GA/AB/3419

UN SECURITY COORDINATOR ASKS FIFTH COMMITTEE FOR URGENT ACTION TO ADDRESS STAFF SAFETY CONCERNS

As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) began its consideration of the safety and security of United Nations personnel, United Nations Security Coordinator, Benon Sevan, made a plea for urgent action to address the situation. �How many deaths are needed before Member States provide the Secretary-General with the means to minimize risks to United Nations staff worldwide?� he asked.

Introducing the report of the Secretary-General before the Committee, he said that the present safety system was a failure. United Nations personnel had become soft targets, free to be mistreated, abused, taken hostage and murdered with impunity.

He added that the Security Coordinator�s office was grossly understaffed with only eight individuals responsible for managing the security arrangements for over 70,000 staff members. At the field level, adequate numbers of professional field security officers were critical to management of security. The Secretary-General was proposing that all field security officers be funded from a single, sustainable source, to be managed centrally with consistent standards of recruitment, appraisal and management.

Introducing a related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), Chairman of that body, Conrad S.M. Mselle, said that the ACABQ�s recommendation to consider field security posts in the context of the 2002-2003 programme budget was not motivated by cost-cutting intentions. In recent times, the ACABQ had agreed with the bulk of the Secretary-General�s requests for personnel to provide security services in peacekeeping operations. The present submission failed to provide the information that the ACABQ needed to provide an informed opinion. The ACABQ had recommended approval of eight posts at Headquarters, however, as requested by the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator.

Also this afternoon, taking note of the report by the Secretary-General on the reform procedure for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment, the Committee decided to recommend to the General Assembly that it convene a post-Phase V Working Group during the period 15 to 26 January 2001.

Bock Yeo, Director of the Peacekeeping Financing Division, introduced the note by the Secretary-General before the Committee. The draft decision on the

Fifth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/AB/3419 37th Meeting (PM) 12 December 2000

Working Group was introduced by Acting Chairman of the Committee, Hae Yun Park (Republic of Korea). A short statement was also made by the representative of Pakistan.

The Committee will conclude its general discussion on the safety and security of United Nations personnel at 3 p.m. tomorrow, 13 December, when it is also scheduled to take action on the financing of International Tribunals for Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and consider the report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations.

Fifth Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/AB/3419 37th Meeting (PM) 12 December 2000

Committee Work Programme

This afternoon, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was expected to begin its consideration of the safety and security of United Nations personnel and take up issues related to reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment.

The Committee had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the safety and security of United Nations personnel (document A/55/494), submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 54/192 and 54/249 of December 1999 in which the Assembly recognized the need to review the existing safety and security arrangements for United Nations personnel and requested the Secretary- General to propose measures for their improvement. The report covers the period 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000.

According to the text, the current security management system was designed to meet the operational requirements of the United Nations system which existed 20 years ago. Staff members are increasingly being sent to provide assistance in situations of open warfare, which leads to an increase in the number of staff losing their lives, and being kidnapped and assaulted. Without specialized training, communications equipment, access to advice and leadership from professional security officers, it would be impossible to ensure the security of personnel. Currently, eight professional staff at Headquarters are responsible for coordinating the security system for some 70,000 staff and dependants at over 150 duty stations. While there are 80 high-risk duty stations, there are only some 60 cost-shared security officers in the field.

It is essential to provide funding for a number of field security officers, the Secretary-General says. Recruited centrally, they would be assigned to where they are most needed in an expeditious manner. Also, as a transitional measure, the Secretary-General recommends that the Assembly approve, within the biennium 2000-2001, a post of United Nations Security Coordinator at the Assistant Secretary-General level, effective 1 January 2001. Pending the submission of proposals for the full requirements of the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator, he also recommends establishing two additional posts at the P-5 level and six at the P-4 level under the regular budget, with appropriate support staff at Headquarters. He also recommends the establishment of six posts at the P-4 level, four at the P-3 level and 20 local level posts for the field, effective 1 January 2001.

The Secretary-General recommends that the Assembly approve an appropriation of some $2.78 million under section 30 (special expenses) of the programme budget for the biennium 2000-2001, to meet the additional costs associated with the strengthening of the Office in the current biennium. An additional appropriation of some $305,800 staff assessment would be offset by an equivalent amount under income section I. Finally, he recommends that the Assembly note that funding of the activities of the Office and related costs, already approved by resolutions 54/249 and 54/250, would continue during 2001 through cost-sharing arrangements and that proposals for the strengthening of the Office would be submitted to the Assembly in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002-2003. Also before the Committee was the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (document A/55/658). The Advisory Committee asks that future reports contain more information on lessons learned and accountability measures. Also, the Secretary-General's proposals for the 2002-2003 proposed programme budget should include a plan to ensure accountability of staff and officials of the United Nations, specialized agencies, funds and programmes for their actions during security incidents, such as the recent West Timor incident. The ACABQ requests that it be informed of the outcome of the investigation of that incident.

Concerning interim arrangements for strengthening the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator, the ACABQ feels that the Secretary-General's report does not give a comprehensive picture of security arrangements in the field. Future reports should include the total number of staff and funding arrangements for inter-agency security programmes and activities.

The report goes on to say that the proposal to establish an Assistant Secretary-General post for the United Nations Security Coordinator is not justified. The Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator could be located under the Office of an existing Assistant Secretary-General, who could then take on the policy and supervisory functions of Security Coordinator. Furthermore, a Security Coordinator at the Assistant Secretary-General level, with no other supervisory functions, might duplicate functions assigned to the current Deputy Security Coordinator. Two security functions are currently carried out at Headquarters -- the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator and the Security and Safety Service, which falls under the Office of Central Support Services. The ACABQ recommends that the Office of the Security Coordinator be relocated within the Office of Central Support Services. The post of Deputy Security Coordinator, however, might be upgraded from the D-1 to D-2 level.

Regarding proposals to strengthen the current staffing of the Office of the Security Coordinator at Headquarters, the ACABQ supports the establishment of eight additional Professional posts. However, the request for ten additional field security officers and twenty additional local level posts for the field for the biennium 2000-2001 lacks supporting detail. Under the current system two or more security officers from different organizations can be in the same location. As those officers report to and receive instructions from their parent organizations, they may react differently to a security event at the same location, thus making the chain of command unclear. Lack of security coordination between United Nations organizations in the field could endanger the safety and security of field personnel.

The ACABQ says that the Secretary-General's report does not contain sufficient information from agencies, funds and programmes on staff and other resources involved in field security. Such information should be included in the 2002-2003 proposed programme budget. The ACABQ recommends that requests for posts for the field be considered in the context of the 2002-2003 programme budget.

Regarding cost-sharing arrangements, the ACABQ points out that the current arrangements for sharing the costs of the security management system were approved by the General Assembly and cannot be altered without that body's approval. While the ACABQ agrees that the procedure for funding should be managed from one source -- the United Nations -- it is strongly against the proposal to eliminate cost sharing among the organizations. Maintenance of security in the field is a collective responsibility. However, the present system often causes delays in hiring of urgently needed field personnel, the ACABQ notes. Consequently, future costs of the security management system should be included in the regular budget, to be managed by the United Nations, contingent upon a formal arrangement with the concerned agencies, funds and programmes for funding and reimbursement to the United Nations for services rendered, under income section 2 of the proposed programme budget.

The ACABQ recommends approval of an additional appropriation in the amount of $646,000 under section 30, special expenses, of the programme budget for 2000-2001 and an additional appropriation of some $95,600 under section 32, staff assessment, to be offset by an equivalent amount under income section 1, income from staff assessment.

The note by the Secretary-General on reform of the procedure for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment (document A/55/650) is presented in response to resolution 54/19B of 15 June, requesting the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly in November on the availability of the data needed to hold the meeting of the post-Phase V Working Group scheduled for January/February 2001.

Among the matters before the Working Group are: validation of the methodology for review of major equipment and self-sustainment rates; generic reimbursement for special cases; new categories for contingent-owned equipment; and policy on inland transportation costs and medical equipment threshold. In a draft resolution recently proposed for adoption by the Assembly, the Fifth Committee also recommended that the Working Group consider the current standard rates of reimbursement for troop costs.

According to the document, as of 20 November, the Secretariat had received pertinent data from 30 troop contributors, and the Secretary-General recommends that the meetings of the post-Phase V Working Group be held between 15 and 26 January 2001.

Introduction of Reports

BENON SEVAN, United Nations Security Coordinator, said that issues of staff security continued to be a major issue with significant impact on the ability of the Organization to operate. Over the past six months, three major deliberate attacks had resulted in the murder of six United Nations staff -� two in Baghdad, three in West Timor and one in Guinea. All of those attacks had been avoidable. United Nations personnel had become soft targets, free to be mistreated, abused, taken hostage and murdered with impunity. In the past seven years, he had witnessed the dispatch of many dedicated staff to high-risk areas without even minimum security arrangements in place. It was a fact that staff were often sent to areas where there was no governmental authority. Staff were also sent to areas where some host governments had difficulty protecting themselves, let alone United Nations staff. The situation had become untenable. The issue of staff security had been the subject of intense review. The Secretary-General�s report made the case crystal clear. How many deaths were needed before Member States would provide the Secretary-General with the means to minimize risks to United Nations staff worldwide?

The Security Coordinator�s office was grossly understaffed with only eight individuals responsible for managing and coordinating the security arrangements for over 70,000 staff members. The cost of his office amounted to some $600,000 a year, from which he had to pay four salaries, leaving about $200,000 to handle security. The contract for the dog team at Headquarters cost about $150,000 a year. Yet he was told that his budget was �exorbitant�. The argument that he was asking for too much money did not hold water.

He said that a post was needed at the Assistant Secretary-General level. The Security Coordinator must have sufficient clout to give orders and to talk with executive heads. Unfortunately, the Organization was rank-oriented. Moreover, security management should be budgeted from the regular budget. That would give the Secretary-General the independence to fund security arrangements without being held hostage to funding whims. He hoped that the Committee would approve what had been requested for the coming year.

At the field level, the provision of adequate numbers of professional level field security officers was critical to management of security, he said. Some 60 field security officers were assigned to 39 duty stations, while there were some 80 high-risk duty stations. The present system was a failure. It sometimes took over 13 months to put field security officers in place. The Secretary-General was proposing that all field security officers be funded from a single, sustainable source to be managed centrally with consistent standards of recruitment, appraisal and management.

At the moment, most staff were sent to high-risk areas without an hour of security awareness training, he continued. Many went because they did not understand the risks they faced. Unfortunately, he had had many dead heroes. It was wrong to depend on voluntary contributions to fund security. Staff members also required stress counselling. There appeared to be a breakdown in the implementation of the security management system. Security plans appeared to exist on paper only. There was no chain of command, but a free-for-all.

The lack of communication systems and communications equipment was a major impediment to proper security management, he said. The report reminded Member States of their primary responsibility for the safety of United Nations personnel and called on them to ensure that the perpetrators of attacks on United Nations staff were brought to justice. The time for talking had long since passed. The Committee needed to go beyond political statements of support and make the necessary funds available.

CONRAD S.M. MSELLE, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced that body�s report. He said that the Secretary-General�s report was not clear as to how the United Nations and its partners collaborated in important area of safety and security. When the ACABQ took up the report, it heard an extensive presentation by the Security Coordinator. He confirmed the impression of the ACABQ that arrangements in the field were not satisfactory. The ACABQ had recommended approval of eight posts at Headquarters, as requested by the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator. The Secretary-General�s report made reference to a lack of equipment and other requirements. He wished that the Secretary-General had included a request for that equipment in his report. The ACABQ would have reviewed those requests on the basis of their justification.

The ACABQ had requested that field security posts be deferred and considered in the context of the 2002-2003 programme budget, he continued. The recommendations concerning field proposals were not motivated by cost-cutting. In recent times, the ACABQ had agreed with the bulk of the Secretary-General�s requests for personnel to provide security services in peacekeeping operations. In the present submission, however, the report failed to provide the information needed for the ACABQ to provide an informed opinion. The ACABQ examined the request for the additional Assistant Secretary-General post and saw no compelling reason to recommend approval of that request. The impression was that another high-level post would enhance safety in field. The ACABQ did not share that opinion. The ACABQ did not review requests of the Secretary-General on the basis on what was required to meet the needs of protocol perception in the Organization.

The Secretary-General�s report was also vague on the question of cost- sharing, he said. The ACABQ agreed that posts should be included in the regular budget. However, the principle of cost-sharing must be fully respected.

Mr. SEVAN said that the report before the Committee today was different from previous reports, as it did not just enumerate the incidents �- it testified to the fact that there was a serious problem in the field. A review of the whole security management system of the United Nations was needed. The cost of security -� some $600,000 a year -- was laughable. There was a problem, and it needed to be urgently solved.

As for the statement that the report of the Secretary-General was confusing, he continued, that was because the whole security situation was confusing. It was exacerbated year after year, because the problem was never properly addressed. The number of staff of the United Nations Security Coordinator was not sufficient, and only two of eight professionals were funded from the regular budget.

Regarding the proposed Assistant Secretary-General post, he said that the person in charge of security should have sufficient authority to give orders and to be able to talk with other executives. As a comparison, a Third Secretary of a Permanent Mission could not give orders to an Ambassador.

Waiting another year would be counter-productive, he said, for by the time the new budget was cleared, the problem would have further deepened. People in the field needed immediate action. Otherwise he would have to present requests for body-bags -- which were also not budgeted, by the way. He felt very strongly about the matter, for he was the one who got calls at 4 a.m. when somebody was killed or taken hostage. He felt very strongly about staff members.

The representatives of Norway, the United States and France (on behalf of the European Union) then said that they would like to make statements on the safety and security of United Nations personnel at a formal meeting tomorrow.

The Committee then turned its attention to the reform of the procedure for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment.

BOCK YEO, Director of the Peacekeeping Financing Division, introduced the note by the Secretary-General that was before the Committee. He said that the post-Phase V Working Group should convene to address the issues related to reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment. As of 30 November, 32 contributing countries had submitted the required data. Since then, another two countries also presented their reports. As sufficient information was now available to conduct analysis of the matter, the Secretary- General recommended that the Working Group be convened in January.

AIZAZ AHMAD CHAUDHRY (Pakistan) said that he was pleased that 34 countries had responded to the request for the data. He was looking forward to constructive work in the Working Group. The Committee should take action on the matter today.

HAE YUN PARK (Republic of Korea), Acting Chairman of the Committee, then introduced a draft decision, by the terms of which the General Assembly would take note of the note by the Secretary-General on the reform procedure for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment. It would also decide to convene a post-Phase V Working Group meeting during the period from 15 to 26 January 2001 to conduct a review on the issues itemized, in accordance with its resolutions 54/19 B, and draft resolution A/C.5/55/L.6 approved by the Fifth Committee on 23 October.

The Committee then approved the draft decision without a vote.

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