The title of S-1828 was drawn from the function series PKH.MIL001 from the “Peacekeeping Headquarters Retention Schedule,” v. 2, August 2011, Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and Department of Field Support (DFS).
Records contained in S-1828 document policy, procedure, and best practice relating to military participation in peacekeeping operations. Records assigned to S-1828 also cover policy, procedure and best practice concerning: military personnel in DPKO and in peacekeeping missions; operations and logistics; mission equipment and assets; mission liquidation; air assets and air operations in peacekeeping missions; and medical support in peacekeeping operations.
The records primarily consist of directives and guidelines issued to incoming Force Commanders and high-level military personnel; governments contributing military personnel to peacekeeping missions; and Military Observers, Military Liaison Officers, and Civilian Police on assignment. The guidelines are mission-specific as well as generic.
Guidelines and directives for incoming Force Commanders were issued directly by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping. They detail the authority of the mission as established by the Security Council and as vested in the Secretary-General; the background to the conflict in the host country; the command authority and responsibilities of the Force Commander; the mandate and terms of reference of the peacekeeping mission; the history of the implementation of the mandate; expected relations with host countries and governments of neighboring countries; expected relations with the media; expected relations with other peacekeeping missions in the region; requirements regarding the Force Commander’s reporting to DPKO headquarters on mission developments; and the organization and strength of the mission, and functions of senior officers. Directives and guidelines are also included for Chief Military Observers and Chief Military Liaison Officers.
Guidelines for governments contributing military and police personnel to peacekeeping missions detail the background of the conflict; the mission mandate, organization, and concept of operations; requirements for contingents and infantry battalions in terms of weapons, vehicles, generators, tentage, defence stores, water containers, etc.; requirements for deploying engineering, logistics, and medical units; naval and air support specifications for the mission; procedures regarding the training and preparation of personnel; and procedures regarding headquarters establishment and communications within the mission area.
Guidelines for Military Observers on assignment detail qualifications and expectations for conduct and performance; the duty schedule and duration of tours of duty; locations of duty stations; compensation and mission subsistence allowance (MSA); entitlement in case of death, injury, or illness; privileges and immunities granted to Military Observers; climate and living conditions in the mission area; immunization requirements and personal protection measures against local diseases; procedures for traveling to and from the mission area; clothing and equipment required; and the mandate, organization, and historical background of the mission. Also included in the guidelines is a sample undertaking form to be signed by Military Observers. The undertaking committed the signee to avoid actions which would adversely affect the integrity, independence, and impartiality required of the Military Observer status in the mission. Guidelines are also included for Military Liaison Officers and Civilian Police on assignment.
There are also records in S-1828 that document the development of policies for military participation in peacekeeping missions, and efforts by the DPKO to acquire support for these measures from Member States, the Security Council, and the Secretary-General. Included are analyses written by the Military Adviser on military leadership in peacekeeping operations; a report of the UN Joint Inspection Unit with recommendations for improving the functioning of military components of peacekeeping operations; and Standard Operating Procedures for the selection of Force Commanders and high-level military and police personnel in peacekeeping operations. Also present are Standard Operating Procedures specific to military and air operations in peacekeeping operations, as well as lessons learned reports about the mission’s military dimension.
There are also records relating to command and control (C2) of peacekeeping operations exercised by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) for active missions in the field. These records consist of a report on the Command and Control Review held at the DPKO on 9 November 1993; briefs defining command and control terms in peacekeeping; organization charts of the chain of command of peacekeeping operations; analyses identifying flaws in the command and control system; and findings and recommendations for independent studies about command and control.
Other records concern the development of United Nations Standby Arrangements in the early 1990s. The United Nations Standby Arrangements called for Member States to contribute standing reserves of military, Civilian Police, civilian personnel and materiel to peacekeeping missions at the request of the Secretary-General within an agreed response time, as mandated by the Security Council. Records include: a concept paper, dated 4 November 1992, to develop a United Nations Standby Force; administrative papers, including meeting summaries and interim reports, of the Standby Forces Planning Team; guidelines developed in 1993 for Members States for contributions of personnel and equipment to the Standby Force; and charts detailing Standby Force composition, tasks, and equipment. There are also studies of the development the United Nations’ rapid reaction capability, and summaries of meetings of the Friends of Rapid Deployment.
Additional records contained in S-1828 cover policies and procedures related to air assets and operations in peacekeeping missions. Included are: memoranda outlining principles on the use of helicopters in peacekeeping operations; a policy directive dating from ca. 1999 on the handling of air crashes in field missions; and a non-paper, also dating from ca. 1999, on arbitration policy on contracts for securing the services of military aircraft in peacekeeping missions.
Records relating to liquidation policy include Provisional Guidelines for the Liquidation of Field Missions, drafted ca. 1996 by the Field Administration and Logistics Division (FALD), covering planning, the disposition of mission property, the phasing out of personnel and administrative closure activities, and archives and records management procedures. There is also a Field Mission Liquidation Manual dated 2004. Also issued by FALD is a manual dating from 1996, titled “Policies and Procedures Concerning Reimbursement and Control of Contingent-Owned Equipment of Troop-Contributing Countries Participating in Peacekeeping Missions.”
Additionally, S-1828 contains an outline dating from ca. 1993 detailing the doctrine for logistics operations in peacekeeping operations; and a presentation dating from September 1999 on logistics in peacekeeping operations, covering the cycle of logistics, authority for action as derived from mission-related legal documents, deployment, and sources of support for equipment.
