Title: White Paper on South African Participation in International Peace Missions - Part 7
7. PROCEDURES FOR PARTICIPATION
South Africa's Permanent Mission to the United Nations will remain fully seized of the country's potential diplomatic, military, and police contributions to peace missions and will communicate these to the UN Secretariat on a regular basis. The Permanent Mission will also solicit information from the Secretariat as to the needs of the UN in terms of contributions to existing and new peace missions. The institution charged with administering the civilian readiness system will play a similar role with respect to ad hoc civilian participation.
At the national level within South Africa, the precise procedures to be followed will depend on the level, scope and nature of the contribution requested. Although such procedures will be refined over time with increasing South African experience in international peace missions, it is envisaged that the following broad procedures will be followed with respect to the deployment of civilians, civilian police and military personnel.
7.1. Deployment of Civilians
The establishment of meaningful procedures for the deployment of civilians in support of international peace missions will depend heavily on the enthusiasm of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the efficacy of the civilian readiness arrangement outlined above. It will be based on accurate information about South African volunteers who meet the profiles of the individuals sought by the UN and other international agencies, such as civil servants and private persons with expertise in foreign relations and diplomacy, democracy and good governance, safety and security, justice, transportation, communications, and health.
Such individuals may be directly hired by the UN or other international organisations, or they may be seconded upon favourable consideration of a request to the Department of Foreign Affairs (and with the permission of the relevant state department where civil servants are involved). Once selected, individuals should be trained and prepared for field operations. As public funds for such training will always be limited, volunteers will be provided with suggestions on the kinds and availability of relevant training. Donor funding may also be sought to defray the costs of such training.
It may be expected that the majority of assignments and the largest number of individuals will be utilised in relation to election observation and supervision. Such missions are generally of relatively short duration (one week to three months). In all cases, civilians returning from international service should be thoroughly debriefed and the lessons learnt recorded for training purposes.
7.2. Police Deployment
A request from UN Headquarters for civilian police will usually be directed to South Africa's Permanent Mission. Such requests are normally quite specific in terms of the required number of persons, type of experience that is appropriate, requisite years of service for police officers, etc. Such requests will be communicated through the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Safety and Security for consideration.
A Selection Committee is to be established within the Department of Safety and Security as part of the police readiness system for participation in international peace missions. The Selection Committee will call for applications from suitably qualified police officers that show a genuine interest in volunteering for service in international peace missions. After a pre-selection, promising applicants will be interviewed by the Selection Committee and measured against the generic qualities required for UN civilian police officers. Successful candidates will then be nominated for an approved basic UN police officers course of no less than two weeks duration.
Once a request for South African UN police officers is approved by the Minister of Safety and Security, the details of this request and the mission in question will be communicated to the Selection Board, who will select the requisite number of officers, according to specific mission requirements, from volunteers from the pool of officers who have successfully completed the basic UN police officers course. Successful candidates will then undergo a shorter mission-specific training course prior to deployment.
The SAPS will remain responsible for the uniform and salary of police officers deployed on international service. Other terms of employment will be specified in a contract between the UN and the individual police officer concerned. All police officers returning from international service will be thoroughly debriefed, so that the relevant lessons can be incorporated into future training programmes.
7.3. Military Deployment
The deployment of individual military officers as unarmed military observers should follow similar procedures to that of UN civilian police officers, but will obviously be co-ordinated and administered by the Department of Defence. Such officers will have the status of detached duty for the duration of their deployment on international service. Where a broader contingent with a national command structure is involved, however, the process will be more complex and time-consuming.
Once the Permanent Mission to the UN has received a request to contribute a military contingent to a peace mission, the extra-territorial deployment of South African forces in fulfilment of an international obligation to participate in a peace mission will, in terms of the Constitution, require the authorisation of the President. The President, acting on advise from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence, will decide in principle whether or not to authorise the deployment of the required military forces.
This should be done on the basis of a Cabinet memorandum jointly prepared and submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the appropriate Ministry and/or Ministries concerned and approved by the Cabinet. Where the mandate involves the potential use of military enforcement measures, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the President will authorise the deployment of the required forces to that end once Parliament has approved, in principle, the proposed participation in such an operation upon the recommendation of the Executive given at the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In all cases, in terms of the Constitution, Parliament is empowered to review the President's decision regarding such deployment. Prior to tabling a proposal in Parliament for ratifying the participation of a South African military contingent in a particular peace support operation, the following procedures must be followed:
- The President will promptly and in appropriate detail inform Parliament, if in session, or, if Parliament is not in session, the appropriate Parliamentary Committees, as to the reasons for the deployment; the place where the force is to be deployed; the number of persons involved; and the expected duration of the deployment;
- Those Parliamentary Committees with a direct interest in South Africa's involvement in peace support operations - the Parliamentary Committees on Defence, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Finance - should be briefed on the preparation for the peace support operation in question;
- The Parliamentary Committees must be informed of the proposed entry and exit criteria and risks involved, and the Treasury Committee on the financial implications of the operation in the operation;
- The Parliamentary Committees should be informed of the proposed command and control arrangements and the details of the proposed force, as well as the proposed ROE and the proposed withdrawal plans for the force in question; and
- Documentation must be provided to parliamentarians in a timely fashion to expedite their decision. This would outline to the parliamentarians whether the operation, in the opinions of those state departments involved in preparing for the operation, accords with South African national interests, national policy and foreign policy objectives.
A clear understanding of the SOFA between the UN and the host country/countries concerned must be communicated by the Department of Foreign Affairs to those other South African agencies committed to the peace support operation. Where a SOFA is still in the process of being finalised, an agreement must be reached between South Africa and the country/countries hosting its forces for deployment. This is the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
An agreement must be reached between South Africa and the UN (Agreement between the UN and Troop Contributing Countries). Such agreements are technical and administrative in nature, and do not need to be submitted to Parliament for approval. Under the guidance of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the following should be clearly outlined in such an agreement:
- The authority under which the force resorts and the details of the appropriate command and control arrangements;
- Administrative, financial and personnel matters (for example contracts) relating to the deployment and utilisation of South African troops and equipment;
- The applicability of international conventions to the force;
- The settlement of disputes between the troop-contributing country and UN, should such disputes emerge, as well as the mechanisms via which this will be addressed; and
- The time frames under which South African personnel are prepared to participate in the operation and the withdrawal procedures once their deployment period has been terminated.
Once the mandate and SOFA have been clarified and determined, ROE must be developed and included in the Agreement between the UN and the Troop Contributing Country. These ROE must take careful cognisance of the following:
- Relevant provisions of international law and their implications for the ROE;
- Standardisation of ROE within the multi-national force in question;
- Familiarisation of all South African personnel involved in the operation with the ROE; and
- A clear outline of the circumstances under which ROE can be changed within a particular operation (the worsening of a situation for example).
Once an agreement has been concluded to participate in a peace support operation, the Department of Foreign Affairs will have lead responsibility for overseeing and co-ordinating continuing South African involvement in the operation at a national and international level. Given the fact that all peace support operations are essentially political operations, such oversight and co-ordination will involve the determination of the political contours of the operation, diplomatic liaison with the United Nations and other regional bodies, and diplomatic liaison with all troop contributing countries and/or those countries who are committing resources to the operation.
The Department of Defence will have lead responsibility for the management and oversight of the operational deployment and maintenance of the South African military forces in a peace mission. This will be done in regular and close liaison with other state departments and will be co-ordinated via the establishment of a Joint Peace Operations Co-ordinating Committee within the Department of Foreign Affairs, or as determined by the President.
Once deployed, national contingents participating in UN peace support operations are placed under the operational control of the force commander, but remain under national command. South African participation in international peace support operations is always voluntary, and troops can be withdrawn at any stage of the operation subject to the details of the agreement between the UN (or other relevant international organisation) and South Africa.