The U.N. Security Council must be careful not to assign tasks to U.N. peacekeepers that they are not prepared for or not adept at doing, U.S. Ambassador Stuart Holliday said May 17.

In a speech to the Security Council during a discussion of U.N. peacekeeping operations, Holliday said that there are others -- such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and U.N. agencies -- outside the realm of peacekeeping proper and who may be in country after peacekeepers have departed that could be involved in post-conflict peace-building.

The most important thing U.N. peacekeepers must do "is to provide a sense of hope, a sense that things will improve in the long run," said Holliday, the deputy U.S. representative for special political affairs.

"Job training, schooling, counseling, stipends, seeds, tools, and dialogues between ex-combatants and their new or former communities, all have a place in creating this sense of hope and a new beginning," the ambassador said. "But just as there is no single factor that causes war, there is no single factor that guarantees a lasting peace."

In addition to the "traditional peacekeeping" which monitors cease-fires, the U.N. is often required to undertake "multidimensional" missions that include helping with disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation of former combatants or responding to threats presented by failed states, he said.

The United States is the largest financial contributor to peacekeeping operations worldwide, Holliday pointed out. "The United States views the peacekeeping operations and activities of the United Nations as most significant in furthering the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter."

Secretary of State Colin Powell has announced that the Group of Eight (G-8) foreign ministers have agreed to advance an initiative to increase international capacity to deal with post-conflict situations, especially in Africa, during the Sea Island Summit in Georgia later this year. The initiative will focus on training and deployment logistics support.

Both Holliday and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan talked of the possibility of new missions taxing existing U.N. capabilities and budgets.

The United Nations is facing a time of "surging demand" for peacekeeping, Annan told the council. In April there were more than 53,000 troops, military observers and civilian police serving in 15 U.N. missions around the world -- the highest number of personnel since October 1995. Many of the missions are large and complex and most go beyond the limited military functions of traditional operations.

More missions are on the horizon, the secretary-general said, with a recently authorized mission in Haiti, the expansion of the Cote d'Ivoire mission, and new operations being planned for Burundi and Sudan.

"By the end of this year, to absorb the new and enhanced missions, we may need an extra $1 billion for the U.N. peacekeeping budget, which is currently $2.82 billion," he said.

U.N. missions are hampered by a lack of specialized military capabilities generally available from the military forces of developed countries, which make only limited troop contributions to U.N. operations. Another problem is the urgent need for French-speaking personnel, especially police, for assignments in Haiti, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burundi, the secretary general said.

As the complexity of mandates increases, so has public expectation about what U.N. peacekeeping missions can achieve, Annan also said. The international community must better integrate the security, political, economic and social skills that it has at its disposal to keep and build peace.

"First and above all" the international community must show commitment by being prepared to stay the course with resources and political will, particularly during times of trial, he said.

Statement by Ambassador Stuart Holliday, United States Alternate Representative to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs, on U.N. Peacekeeping Operations, in the Security Council, May 17, 2004

Thank you, Mr. President.

The United States would also like to congratulate Ambassador Arias for his work and we wish him well in the future.

My delegation would like to pay tribute to the United Nations staff that contributes so courageously to peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts, and to the troop and police contributors to peacekeeping operations. All play a vital role in helping the United Nations carry out its mandate of maintaining international peace and security. The tireless work of U.N. humanitarian and bilateral assistance agencies, non-governmental organizations, and regional actors merits recognition. And the work of journalists in shining the spotlight on the forgotten conflicts that destroy so many lives should be applauded as well. Finally, we salute Pakistan for holding this discussion and for its role as the leading troop contributor to U.N. And we welcome you, Mr. Minister, for your participation, which highlights the degree to which you hold these issues.

The United States views the peacekeeping operations and activities of the United Nations as most significant in furthering the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter. The United States is pleased to be the largest financial contributor to peacekeeping operations worldwide. This year exigent circumstances have led to the creation of new U.N. peacekeeping missions in Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti. Another for Burundi is under active consideration in the Security Council. All build on efforts by regional organizations to support the restoration of peace and stability. These new missions will tax existing capabilities and budgets.

Other delegations today have described some of the capacity challenges that will affect the United Nations and DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] and how they can be addressed. We support exploration of innovative solutions to address some of these complex issues. We are also looking at ways to address these needs. Last Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that G-8 Foreign Ministers have agreed to advance an initiative at the Sea Island Summit to increase the world's capacity to deal with post-conflict situations, especially in Africa. You will be hearing more about these initiatives in the coming months, but they will focus on training peacekeepers, especially in Africa, in addition to the development of an gendarmerie training center and a deployment logistics support arrangement.

Mr. President,

Each new mission is carefully considered by the Member States of the Security Council, drawing on important assessments provided by the U.N.'s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) regarding the mandate and composition of the new mission. We appreciate DPKO's input most when it presents the Council with a range of possible choices at decision points such as the establishment of missions and the renewal of mandates. Planning for and managing a multinational military mission are tasks of great complexity. We commend DPKO for getting the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) -- the world's largest U.N. peacekeeping operation - up and running in just six months.

In this regard and in other missions, such as Cote D'Ivoire, we also particularly would like to focus and support the work of regional organizations such as ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States], who provide a valuable augmentation for our peacekeeping force. The U.N. is expected to have a wide array of services available in its toolbox for international crises. Often, the U.N. is called in to monitor a ceasefire between two states or between groups within a state. This is "traditional peacekeeping." Now of course, when we discuss it today, there are new "multidimensional" missions that respond to threats presented by failed states and the need for assistance with disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation (DDRR) of former combatants.

The DDRR tasks we assign to some of our U.N. peacekeepers are daunting. The most important thing they must do is to provide a sense of hope, a sense that things will improve in the long run. Job training, schooling, counseling, stipends, seeds, tools, and dialogues between ex-combatants and their new or former communities, all have a place in creating this sense of hope and a new beginning. But just as there is no single factor that causes war, there is no single factor that guarantees a lasting peace.

While it is tempting to expand U.N. peacekeeping mandates to respond to all aspects of complex crises, we must be careful not to assign tasks to peacekeepers that they are not prepared for or not adept at doing. We must recognize that there are many other players in the DDRR process, including U.N. agencies, regional organizations, and NGOs. For example, in the reintegration process, humanitarian aid workers and agencies are among the heavy lifters. After a uniformed peacekeeper receives surrendered arms from combatants and registers them, it is usually humanitarian workers, who begin the long and complex task of helping the new ex-combatant find a place in the civilian population.

The fact that uniformed peacekeepers and humanitarian workers derive their funding from different sources, and operate under different sets of rules frequently causes disconnects. Greater numbers of moving parts provide greater numbers of opportunities for breakdown. Yet, it is particularly vital that the handover of newly disarmed combatants to their new life beyond the barrel of the gun be as smooth as possible. If the task is mishandled, memories of the marauding life are close enough to draw the ex-combatant to a life of common crime, with or without a weapon.

Smoothing over the bumps requires sufficient logistical funding and preparation. It requires that the message about the DDRR process be transmitted to combatants as early as possible, and it requires that those administering the process, be they uniformed soldiers or not, have a degree of confidence and trust in all others involved in the process. It also requires that all concerned treat ex-combatants with a sense of dignity.

Reintegration alone cannot succeed in making a gun-toting rebel into a productive member of his or her society. Economic development alone cannot work, for it can take too long to produce new jobs for ex-combatants ready to commence a new life. Both are necessary, and ex-combatants must be made to understand that DDRR is a process that takes a long time to complete.

The expertise of differing organizations, including NGOs and different U.N. agencies outside the realm of peacekeeping proper, needs to be recognized. For many of these groups and agencies will be on the ground long after the last U.N. peacekeeper has left.

In closing, we would look forward to studying the recommendations that have been brought forth in this important debate. And we will continue, for our part, supporting effective, focused, secure and successful peacekeeping operations. And we also look forward to supporting the presidential statement.

Thank you.