Working in United Nations Missions
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Working in United Nations Missions Deployee Guide Stabilisation Unit October 2014 Table of Contents Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 6 UN Missions ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Preparation for the Deployment ............................................................................................................ 9 General Preparation - Pre-Deployment Understanding ..................................................................... 9 Understanding United Nations peacekeeping and the wider UN family ........................................ 9 Structure of a typical Peace Support Mission ............................................................................... 10 Command and Control (C2) .......................................................................................................... 11 UN Agencies and Programmes and the UN Country Team .......................................................... 12 UN Standards of Conduct .............................................................................................................. 14 The legal framework for UN interventions, and its evolution ...................................................... 15 Immunities and privileges of “Experts on Mission” ...................................................................... 16 Familiarisation with UN acronyms and terms ............................................................................... 16 Personal Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 16 Understanding the mission and your role .................................................................................... 16 Understanding the local, regional and geo-political background ................................................. 17 Staying current with stabilisation guidance .................................................................................. 17 UK stakeholders and the UN ......................................................................................................... 18 Personal motivation and maximising your effectiveness and contribution ................................. 19 Living conditions and daily life ...................................................................................................... 20 Performance in Post ...................................................................................................................... 21 Risk management and duty of care .............................................................................................. 21 What to Expect: Key issues and Challenges .......................................................................................... 22 Lack of Understanding and Agreement of Stabilisation Concepts ................................................... 23 The Humanitarian/Political Dilemma ................................................................................................ 23 Deployee Guide to the United Nations 2 Stakeholder Cohesion/Cooperation ................................................................................................. 24 Concluding Remarks.............................................................................................................................. 25 Annex A: UN Key Resources ................................................................................................................. 26 Annex B: “At a Glance” Checklist for Deployees .................................................................................. 27 Annex C: The UN System ...................................................................................................................... 29 Annex D: The Roles of Key Personnel in UN Missions ......................................................................... 30 Deployee Guide to the United Nations 3 Acronyms AFP Agencies, Funds and Programmes AU African Union CCA Common Country Analysis CHAP Common Humanitarian Action Plan CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CSSF Conflict, Stability and Security Fund CT Country Team C2 Command and Control DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DaO Delivery as One DFID Department for International Development DPKO Department for Peacekeeping Operations D/SRSG Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General EU European Union FCAS Fragile and Conflict-Affected States FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office HC Humanitarian Coordinator HMG Her Majesty’s Government IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IFI International Financial Institution IHL International Humanitarian Law IMPP Integrated Mission Planning Process ISF Integrated Strategic Framework ISSSS International Security and Stabilisation Support Strategy M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MoU Memorandum of Understanding MOD Ministry of Defence MONUSCO United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs PKO Peace Keeping Operation PSM Peace Support Mission RC Resident Coordinator SSAFE Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments SG Secretary-General SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SPM Special Political Mission Deployee Guide to the United Nations 4 SRSG Special Representative of the Secretary-General SU Stabilisation Unit ToR Terms of Reference UNCT UN Country Team UNDAF UN Development Assistance Framework UNDP UN Development Programme UNDSS UN Department for Safety and Security UNICEF UN Children’s Fund UNSC UN Security Council USAID US Agency for International Development Deployee Guide to the United Nations 5 Introduction The Stabilisation Unit (SU) is an integrated civil-military operational unit which reports to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development (DFID), and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is designed to be agile, responsive and well-equipped to operate in high threat environments. It combines in-house staff expertise with the ability to draw on a larger pool of civilian expertise for specialised, longer term or larger scale taskings. It ensures lessons from practical experience are captured as best practice and used to improve future delivery by Her Majesty’s Government (HMG). Deployee Guides are to be read in the policy and resource context of HMG’s: Building Stability Overseas Strategy; Conflict Pool; Conflict, Stability and Security Fund;1 UK Approach to Stabilisation, and UK Principles for Stabilisation Operations and Programmes;2 and other relevant guidance from HMG Departments. They are aimed primarily at the SU’s own practitioners and consultants, and those of other HMG Departments. They are not a formal statement of HMG policy. This Deployee Guide to working in United Nations missions (UN) has been written for first time staff and consultants being deployed by the SU to work in UN missions.3 It is intended to provide practical advice on how best to prepare for such a deployment - how to function comfortably and maximize the effectiveness and contribution of staff within an often complex and unique environment. It covers a wide variety of issues including the structure and organization of the UN system, mission organisation, tasks and personnel issues - while providing a coherent introduction to working on integrated political missions, including in Country Team offices and UN agencies such as UNDP. The guide is based on the experiences and feedback of staff who have undertaken a multitude of roles including Stabilisation Advisers in UN missions and various documents (see UN Key Resources at Annex A) that cover topics relevant to working in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) as well as issues related to the personal and professional challenges that one may be faced with. An “At a Glance” checklist for deployees can be found at Annex B. Deployees needing more detailed information on UK policy relating to their deployment should ask SU staff for relevant points of contacts in HMG Departments. 1 Announced in June 2013, for FY 2015-16, the £1 billion Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF, the successor to the Conflict Pool) pools new and existing resources across Government to prevent conflict and tackle threats to UK interests that arise from instability overseas. The National Security Council (NSC) will set priorities for the Fund, drawing on the most effective combination of defence, diplomacy, development assistance, security and intelligence. 2 The UK Approach to Stabilisation and the UK Principles for Stabilisation Operations and Programmes can be found on the Stabilisation and Conflict Learning Resource under Publications: sclr.stabilisationunit.gov.uk 3 This paper has been written by Gregory Wilson on behalf of the Stabilisation Unit. Stabilisation Unit Publications The Stabilisation Unit produces a number of publications in order to inform key stakeholders about a range of topics relating to conflict, stability, security and justice. The publications can be found at our new Publications