§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his(a) EU and (b) UN counterparts concerning Ambassador Richard Holbrooke's proposal that the United Nations should transform its civilian-run peacekeeping Department into a larger and more effective military-style operation. [126607]
§ Mr. Hain[holding answer 19 June 2000]: We strongly support efforts to enhance the operational capacity and effectiveness of the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). We are working closely with the UN Secretariat, the United States, and other EU and UN members.
Military officers are already closely involved in the preparation and execution of United Nations peacekeeping missions. But DPKO needs increased intelligence and planning capacity and an enhanced capacity to manage police and other civilian deployments. And, since modern peacekeeping is now rarely wholly military in nature, we want to see better integration of military and civilian resources. I have also explained the concept of a UN rapid reaction capability.