Statement [Made on Behalf of the Security Council, at the 6178th Meeting, 5 August 2009, in Connection with the Council's Consideration of the Item Entitled "United Nations Peacekeeping Operations"]

S/PRST/2009/24View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Presidential Statement of the Security Council, under agenda item 18 United Nations peacekeeping operations, published in 2009.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Consultations Coordination Within UN System International Cooperation Partnership Peacebuilding Peacekeeping Operations Regional Organizations Troop-Contributing States

What’s in this document?

22 paragraphs

At the 6178th meeting of the Security Council, held on 5 August 2009, in connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled “United Nations peacekeeping operations”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:

“The Security Council reaffirms the recommendations made in its resolutions 1327 (2000) and 1353 (2001) and in the statements of its President dated 3 May 1994 (PRST/1994/22), 4 November 1994 (PRST/1994/62), 28 March 1996 (PRST/1996/13), 31 January 2001 (PRST/2001/3) and 17 May 2004 (PRST/2004/16) and the note by its President of 14 January 2002 (S/2002/56) and confirms its intention to strengthen further efforts to implement fully these recommendations. The Council recalls in particular from its statement of its President of 3 May 1994 the appropriate factors that should be taken into account when the establishment of a new peacekeeping operation is under consideration.

“The Security Council believes that United Nations peacekeeping is a unique global partnership that draws together the contributions and commitment of the entire UN system. The Council is committed to strengthening this partnership. The Council recognises the important work conducted by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, the Security Council Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations, the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly and the UN Secretariat to ensure that peacekeeping efforts provide the best possible results.

“The Security Council has endeavoured in the past six months to improve its dialogue with the Secretariat and with troop and police contributing countries on the collective oversight of peacekeeping operations and to develop the following practices:

(i) regular dialogue with the Secretariat on the general challenges of peacekeeping;

(ii) efforts to deepen consultations with troop and police contributing countries, including through the Security Council’s Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations and the debates organized on January 23 and June 29 2009;

(iii) organisation of political-military meetings on specific operations to improve the shared analysis of operational challenges;

(iv) encouraging regular updating of planning documents by the Secretariat to ensure consistency with mandates;

(v) improved monitoring and evaluation, through the use of benchmarks, as and where appropriate, that enable progress to be charted against a comprehensive and integrated strategy.

“The Security Council has identified several areas where further reflection is required to improve the preparation, planning, monitoring and evaluation, and completion of peacekeeping operations:

(i) Ensuring that mandates for peacekeeping operations are clear, credible and achievable and matched by appropriate resources. The Council stresses the need regularly to assess in consultation with other stakeholders, the strength, mandate and composition of peacekeeping operations with a view to making the necessary adjustments where appropriate, according to progress achieved or changing circumstances on the ground;

(ii) Better information sharing, particularly on the military operational challenges, through inter alia systematic consultation by the Secretariat with Member States in advance of deployment of a technical assessment mission on its objectives and broad parameters, and debriefing on its main findings on return. The Council encourages the practice of holding meetings between Council Members and the Secretariat at political-military expert level prior to discussion of mandate renewals. The Council recognises the need to improve its access to military advice, and intends to pursue its work on mechanisms to that effect. The Council will continue to review the role of the Military Staff Committee;

(iii) The Council intends to increase its interaction with the Secretariat in the early phase of mandate drafting and throughout mission deployment on the military, police, justice, rule of law and peacebuilding dimensions of an operation;

(iv) Earlier and more meaningful engagement with troop and police contributing countries before the renewal or modification of the mandate of a peacekeeping operation. The Council welcomes practical suggestions to deepen such consultations. It recognises that through their experience and expertise, troop and police contributing countries can greatly contribute to effective planning, decision-making and deployment of Peacekeeping operations. In this regard, the Council welcomes the interim report of the Security Council Working Group (S/2009/398) and encourages it to continue to address the issue of cooperation with troop and police contributing countries and other stakeholders. The Council commits to making progress on this issue, and to reviewing its progress in 2010;

(v) Greater awareness in the Security Council of the resource and field support implications of its decisions. The Council requests that where a new peacekeeping mission is proposed, or where significant change to a mandate is envisaged, an estimate of the resource implications for the mission be provided to it;

(vi) Enhanced awareness in the Security Council of the strategic challenges faced across peacekeeping operations. The Council welcomes the briefings to that effect received from the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Department of Field Support since January 2009, which should continue on a regular basis.

“The Council recognises the need to weigh the full range of responses when addressing a situation which may endanger international peace and security, and to deploy UN peacekeeping missions only as an accompaniment, not as an alternative, to a political strategy. The Council recognises the importance of mobilising and maintaining the political and operational support of all stakeholders.

“The Security Council recognises the urgent need to increase the pool of available troop and police contributors and welcomes efforts of Member States to coordinate bilateral assistance to them. The Council supports efforts to improve cooperation and coordination through the life of a mission with relevant regional and sub-regional organisations and other partners. The Council recognises the priority of strengthening the capacity of the African Union, and the role of regional and sub-regional organisations, in maintaining international peace and security in accordance with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.

“The Security Council welcomes efforts by the Secretariat to review peacekeeping operations and to provide enhanced planning and support, and encourages the Secretariat to deepen these efforts. In this regard, the Council takes note of the assessments and recommendations provided in their non-paper A New Partnership Agenda: Charting a New Horizon for UN Peacekeeping and the support strategy contained therein, and intends to give them careful consideration.

“The Security Council recognises that further debate is required among Member States, including in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, to develop a wider consensus on a range of issues including the robust approach to peacekeeping and the implementation of protection of civilians mandates. The Council reaffirms the relevant provisions of its resolution 1674 (2006), and in this regard, looks forward to reviewing the implementation of protection of civilians mandates later this year.

“The Security Council recalls the statement of its President of 22 July 2009 (PRST/2009/23) on Peacebuilding and in particular re-emphasises the need for coherence between, and integration of, peacemaking, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development to achieve an effective response to post-conflict situations from the outset. The Council requests the Secretary-General to provide in his reports on specific missions an indication of progress toward achieving a coordinated UN approach in-country, and in particular on critical gaps to achieving peacebuilding objectives alongside the mission.

“The Security Council remains committed to improving further the overall performance of UN peacekeeping and will conduct a further review in early 2010.”

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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