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Transitions from UN Special Political Missions to UN Country Teams Transitions from UN Special Political Missions to UN Country Teams Agathe Sarfati APRIL 2021 Agathe Sarfati is a Policy Analyst at Executive Summary the International Peace Institute. The UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) currently The views expressed in this publica- tion represent those of the author manages twenty-five special political missions (SPMs) that have a field and not necessarily those of the presence. Nonetheless, research and guidance on UN transitions has mainly International Peace Institute. IPI focused on peacekeeping operations. This paper takes a first step toward filling welcomes consideration of a wide that gap by exploring transitions from SPMs to UN country teams (UNCTs), range of perspectives in the pursuit looking at four cases: the withdrawal of the United Nations Mission in Nepal of a well-informed debate on critical (UNMIN) in 2011, the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB) in 2014, the policies and issues in international United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) in affairs. 2014, and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea- Bissau (UNIOGBIS) in 2020. The author would like to thank Daniel Forti and Jake Sherman for These cases provide several lessons for transitions from SPMs to UNCTs. their guidance and advice First, the baseline for a successful transition is a shared vision of peace among throughout the completion of the national actors and the UN system, as well as agreement on the guiding princi- report, Ilhan Dahir and Luciana ples and the role of the UN in contributing to this vision. This shared vision Vosniak for their excellent research encompasses a common understanding of the “end state”—the conditions support, and Albert Trihart and that must be met in order for the mission to leave. Emma Fox for their thorough Second, during transitions, the UN needs to be clear about the substantive revision and for the finalization of differences between the various stages of its presence and the implications for the report. The author is also political engagement and peacebuilding efforts. At the same time, it needs to grateful to all interviewees for their maintain continuity in its cooperation with national authorities and in its time and insight, as well as to the UN peacebuilding objectives. Joint Transitions Project, Marc Jacquand, Marc Pellerin, and Dirk Third, transitions from SPMs require the UN to put in place arrangements to Druet for their feedback on earlier ensure continuous political engagement and provide conflict-sensitive drafts. Any errors of facts or analysis to support the work of the UNCT. This can be done through UN judgment are the sole responsibility regional presences, regional organizations, the resident coordinator’s office, of the author. and UN headquarters. Finally, the UN Peacebuilding Commission can play an This issue brief is part of a project important role during transitions by maintaining international support to entitled “Planning for UN Peace - address a country’s ongoing peacebuilding and development needs. keeping Operation Transitions” Some of these lessons also apply to the drawdown of peacekeeping missions. funded by the Government of For example, all UN transitions require agreeing with national authorities on Germany. a political vision and guiding principles, coordinating between the mission and the UNCT, and involving regional organizations and the UN peace- building architecture. Some aspects, however, are more specific to SPMs, due in part to their smaller size and composition. To address these differences, the UN could consider developing more specific guidance on the transition of SPMs. 2 ISSUE BRIEF Introduction transition or exit strategy… even prior to the issuance of a mandate” for an SPM with a field The UN currently has twenty-five special political presence, there is no guidance on how to do so.6 missions (SPMs) with a field presence.1 But despite There are commonalities between the drawdown of the increasing deployment of SPMs, research and peacekeeping missions and SPMs. For example, the guidance on UN transitions has mainly focused on success of all UN transitions depends on a shared peacekeeping operations.2 This report is a first political vision, national ownership, coordination attempt to address the gap in attention on the within the UN system, and the leveraging of transition of SPMs. external actors.7 However, there are also differences UN transitions refer to “a change in the configura- between these two types of transitions. For tion of the UN field presence on the ground in example, the withdrawal of an SPM can signal a response to changing requirements and demands.”3 greater decrease in international attention, This report focuses on the including by the Security Council, leading to a loss in transition from SPMs to a UN Despite the increasing deployment both political and financial presence that is limited to the of special political missions, leverage despite ongoing UN country team (UNCT), research and guidance on UN peacebuilding needs. signaling a shift toward a focus transitions has mainly focused on on longer-term development.4 peacekeeping operations. Focusing on the program- In recent years, the UN has matic and political aspects of updated its guidelines on transitions, including in transitions, this paper explores the particular issuing the UN secretary-general’s Planning challenges of transitioning from an SPM to a Directive for the Development of Consistent and UNCT by studying the closure of four missions: the Coherent UN Transition Processes in February United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) in 2019. This builds on the Policy on UN Transitions 2011, the United Nations Office in Burundi in the Context of Mission Drawdown or (BNUB) in 2014, the United Nations Integrated Withdrawal (2013) and the Policy on Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) in Assessment and Planning (2013). The directive 2014, and the United Nations Integrated focuses especially on “the drawdown or withdrawal Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau of a multidimensional peace operation or a transi- (UNIOGBIS) in 2020. After presenting the main tion from a multidimensional peacekeeping opera- characteristics of SPMs, it discusses some of the tion to a small peacekeeping mission, special polit- challenges and characteristics of SPM transitions ical mission or UNCT.”5 It does not specifically based on the four case studies. Drawing on desk address the drawdown or withdrawal of SPMs. research and a dozen interviews with current and While the 2012 Special Political Missions Start-up former UN officials, it highlights crosscutting Guide highlights the importance of “[proposing] a lessons from the closure of these missions. 1 UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, “DPPA Around the World,” available at https://dppa.un.org/en/dppa-around-world . 2 The number of SPMs with a field presence has steadily increased since the early 1990s. See: UN Secretary-General, “United Nations Political Missions,” 2015, p. 13; Daniel Forti and Lesley Connolly, “Pivoting from Crisis to Development: Preparing for the Next Wave of UN Peace Operations,” International Peace Institute, July 2019; Daniel Forti, “Walking a Tightrope: The Transition from UNAMID to UNITAMS in Sudan,” International Peace Institute, February 2021. See also Dirk Druet’s forthcoming IPI policy paper on the protection of civilians by SPMs. 3 UN Secretary-General, “United Nations Political Missions,” p. 20. 4 While there are other types of SPM transitions, this report only discusses a specific subset of SPMs: those with country-specific mandates and a field presence in- country that have been mandated by the UN Security Council. 5 UN Secretary-General, “Planning Directive for the Development of Consistent and Coherent UN Transition Processes,” 2019, p. 1. 6 UN Department of Political Affairs, “Special Political Missions Start-up Guide,” 2012, p. 24. 7 Forti and Connolly, “Pivoting from Crisis to Development”; UN Transitions Project, “Transitions: Sustaining Peace and Development Beyond Mission Withdrawal,” 2020; Adam Day, “UN Transitions: Improving Security Council Practice in Mission Settings,” UN University Centre for Policy Research, 2020. Transitions from UN Special Political Missions to UN Country Teams 3 Box 1. The context and role of UNMIN, BNUB, UNIPSIL, and UNIOGBIS • The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) (2007–2011): UNMIN was established in 2007 with a timebound and technical mandate to support the implementation of the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government and the Communist Party of Nepal, as well as the election of a Constituent Assembly.8 National authorities had full ownership over the political process from the outset. They perceived the UN’s role as limited to three main areas: monitoring the management of the arms and armed personnel of both sides, monitoring the cease-fire, and supporting the elections.9 Despite UN attempts to get an explicit good offices mandate, national authorities, as well as India—the main regional power—objected to further UN political involvement.10 This focused and technical mandate provided clear parameters for the role of UNMIN in the lead-up to the elections.11 However, UNMIN’s mandate did not include a provision on how the mission would draw down, and there was no agreed-upon end state.12 This lack of a shared vision for the end state limited the flexibility of the mandate to evolve after the elections. After the Maoist party unexpectedly won a majority in the Constituent Assembly, Nepal and India were not open to reassessing UNMIN’s mandate or to endowing it with broader political tools.13 Instead, the mission began drawing down, and its mandate was reduced to the tasks involved in implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The mission closed in January 2011 at the request of the interim government. Ultimately, the fact that UNMIN and the national author- ities shared an understanding that the mission was not there to stay facilitated the transition planning.14 • The United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB) (2011–2014): BNUB was the third consecutive UN peace mission in Burundi since 2005.
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