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Ambassador Williamson: Statement in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, February 12, 2002
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Image of the U.S. Eagle Ambassador Richard S. Williamson
United States Alternate Representative to the UN for Special Political Affairs
Statement in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations
February 12, 2002


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USUN PRESS RELEASE # 17 (02)
February 12, 2002
 

Statement by Ambassador Richard S. Williamson, Alternate U.S. Representative to the UN for Special Political Affairs, in the general debate in the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, February 12, 2002

Mr. Chairman, I join with others to congratulate the Chairman and other members of the bureau on their re-election. I particularly note, with appreciation, Ambassador Duval's continued failure to carry through on his intentions to make each successive chairmanship of the Working Group of this Committee his last.

I wish to thank the Secretary-General for his report, and Under Secretary-General Guéhenno for his thoughtful and thought-provoking remarks. I look forward to the Secretariat's briefings in the coming weeks, and to the Secretariat's input into our discussions.

On behalf of the United States, I would like to thank all of our colleagues in this committee who work to advance peacekeeping at the UN. And, as all of you here know:

  • Through our efforts in this forum we have translated the recommendations of the Brahimi report into specific policies and additional capacities;

  • We have provided DPKO with the means to strengthen its ability to support peacekeeping operations in the field. And,

  • We have initiated planning for establishment of equipment reserve stocks at the UN Logistics Base in Brindisi which will allow the UN to react more quickly when called upon to do so.

Now, I believe, we have entered a phase of consolidation and implementation. As member states, we have a responsibility to ensure that our resources are adequate, and that they are used efficiently and effectively. This committee has a critical role to play in realizing that the core goal we all share - ensuring the peacekeeping capacity of the United Nations - is achieved through the changes that we have initiated and supported.

In the remarks of other delegations, I was pleased to hear the positive references to the consultation process initiated under Security Council resolution 1353. Admittedly, many of these meetings have not been riveting. Nonetheless, I think we can welcome the beginnings of a fair and inclusive process. All of us -- troop contributors, financial supporters, Secretariat representatives, Security Council members -- will want to ensure that, over time, we make these meetings an efficient means of exchanging information.

I am also pleased to hear the positive comments on the "new mechanism" of consultation adopted by the Security Council in January. The U.S. sees this mechanism as complementary to meetings held under 1353, and we welcome the leadership of Norway's Ambassador Strommen as Chair of the Security Council's Working Group on Peacekeeping and look to him to set a defining course for the use of this mechanism. We envision, of course, that its use will be limited to times of particular necessity. We agree with others who advocate allowing time for both mechanisms to develop. In our opinion, a formal review in the near future would be counterproductive.

This session of the Special Committee will, like others before it, address the heart of on-going UN peacekeeping concerns.

  • I look forward to Assistant Secretary-General Sheehan's presentation on Sustainable Deployment Stocks in Brindisi. My government assumes that planning for one complex peacekeeping mission will be a good starting point from which we might build upon later. We also would encourage the Secretary-General to include in future reports to this Committee an overview of the activities in Brindisi. After all, it is the expertise resident in this Committee that will be able to appreciate and evaluate the effectiveness of the Brindisi standby deployment stocks on peacekeeping operations.

  • My government continues to believe in the usefulness of an Information and Strategic Analysis System - ISAS. We welcome the recommendation of this Committee to establish such a unit. We continue to believe that the proper placement of this unit within the UN system will be the key to its success. To be effective in providing peacekeeping operations with the best, most complete, information, we believe that the unit must be placed above all of the UN Departments that would contribute information to it.

  • Other colleagues have mentioned the necessity of addressing the preparation of peacekeepers not only for the tasks they will be expected to perform, but also for the physical conditions they will encounter. With respect to diseases peacekeepers may encounter, my government agrees that a review of DPKO training procedures on this topic is worthwhile. We would encourage it, and specifically welcome comments on programs that raise the level of HIV/AIDS awareness and reduce risky behaviours among UN peacekeepers, as well as efforts to measure the effectiveness of programs.

  • During the last session of this committee we made significant strides on Civilian Policing. My government welcomes a review of the programs now underway or under consideration.

As this Committee looks at past and present peacekeeping operations, and contemplates the structure and function of future peacekeeping missions, all of us recognize the interrelationships among peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention. Clearly, the member states and Secretariat representatives who participate in this Committee have knowledge and experience which must be incorporated into any serious discussion of these issues. In very practical terms, with each new peacekeeping operation, we will have to address the question of where peacekeeping ends and peacebuilding begins. What we must not do, however, is allow the availability of peacekeeping support funds to tempt us into extending the definition of peacekeeping into peacebuilding activities, or even further into conflict prevention and reconstruction. In short, we must not, even with the best of intentions, make the mistake of substituting our judgment on matters which are the expertise of other organs of the United Nations.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your time and attention.

 

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