PoC mandates, on the concept of robust 
peacekeeping, and on early peacebuilding activities.  Le Roy 
said a lack of consensus on these concepts had hindered the 
ability of DPKO to fulfill complex mandates, citing MONUC as 
a prime example.  DPKO hoped to be able to address the issues 
he outlined during the month-long session of the GA Special 
Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) that would 
convene on February 22.  Le Roy also noted some of the 
priorities outlined in the Council's August 5, 2009 PRST that 
DPKO had acted upon, including holding meetings with 
TCCs/PCCs at least a week in advance of mandate renewals, 
offering briefings to the Council by Technical Assessment 
Missions upon their return, and the use of benchmarks on a 
consistent basis to monitor progress throughout the 
life-cycle of missions. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Answering questions, Le Roy acknowledged that the 
cost of UN peacekeeping had exploded in recent years along 
with the increase in complex operations, but he also said 
that UN peacekeeping was still a bargain considering the 
comparative cost for a member or regional organization to 
carry out a mission on its own.  He also noted that 
peacekeeping expenditures were small compared to worldwide 
arms expenditures.  Le Roy assessed that the growth in UN 
peacekeeping deployments during the 2000s had likely peaked, 
with no new missions on the immediate horizon and existing 
missions such as MINURCAT, MONUC, UNMIL and UNOCI potentially 
nearing a transition phases that would lead to downsizing. 
Responding to a suggestion from China that peacekeeping and 
peacebuilding tasks should be clearly delineated, Le Roy said 
that the eventual transfer of responsibilities to a UN 
Country Team needed to be part of integrated mission planning 
processes.  He also cautioned that when transferring from a 
peacekeeping to a peacebuilding mandate, there was a risk of 
declining interest from donors. 
 
¶5. (SBU) U/SYG Malcorra echoed Le Roy's emphasis on the need 
for strong Council unanimity, and pointed out that complex 
mandates, including protection of civilians, required 
"responsive, flexible and agile" missions in highly 
challenging and dangerous environments. Illustrating some of 
 
 
the current DFS challenges, Malcorra pointed to the staffing 
deficit for the UNAMA mission in Afghanistan, commenting that 
even if all positions were filled, the UN lacked sufficient 
security-compliant staff housing.  In Somalia, she said the 
AMISOM trust fund had recently begun disbursements, but that 
there was still work to do reimburse the expenses of TCCs. 
The Haiti earthquake had been a huge loss to the UN, leaving 
a vast gap at the hear of MINUSTAH and a new set of support 
challenges, including provision of mortuary and forensics 
services, counseling to families and survivors, and 
deployment of around 300 Secretariat staff on a temporary 
basis to the mission.  Malcorra said that in upcoming C-34 
discussions, she would focus on the need to transform field 
support from a mission-specific focus to a global delivery 
system that could service multiple missions, deploy faster, 
and accommodate the expeditionary nature of modern 
peacekeeping.  A global delivery system would also help 
reduce the overall cost of peacekeeping by achieving 
efficiencies. 
 
¶6. (SBU) During the informal discussion that followed, 
Chinese Permrep Zhang expressed concern that peacekeeping 
mandates had become more complex and longer, citing MONUC as 
an example, and wondered whether the Council should listen to 
"doubts and misgivings" that had been expressed by some SRSGs 
about the feasibility of certain tasks.  Zhang also said 
there was confusion on the difference between peacekeeping 
and peacebuilding tasks and suggested that the Secretariat 
should attempt to define the two concepts.  Zhang worried 
that tasks which should be purely "technical" could sometimes 
take on a "political" aspect. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ambassador Wolff said that while conceptually it 
might be possible to make a distinction between peacekeeping 
and peacebuilding tasks, in practice peacebuilding tasks 
often contributed to maintaining peace and should be 
integrated when necessary.  Wolff said that the Council must 
engage in an honest and critical review of peacekeeping 
missions well in advance of mandate expiration in order to 
assess their effectiveness.  He encouraged wider use of 
benchmarks to monitor progress and earlier consultations with 
TCCs/PCCs.  Wolff also said the UN needed to address its 
institutional impediments to hiring personnel to fill 
shortfalls.  Wolff looked forward to a change in tone and 
culture in future discussions of peacekeeping, including in 
the C-34, which could reflect a collective ownership and 
responsibility for improving UN peacekeeping. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Mexico, Turkey, Brazil and Austria stressed that 
peacebuilding activities needed to be linked with 
peacekeeping missions and often needed to be undertaken 
concurrently.  Brazil added that post-conflict engagement 
needed to encompass social and economic development.  The 
U.K. cautioned against adopting a one-size-fits-all approach 
to peacebuilding and said that international peacebuilding 
offices might not always be the right solution.  Russia 
agreed with China on the need to make a distinction between 
peacekeeping and peacebuilding. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Nigeria and Uganda both said that TCCs/PCCs were 
experiencing peacekeeping fatigue, partly due to the lack of 
timely reimbursement, and a lack of clarity on how to perform 
required tasks.  Nigeria suggested that improvement in the 
reimbursement process would make it attractive for former 
TCCs to resume participation in UN peacekeeping.  The U.K. 
expressed concern about the tendency of the Council to begin 
to see individual tasks, such as the successful conduct of 
elections, as ends in themselves rather than steps toward 
achieving overall mission objectives. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Austria welcomed the Secretariat's efforts to 
develop operational guidance for missions on the protection 
of civilians, and Lebanon noted that as host country for 
UNIFIL, such guidance would have a positive impact on the 
security of its own civilians.  Brazil said PoC guidance 
should focus on how troops could address mandated tasks 
within limited resources.  Referring to robust peacekeeping, 
Brazil said a definition as such was not necessary, but 
rather clarity on the peacekeepers' responsibilities. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Japan highlighted the work of the Security 
Council's Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations, which it 
chairs, and said that its Spring program of work included a 
discussion with TCCs and the Secretariat on how to fill 
critical gaps between mandates and capabilities, as well as a 
continuation of the discussion begun under the French 
presidency on how to achieve mission transitions and exit 
strategies. 
 
¶12. (SBU)  The French Permrep did not participate in the 
substantive discussion, but at the end of the session, he 
 
 
said he hoped Lebanon would host a similar informal briefing 
during its May Council presidency in line with the intention 
expressed in the August 5 PRST to hold regular briefings. 
Austria welcomed the French presidency's initiative to review 
peacekeeping, which would also include a meeting of the 
Military Staff Committee for all 15 Council members later in 
the week. 
RICE