09 March 2010
























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GA Moves to Pass “Framework Resolutions” Supporting Secretariat Reforms

New York, 7 March 2007 – Several steps have been taken recently towards UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s proposals to reconfigure the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA).  Both tracks of reform soon may have preliminary endorsement from the General Assembly, now that Ban effectively has slowed down his push for change.  The plans will still need to undergo review by budget committees, however.

Ban’s Response to Member State Concerns

After several Member States expressed concern about Ban’s proposal for UN Secretariat reform, both in terms of its content and the way in which he was seeking to accomplish it, on 15 February the Secretary-General circulated a more detailed explanation of his ideas for reconfiguring DPKO – “managing and sustaining peace operations” – and for DDA – “advancing the disarmament agenda.”  The documentation includes proposed organizational charts for DPKO and DDA.

Ban then asked the President of the GA to convene a meeting, which was held on 16 February and at which he presented the detailed explanations to Member States. 

  • He emphasized that his proposals responded to the concerns earlier voiced by member states. 

  • Regarding the reorganization of DPKO into a Department of Field Support and a Department of Peace Operations, Ban underlined his intention to preserve a clear chain of command in peacekeeping operations.

  • Regarding a restructured DDA, he announced his willingness to give the rank of Under Secretary-General to the head of a new office of disarmament affairs; the new office would also have a separate budget and a direct line of communication with the Secretary-General. 

Member States’ responses were notably supportive, “in principle,” of his revised plans.  Click here to read governments’ statements at the meeting. 

Ban requested that member states pass two “Framework Resolutions”, one on each proposal, giving him a mandate to pursue his restructuring efforts further.  Ban promised to present the GA with a report with further details on his proposal on DPKO, including its “full financial implications”, although he intends the changes to be “resource-neutral with respect to the programme budget for the biennium 2006-7.”  He indicated that the additional information will be presented within a few weeks.  With this assurance, many Member States voiced a preliminary willingness to adopt supportive framework resolutions.  They stressed that the additional information Ban provides will undergo detailed review by the General Assembly’s Administrative and Budgetary Committee (Fifth Committee) and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), as well as the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34).[1]

Two separate sets of informal plenary meetings currently are ongoing in the GA to compose the framework resolutions.

GA Consultations on DDA Reform

The plenary met informally on the DDA proposal on 28 February and 2 March to review draft text for the framework resolution.  This process is being facilitated by the Permanent Representatives of Norway (Ambassador Johan Løvald) and Sri Lanka (Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam).

In the 2 March meeting, delegates expressed an overall positive view towards the draft and the slower, more transparent approach shown by the Secretary-General, according to various reports.  Most speakers spoke of wishing to conclude the drafting process quickly – within days or weeks, rather than months – out of a concern for clarity for field staff as well as concern that a long process would send a signal of procrastination, lack of support for the SG, or inability to agree. 

To this end, many delegations gave their support to the existing draft.  Remaining concerns about the text included:

  • Lack of information about the financial implications of the proposal.

  • Risk of giving “premature” support to Ban’s plans without their having undergone detailed scrutiny by appropriate committees.  Member States are trying to balance a show of confidence in Ban and support for his intentions to advance disarmament and non-proliferation, on one hand, with a reluctance to bypass what some members consider the established decision-making procedures of the General Assembly, on the other hand. 

  • Risk that proposed changes could endanger safety of peacekeeping troops.

The next step in this process is for the facilitators to circulate a third draft for consideration by delegations this week (5-9 March) and convene another informal plenary to discuss it.  Some sources are confident in an agreement this week or next.

GA Consultations on DPKO Reform

Negotiations on the DPKO framework resolution are expected to take somewhat longer than those on the DDA.  The C-34 reportedly spent three days on substantial discussion of the proposal.  On 5 March, the group’s chair (Nigeria’s Ambassador Wali) gave a briefing on the outcome of the discussions.  The C-34 requested that any realignment be conducted in line with key objectives previously agreed by the C-34, including

  • ensuring success of missions;

  • enhancing safety for personnel;

  • improving accountability and effective management of resources;

  • increasing qualified peacekeeping capacity; and

  • ensuring proper conduct and discipline.

The C-34’s report also reiterated the importance of clear lines of reporting.  It requested a single entry point for police and troop contributing countries to participate in planning and conduct of integrated missions.

Two facilitators were appointed to lead consultations in the General Assembly, Ambassador João Manuel Guerra Salgueiro of Portugal and Ambassador Elbio Rosselli of Uruguay. Their criteria for taking comments on the contents and process for the framework resolution prioritized troop-contributing countries, Security Council members, and chairs of regional groups and political groupings; followed by countries expressing concerns and opinions in previous meetings and those who contacted the facilitators directly. In total, they reportedly had consulted with 65 delegations by the time they convened the informal plenary on 5 March.

At the plenary – which was attended mainly by permanent representatives and deputy permanent representatives – Member States had the following comments.

  • Delegations indicated preliminary support for the proposal, but they were notably more cautious than with the DDA proposal.  Most delegations supported the DPKO plans but to varying degrees.

  • There was a widely shared view that DPKO is overstretched to the point of needing immediate attention; delegations tentatively welcomed the creation of a Department of Field Support as a response to this need.

  • Member States supported using the guiding principles of the C-34 report as a basis for the framework resolution.  Some requested more information from the Secretary-General on those areas.

  • Several states requested that any realignment come with a timeline for automatic review on at least a two-year basis.

  • Elements still in doubt for some Member States included the role of troop-contributing countries in peacekeeping operations, as well as lingering questions about unity of command and financial impacts of realignment. 

  • Due to remaining concerns, several states supported a quickly adopted, “very basic” framework resolution to allow for further consultations on details.  Others wished to proceed carefully and not rush through a resolution at the same pace as the DDA resolution, which reportedly is closer to having political consensus.

The framework resolutions would serve to support further exploration and detailed analysis of Ban’s proposals, and, at least in the case of DPKO, the framework resolution would be followed with another set of consultations toward a second resolution approving the substantive, financial, and administrative elements of the restructuring. 

Some observers expect that a final decision on the proposals will not be made before May 2007.

Relevant Documents:

Statement by Ban Ki-moon - Secretariat Reform Plans, 16 February 2007

Statement by Non-aligned Movement, 16 February 2007

Statement by Non-aligned Movement, 16 February 2007 (Spanish)

Statement by Singapore, 16 February 2007

Draft Framework Resolution on DDA Restructuring, 28 February 2007

Report of C-34 on DPKO Realignment Proposal, 2 March 2007

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[1] The C-34/Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations was established in 1965 by the General Assembly to conduct comprehensive review of peacekeeping-related issues.  It has 124 UN Member States as members, and 17 additional observer states.  The Working Group of the Special Committee drafts the reports of the Special Committee, which reports to the GA through the Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth) Committee.