Civil-Military Working Paper 5/2010: Civil-military-police relations during conflict – UN approach

Context

The United Nations (UN) today encourages a comprehensive approach to all aspects of its activities. This includes an integrated response between military, police and civilian capacities in the planning, preparation and implementation of UN peace operations and interventions. The United Nations now has some 65 years experience in dealing with international conflict and post conflict environments, and during that period the world, the United Nations and Member States have all come to realise that there is no simple solution to the international vision outlined in the UN Charter to prevent the scourge of war, and that all avenues and capabilities must be used to achieve that end.

Over that period huge changes have occurred to the world, there has been broad normative debate on international responsibilities, agreements and standards, there has been the growth of a large number of regional and sub-regional organisations that focus on collective security arrangements, and some141 new Member States have joined the United Nations to bring its membership today to 192. Nevertheless, conflict has persisted with an average of about 30 wars and armed conflicts occurring each year.

Peace and security activities

The United Nations works in global partnership with other international and regional organisations and Member States to monitor and respond to threats to international peace and security. The United Nations has clarified the various activities that it undertakes to deal with conflict in partnership with its Member States and through the involvement of the Secretariat and the UN agencies, programmes and organisations into the following categories:

Conflict Prevention:

• This involves structural or diplomatic measures, good offices, preventative deployment and confidence building measures to try and prevent conflict. These measures include fact finding, early warning, and preventative diplomacy.

Peace Making:

• These are diplomatic actions involving mediation and negotiation using a range of envoys, actors and actions (including sanctions where appropriate).

Peacekeeping:

• This involves the deployment of United Nations Missions to assist in implementing cease fires and agreements with support of an integrated international mission with a mandate to strengthen peace.

Peacebuilding:

• These are the long-term measures targeted to prevent relapse and lay foundation for a sustainable peace and development.

Peace Enforcement:

• When authorised, this sees the application of a range of coercive measures, including use of military force, to restore international peace and security

Today the United Nations approaches all of these activities from an integrated perspective – integrated with the many actors that are involved in activity but also integrated in the skills and capability it consults to approach the individual situation. There is also an acceptance that there is often an overlap between these activities, which do not necessarily occur either separately or sequentially.

The UN and its contributors have realised that there is no single approach to such issues. While it can be accepted that all such situations are political, there is a realization that many civilian, military and police capacities can contribute effectively to bring a solution and stability to the situation.

When considering how the UN can best approach these activities, we should briefly remind ourselves that the tools that the UN has do not always work best in conflict situations. Much depends upon the degree of international, regional and local consent that is available for UN involvement and on the military, police and civilian capability that the UN and others can resource and deliver for the activity. This is reflected in the mandate given to the UN, both formally and informally, and to the relationship it forms with the many other actors, large and small, associated with the situation. This, in turn, will have an impact on the level of integration that can occur within the Mission, with various UN agencies and programmes and with the wide range of other regional, national and local government and non-government actors. It will also affect the relationships that can be established which may vary from close cooperation to co-existence.

Focus on civil-military-police integration

Increasingly we see civilian, military and police expertise and capacity being used in all phases and types of UN activities. Today the UN is actively working with Member States and regional organizations to prevent conflict particularly in emerging or failing States. Some examples of pre-conflict tasks are the various militaryand police advisers that we find in UN teams addressing conflict prevention. Use of special envoys, and the UN Mediation Support Standby Unit aims to prevent crisis from escalating. The offices of the Military Adviserand the Rule of Law and Security Institution in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) provide advice to Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in such peacemaking and cessation of conflict agreements.

The UN works in conjunction with regional and sub regional organisations to try to prevent conflict and the causes of conflict developing. As one example, the UN police division is engaged with a range of international police and crime organisations such as INTERPOL to fight transnational organised crime. This can onlybe achieved by proactive and well-coordinated law enforcement agencies utilising all the information and resources available within a country, as well as international forms of operational cooperation. Proactive intelligence-led policing allows the preparation of well-defined international and national strategies and pooling of knowledge and resources. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is working with DPA, DPKO and INTERPOL to create Transnational Crime Units to enhance national and international coordination, as well as to enable intelligence-based investigations. Another example is the contribution by military officers, police and civilian counterparts from DPKO in attending and briefing at a wide range of international courses and seminars aimed at preventing conflict.

During conflict

The level of UN activity during any particular conflict situation is driven by status of the conflict. During a war it is often very difficult to undertake direct action. The UN can best employ their combined civil-military and police expertise when there is a peace to keep, or when there is a transition commencing that will result in cessation of hostilities or a ceasefire.

There are a number of issues that need to be carefully when considered when operating within an environment where conflict still persists. Much will depend upon who is taking the lead in the situation, and the actual role that the United Nations is undertaking. The ability to act is often driven by the level and type of conflict still occurring and the way that the Mission military component is conducting manouevre and offensive operations. It will be affected by whether there is unity of purpose in the mission area and if the United Nations contingent is able to contribute with an integrated response. The level of security, freedom of movement and safety of citizens in the mission area will also significantly affect the ability of the United Nations and other actors to provide a humanitarian and development response.

We need to be aware that during conflict it is more likely that various organisations will have different mandates and agenda, principles and perceptions. Additionally if the police and military are reporting to different headquarters, this will affect the relationship that can be developed between them. This will of course have an impact on the degree of cooperation and coordination that can achieved between various components.

Nevertheless, there are activities that can be undertaken during conflict that involve civilian, police and military working together. Some of these include working in neighbouring States to assist the reduction of tension between countries and escalation of the conflict across borders. UN military, police and civilians can also cooperate in advising on Peace Making, with practical suggestions to aid the cessation of hostilities, and present options for ceasefires. Experience in Iraq and Afghanistan have indicated that integrated national reconstruction teams, comprised of civilian, military and police elements, may be employed during some stages of conflict to assist development and initial peace building activities – even when security is weak. The UN can provide links for these to national institutions and activities. Additionally UN advisers may be employedto prepare for the transition to peace by commencing the planning of activities with the UN Country Team, including the initiation of programmes such as DDR, SSR and re-establishing the Rule of Law and justice sectors in the post conflict period. Finally integrated UN teams can assist mission preparation of national contingents that will be deployed once a ceasefire is achieved and a UN peacekeeping mission is deployed.

During Peacekeeping and Peace Building

There is a great deal of guidance now being produced on integration during Peacekeeping and Peace building. These recommend the actions required to encourage close relations between the civilian, military and police components of a mission. Policy and doctrine emanating from DPKO and DFS, such as the New Horizons paper and its update in October 2010, and the Principles and Guidelines pamphlet issued in 2008, describe evolving practice and the wide range of developing policy on such subjects as protection of civilians, robust peacekeeping, and the mission strategic framework. For example: “The various components of a UnitedNations peacekeeping operation – civilian, police, military and support – come under the direct authority ofthe SRSG/Head of Mission (HOM) and the MLT. In large integrated missions, the MLT is normally supported by structures, which are designed to facilitate integration between the mission’s components.” (UN Peacekeeping Operations – Principles and Guidelines DPKO Jan 2008)

Extracts and ideas from the draft considerations paper

The concept of an integrated response and close relations between the civilian, military and police components of a UN peacekeeping mission are also stressed in the Challenges project paper “Considerations for UN MissionLeaders.” This paper has been reviewed and supported by UN headquarters and will be released in early 2011. Some of the ideas and concepts developed in this paper are outlined in the following paragraphs.

There are a multitude of tasks, or lines of activity, needed to support a mandate designed to move an immediate post-conflict environment towards one in which there is a prospect of a sustainable peace. Contemporary, multidimensional peacekeeping missions have the political leadership of the process, but often lack the necessary authority, budget, expertise or resources to undertake all the tasks covered bythe mandate. In order to help peacekeeping missions focus on their most essential business, the Capstone Doctrine identified the core functions in its Chapter 2.3:

• Create a secure and stable environment while strengthening the State’s ability to provide security with full respect for the rule of law and human rights;
• Facilitate the political process by promoting dialogue and supporting the establishment of legitimate and effective institutions of governance; and
• Provide a framework for ensuring that all UN and other international actors pursue their activities at the country level in a coherent and coordinated manner.

The composition of the Mission leadership will vary depending on the specific requirements of a mission. In today’s multidimensional peacekeeping operations, the head of Mission is usually the Special Representative ofthe Secretary-General (SRSG). The Head of Mission is often supported by one or two Deputy SRSGs, one of whom is frequently designated as the Resident Coordinator and/or Humanitarian Coordinator of the UN agencies and programmes that make up the UN Country Team. Multidimensional and integrated missions are likely to comprise a variety of civilian and uniformed components, the heads of which will normally form the Mission Leadership Team. These senior leaders include the Force Commander, the Police Commissioner, and the Director/Chief of Mission Support, as well as the mission’s Chief of Staff. The individual leadership qualitiesof the membership team are of crucial importance, but can be optimised only if personalities complement each other and the team operates compatibly as an inclusive, coherent team in which the members are respectful of each other’s competencies and mandates.

Experience has established that there are a number of cross-cutting issues that have an impact on the implementation of the mandate of a peacekeeping operation. These issues need to be carefully considered bythe mission leadership, as they require action in multiple fields, affect many or all components and are not the responsibility of any single mission element alone, even if one component is usually in the lead. Nevertheless,they are all rooted in the need for political primacy, and ultimately must be driven by the political leadership of the mission. However, a consultative approach to these issues will develop trust and teamwork in a mission and support effective leadership and integration.

Issues that fall into this category include the protection of civilians, a comprehensive strategy for the promotionand protection of human rights, security sector reform, the DDR of combatants, the mainstreaming of genderissues and promotion of equality, support to a coordinated mine action response and an integrated approachto all aspects of mission management and resourcing.

Integrated missions are designed to facilitate a coherent system-wide approach to assist countries emerging from conflict. The UN system has the ability to employ, under a unified leadership, a mix of civilian, military and police capabilities in support of a fragile peace process. They are often deployed alongside a variety of national and international actors with widely differing mandates, agendas and time horizons.

Current UN policy recommends that each mission should develop an Integrated Strategic Framework (ISF) that reflects a shared vision of the UN strategic objectives and a set of agreed results, timelines, and responsibilities to achieve synergies in the delivery of tasks critical to consolidating peace. The purpose of an ISF is to:

• Bring together the mission and the UN Country Team around a common set of agreed peacebuilding priorities;
• Identify common priorities, and prioritize and sequence agreed activities;
• Facilitate a shift in priorities and/or resources, as required;
• Allow for regular stocktaking by senior managers.

The scope of the ISF should be limited to key peace consolidation priorities that are unique to the context of each mission area. In this regard, many typical peace building initiatives (e.g. DDR, security sector reform, rule of law, return and reintegration of IDPs and refugees, restoration of state authority, addressing human rights violations and sexual and gender-based violence) are particularly challenging and time-consuming, as they involve highly political and sequenced activities by a number of UN actors. Thus, an ISF offers an opportunity to create clarity in the overall approach and priorities for all components and to establish a framework for mutual accountability.

Planning preparation and implementation

A range of current initiatives throughout the UN system is supporting the development of close relations between the civil, military and police capacities in UN missions. We are seeing this approach in planning both at the strategic level in headquarters and at the mission level. The integrated mission task forces at Headquarters now involve experts from all disciplines and we see well-balanced technical assessment missions being sent to the field.

On the training side the Integrated Training Service (ITS) now coordinates all aspects of DPKO guided military, police and civilian training through training packages and courses that they guide and conduct. One example of which I am familiar is the Senior Mission Leadership courses that aim to prepare participants to be part of a UN mission leadership team. DPKO has now conducted 13 SML courses over the last 4 years around the world involving 123 civilian, 111 military, and 89 police participants. 21 Participants have subsequently been appointed to a leadership position in a PK mission (13 of which attended the recent courses in Rio, Vienna and Malaysia). The SML stresses that the Mission Leadership Team needs to encourage C4 and I in all missions (Communication, Cooperation, Coordination, Consensus and Integration).

The guidance for close interaction within a UN peacekeeping mission has been described above in the extracts from the Considerations Paper. There are now a number of standard structures in these missions where UN military, police and civilian staff will work together. These include the Joint Mission Operations Centre (JMOC), the Joint Mission Analysis Centre (JMAC), the Mission Training Centre (MTC), the Joint Logistics Operations Centre and the Integrated Service Support (ISS) system to name just a few.

National response

The United Nations is encouraging its Member States and regional organisations to also integrate their planning and preparation for UN activities. This includes involvement of the national police and military capacities in analysing security situations and in preparing national responses and contingents for deployment. Such a ”Whole of Government” approach to international peace and security, in all such activities, including conflict, will result in a more comprehensive response that can better coordinate with the UN activity. It will also prepare national contingents for the environment in which they can expect to operate once deployed to UN integrated missions.

Summary

In summary I would reaffirm that the UN approach to the issue of close relations between civilian, military and police capacities has been developed over 65 years of experience. A global partnership exists with regional organisations and Member States that sees the United Nations involved in all types of international peace and security activity from prevention to enforcement. This involves many UN departments, organisations and agencies from across the full spectrum. The focus today is on an integrated civil-military-police response in planning, preparation, and implementation. The United Nations is encouraging all Member States to take a similar integrated civil-military national response that transcends the planning, preparation and contribution of national contingents to international peace and security activities.