United Nations Department of Political Affairs
Encyclopedia
The United Nations
Department of Political Affairs (DPA) is a department of the Secretariat
of the United Nations
with responsibility for monitoring and assessing global political developments and advising and assisting the United Nations Secretary General and his envoys in the peaceful prevention and resolution of conflict around the world. The Department manages field-based political missions in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, and has in recent years been increasing its professional capacities in conflict mediation and preventive diplomacy. DPA also oversees United Nations electoral assistance to Member States of the organization. Established in 1992, the Department’s responsibilities also include providing secretariat support to the UN Security Council and two standing committees created by the General Assembly concerning the Rights of the Palestinian People and Decolonization. The Under-Secretary-General
heading DPA is former US diplomat B. Lynn Pascoe
.
The Under-Secretary-General B. Lynn Pascoe
. Pascoe was previously the United States Ambassador to Indonesia
, from 2004 to 2007, and had a nearly forty year career as a US diplomat before being named to his current position in March 2007 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Under-Secretary manages the department, advises the Secretary-General on matters affecting global peace and security, and provides guidance to his envoys and political missions in the field. The Under-Secretary-General also serves on the Secretary-General’s Policy Committee, the highest decision-making body within the U.N. Secretariat, and chairs the Executive Committee on Peace and Security, a high-level body for interagency and interdepartmental coordination.
DPA employs approximately 300 people at the United Nations headquarters
in New York City
and manages field based political missions that employ more than 1700 national and international staff in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
In Africa:
In Central Asia:
In the Middle East:
These DPA-led field operations are headed by senior representatives of the Secretary-General and provide a forward platform for preventive diplomacy and other activities across a range of disciplines, to help prevent and resolve conflict or to build lasting peace in nations emerging from civil wars. The peace-building offices, currently active in Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone aim to help nations consolidate peace through comprehensive peace-building strategies developed and carried out in coordination with national actors and U.N. development and humanitarian entities on the ground.
Political missions are part of a continuum of UN peace operations working in different stages of the conflict cycle. In some instances, following the signing of peace agreements, political missions overseen by the Department of Political Affairs during the stage of peace negotiations have been replaced by peacekeeping missions. In other instances, U.N. peacekeeping operations have given way to special political missions overseeing longer term peace-building activities.
Good Offices missions
In addition to the field-based missions currently under its supervision, DPA provides guidance and support to traveling envoys and special advisers of the Secretary-General bringing to bear his “good offices” for the resolution of conflicts or the implementation of other UN mandates. These currently include UN envoys or special advisers for Cyprus, Western Sahara, and the FYROM-Greece name dispute.
Investigative Mandates and Fact-Finding Missions
DPA has also assisted in establishing and providing support to various UN investigative and fact-finding bodies. These have included: the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala
(CICIG); the United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan; the International Commission of Inquiry on the 28 September 2009 events in Guinea; and the United Nations International Investigation Commission in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Department of Political Affairs (DPA) is a department of the Secretariat
United Nations Secretariat
The United Nations Secretariat is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and it is headed by the United Nations Secretary-General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for...
of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
with responsibility for monitoring and assessing global political developments and advising and assisting the United Nations Secretary General and his envoys in the peaceful prevention and resolution of conflict around the world. The Department manages field-based political missions in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, and has in recent years been increasing its professional capacities in conflict mediation and preventive diplomacy. DPA also oversees United Nations electoral assistance to Member States of the organization. Established in 1992, the Department’s responsibilities also include providing secretariat support to the UN Security Council and two standing committees created by the General Assembly concerning the Rights of the Palestinian People and Decolonization. The Under-Secretary-General
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
An Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Secretary-General for a renewable term of four years....
heading DPA is former US diplomat B. Lynn Pascoe
B. Lynn Pascoe
B. Lynn Pascoe is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs.Pascoe was previously United States Ambassador to Indonesia after being nominated by President George W. Bush from 2004 to 2007, and to Malaysia from 1999 to 2001....
.
Staffing
- B. Lynn PascoeB. Lynn PascoeB. Lynn Pascoe is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs.Pascoe was previously United States Ambassador to Indonesia after being nominated by President George W. Bush from 2004 to 2007, and to Malaysia from 1999 to 2001....
- Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs - Tayé-Brook ZerihounTayé-Brook ZerihounTayé-Brook Zerihoun was appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs in the United Nations Department of Political Affairs on 28 April 2010 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.- External links :**...
- Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs - Oscar Fernandez-TarancoOscar Fernandez-TarancoOscar Fernandez-Taranco was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs in the UN Department of Political Affairs on 1 July 2009....
- Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs
The Under-Secretary-General B. Lynn Pascoe
B. Lynn Pascoe
B. Lynn Pascoe is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs.Pascoe was previously United States Ambassador to Indonesia after being nominated by President George W. Bush from 2004 to 2007, and to Malaysia from 1999 to 2001....
. Pascoe was previously the United States Ambassador to Indonesia
United States Ambassador to Indonesia
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Indonesia.Indonesia had been a Dutch colony since 1800 as a part of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch were expelled in March 1942 by the Japanese occupation of Indonesia. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Sukarno declared independence on...
, from 2004 to 2007, and had a nearly forty year career as a US diplomat before being named to his current position in March 2007 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Under-Secretary manages the department, advises the Secretary-General on matters affecting global peace and security, and provides guidance to his envoys and political missions in the field. The Under-Secretary-General also serves on the Secretary-General’s Policy Committee, the highest decision-making body within the U.N. Secretariat, and chairs the Executive Committee on Peace and Security, a high-level body for interagency and interdepartmental coordination.
DPA employs approximately 300 people at the United Nations headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and manages field based political missions that employ more than 1700 national and international staff in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Former Under-Secretaries-General
- Ibrahim GambariIbrahim GambariIbrahim Agboola Gambari, CFR is a Nigerian scholar and diplomat. He was Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985...
- 2005-2007 - Kieran PrendergastKieran PrendergastSir Kieran Prendergast is a British diplomat and a former Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the United Nations....
- 1998-2005 - Marrack GouldingMarrack GouldingSir Marrack Goulding, KCMG was a British diplomat who served more than eleven years as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.- Early life :...
- 1993-1997 - James O.C. Jonah - 1992-1994
- Vladimir F. Petrovsky - 1992
- Vasilly S. Safronchuk - 1987-1992
- Viacheslav A. Ustinov - 1981-1986
- Mikhail D. Sytenko - 1978-1981
- Arkady N. Shevchenko - 1973-1978
- Leonid N. Kutakov - 1968-1973
- Alexei E. Nesterenko - 1965-1968
- V.P. Suslov - 1963-1965
- E.D. Kiselyv - 1962-1963
- Georgy Arkadev - 1960-1962
- Dragoslav Protich - 1954-1957
- Ilya Tchernychev - 1953-1954
- Konstantin Zinchenko - 1949-1953
- Arkady SobolevArkady SobolevArkady Alexandrovich Sobolev was a Russian Soviet diplomat who served as the Soviet ambassador to the United Nations between 1955 and 1960. He was a specialist in international law...
- 1946-1949
Field Missions
As of early 2011, the Department of Political Affairs manages the following political missions and peace-building support offices engaged in conflict prevention, peacemaking and post-conflict peacebuilding in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East:In Africa:
- BNUB, United Nations Office in BurundiUnited Nations Office in BurundiThe United Nations Office in Burundi was established by the United Nations Security Council in December 2010 as a scaled-down operation to replace the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi from 1 January 2011....
- BINUCA, United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic
- UNIOGBIS, United Nations Integrated Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau
- UNOWA, United Nations Office for West AfricaUnited Nations Office for West AfricaThe United Nations Office for West Africa was established by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2001 to enhance linkages between the United Nations and other partners in the region...
- UNIPSIL, United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra LeoneUnited Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra LeoneThe United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone was established by the United Nations Security Council in 2008 to provide support to the Government of Sierra Leone in identifying and resolving tensions and threats of potential conflict, monitoring and promoting human rights, and...
- UNSMIL, United Nations Support Mission in LibyaUnited Nations Support Mission in LibyaThe United Nations Support Mission in Libya is a United Nations advanced mission in Libya, in the aftermath of the 2011 Libyan civil war. UNSMIL is not a military mission, but a political one led by the Department of Political Affairs...
, as of September 2011 - UNPOS, United Nations Political Office for Somalia
In Central Asia:
- UNRCCA, United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia
In the Middle East:
- UNAMI, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
- UNSCO, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
- UNSCOL, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for LebanonOffice of the United Nations Special Coordinator for LebanonThe Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon is the political office of the United Nations that organizes the work of the UN in Lebanon. The Special Coordinator for Lebanon is Michael C. Williams...
These DPA-led field operations are headed by senior representatives of the Secretary-General and provide a forward platform for preventive diplomacy and other activities across a range of disciplines, to help prevent and resolve conflict or to build lasting peace in nations emerging from civil wars. The peace-building offices, currently active in Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone aim to help nations consolidate peace through comprehensive peace-building strategies developed and carried out in coordination with national actors and U.N. development and humanitarian entities on the ground.
Political missions are part of a continuum of UN peace operations working in different stages of the conflict cycle. In some instances, following the signing of peace agreements, political missions overseen by the Department of Political Affairs during the stage of peace negotiations have been replaced by peacekeeping missions. In other instances, U.N. peacekeeping operations have given way to special political missions overseeing longer term peace-building activities.
Good Offices missions
In addition to the field-based missions currently under its supervision, DPA provides guidance and support to traveling envoys and special advisers of the Secretary-General bringing to bear his “good offices” for the resolution of conflicts or the implementation of other UN mandates. These currently include UN envoys or special advisers for Cyprus, Western Sahara, and the FYROM-Greece name dispute.
Investigative Mandates and Fact-Finding Missions
DPA has also assisted in establishing and providing support to various UN investigative and fact-finding bodies. These have included: the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala
International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala
The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala is an international body charged with investigating and prosecuting serious crime in Guatemala...
(CICIG); the United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan; the International Commission of Inquiry on the 28 September 2009 events in Guinea; and the United Nations International Investigation Commission in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
See also
- Newsletter of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs
- Newsletter of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs: Latest issue (Winter 2010-2011)