United Nations A/75/6 (Sect. 3) General Assembly Distr.: General 23 April 2020 Original: English Seventy-fifth session Items 141 and 142 of the preliminary list* Proposed programme budget for 2021 Programme planning Proposed programme budget for 2021 Part II Political affairs Section 3 Political affairs Programme 2 Political affairs Contents Page I. Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs ............................... 3 Foreword ................................................................. 3 A. Proposed programme plan for 2021 and programme performance for 2019** ..... 4 B. Proposed post and non-post resource requirements for 2021*** ................ 49 II. Special political missions .................................................... 69 III. Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ... 71 Foreword ................................................................. 71 A. Proposed programme plan for 2021 and programme performance for 2019** ..... 72 * A/75/50. ** In keeping with paragraph 11 of resolution 72/266 A, the part consisting of the programme plan and programme performance information is submitted through the Committee for Programme and Coordination for the consideration of the General Assembly. *** In keeping with paragraph 11 of resolution 72/266 A, the part consisting of the post and non-post resource requirements is submitted through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for the consideration of the General Assembly. 20-05968 (E) 210520 *2005968* B. Proposed post and non-post resource requirements for 2021*** ................ 80 IV. United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ................................................ 85 Foreword ................................................................. 85 A. Proposed programme plan for 2021 and programme performance for 2019** ..... 86 B. Proposed post and non-post resource requirements for 2021*** ................ 92 V. United Nations Office to the African Union ..................................... 97 Foreword ................................................................. 97 A. Proposed programme plan for 2021 and programme performance for 2019** ..... 98 B. Proposed post and non-post resource requirements for 2021*** ................ 106 VI. Office of Counter-Terrorism .................................................. 111 Foreword ................................................................. 111 A. Proposed programme plan for 2021 and programme performance for 2019** ..... 112 B. Proposed post and non-post resource requirements for 2021*** ................ 122 Annexes to the proposed post and non-post resource requirements for 2021 I. Organizational structure and post distribution for 2021 ............................ 126 II. Summary of follow-up action taken to implement relevant recommendations of the oversight bodies ........................................................... 132 III. Summary of proposed changes in established and temporary posts, by component ..... 134 IV. Overview of financial and post resources by entity and funding source .............. 135 20-05968 2/135 I. Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Foreword As violent conflict continues to surge around the world, civilians, in particular women and children, continue to pay the highest price. But the destruction of life and of the infrastructure to sustain it is not inevitable. The means to support Member States, societies and communities in preventing and ending violence are available. And we know that the solution to war is not more war. We need to put diplomacy at the centre of coordinated efforts. Only political solutions, promoted through diplomatic means, can ensure lasting peace. That is what the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs aims to help Member States and regional and subregional organizations to achieve. The Department supports the Secretary-General’s exercise of his good offices, including by deploying preventive diplomacy to promote conflict prevention and sustain peace. The Department is central to the Secretary-General’s call for a “surge in diplomacy for peace”. On the strength of its capacities, extensive expertise and broad partnerships, the Department supports Member States in responding quickly to the risks of an outbreak or escalation of violent conflict. Essential to the Department’s work, special political missions are a flexible and cost-effective tool to promote political solutions. Special political missions play a critical role in brokering agreements or supporting their implementation. Our missions act as advance platforms for conflict prevention and play a fundamental role in supporting countries to sustain hard-won achievements. Within the framework of the Secretary-General’s reform agenda, we are devoting particular attention to supporting mission transitions in settings where the United Nations is undergoing a significant reconfiguration. In this regard, the previous two years have seen significant developments. The Security Council mandated a new special political mission in Haiti, deployed in October 2019, while the special politic al mission in Guinea-Bissau is set to close at the end of 2020, giving way to a strengthened role for the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel. We also continue to provide support to United Nations presences in the field through a range of capacities, such as electoral assistance and mediation and peacebuilding expertise. Special political missions are time- and space-bound, but they are one of the Department’s main tools to fulfil its global mandate for conflict prevention and sustaining peace. A central part of this mandate is the women, peace and security agenda. I am determined to ensure that a gender perspective and women’s participation, protection and rights continue to be reflected in all our work. Equally important is the inclusion of young people and other traditionally marginalized groups, in furtherance of the youth, peace and security agenda. The primacy of political solutions remains the Department’s guiding principle as it helps forge the United Nations response to some of the world’s most pressing political and security crises. With the regional and thematic expertise it has developed over the years, its rich network of field presences, and the integration of our political and peacebuilding work under the umbrella of one department, I am certain that the Department can continue to make a significant contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security in the year ahead. (Signed) Rosemary A. DiCarlo Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs 20-05968 3/135 Part II Political affairs A. Proposed programme plan for 2021 and programme performance for 2019 Overall orientation Mandates and background 3.1 The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs is responsible for all Secretariat matters related to the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts at the global level. The Department is the lead entity of the United Nations for good offices, political analysis, mediation, electoral assistance, peacebuilding support and political guidance as they relate to the O rganization’s efforts towards, inter alia, preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacebuilding and sustaining peace. The Department oversees the work of special political missions, including special envoys and regional offices. It also provides support to peacekeeping operations in the areas of mediation, electoral assistance and peacebuilding, as well as to resident coordinators working in complex political situations. It provides substantive support and secretariat services to the Security Council and its subsidiary bodies, as well as to relevant subsidiary organs of the General Assembly, including the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The Department also provides strategic, substantive and technical support to the work of the Peacebuilding Commission, manages the Peacebuilding Fund on behalf of the Secretary-General and draws together the expertise of the United Nations system to facilitate coherent system-wide action in support of peacebuilding and sustaining peace. 3.2 The mandate derives from the Charter of the United Nations and the priorities established in relevant General Assembly resolutions and decisions, including resolution 46/232, in which the Assembly established the Department of Political Affairs, and more recently resolution 72/262 C, in which the Assembly established the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. The proliferation of the number and intensity of conflicts over the past few years and their immense human and material c ost confirms the importance of conflict prevention and resolution through inclusive political solutions. Strategy and external factors for 2021 3.3 The Department has global responsibility for political and peacebuilding issues and manages a spectrum of tools and engagements across the conflict continuum to ensure a coherent and effective approach to conflict prevention and resolution, electoral assistance, peacebuilding and sustaining peace. The Department will take into account the evolving nature of conflicts, including the emergence of new threats,