Interview with the Liaison Officer to the United Nations at NATO Krisztian Meszaros on NATO – UN Cooperation
Category:NATO,News,UNIntroduction
I met Krisztian Meszaros in my capacity as Military Advisor of Slovenia to UN for the first time during the visit of Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper, Director General of the NATO International Military Staff visit in New York. Attracted by many questions about NATO – UN cooperation I proposed to Krisztian a meeting. Talking about the future partner cooperation the idea rise to make an interview with Krisztian after NATO Summit in Warsaw to present the conclusion of the Summit related to the NATO-UN relations to brother audience, to fellow members of the Slovenian NATO Defence College Anciens’ Association. The interview took place at the comfortable Delegates Lounge at UN HQ, sharing the smell of Italian Lavazza Coffee:
NATO and the UN
- Why would you say NATO and the UN need to cooperate and what is the framework for their cooperation?
As challenges to international peace and security multiply, cooperation between NATO and the United Nations is increasingly important. The United Nations attaches great importance to its invaluable partnerships with NATO and other regional organizations and arrangements across the world; and looks forward to working with important security institutions such as NATO to achieve our shared goals of security and peace.
These are not my words. The first sentence is a quotation from the Warsaw Summit Declaration, adopted by the Heads of State and Government of NATO in July 2016. And the second is a quotation from the message of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, as delivered by Kim Won-soo, Under-Secretary General for Disarmament, this May at the Annual NATO Disarmament Conference in Ljubljana.
NATO and the UN are different in membership, aims and tasks. NATO mainly focuses on only one pillar of the UN’s work; that of peace and security. But both organisations stand for the same values founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. And they both aim to maintain peace and security. In its founding Washington Treaty, Allies reaffirmed their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the UN.
So while the normative foundations for cooperation are evident, the willingness to cooperate between the two organizations is also strong. The practical foundation of NATO-UN cooperation was laid down in the field, in the Western Balkans and in Afghanistan. In 2008, building on the need for a comprehensive approach in crisis management, the Secretariat’s of the two organizations signed a joint declaration on cooperation. This document established a flexible framework for cooperation on issues of common interest, including communication and information sharing, capacity building, training and exercises, lessons learned and operational coordination and support.
- What is your role as Liaison Officer?
Since 2010, the cooperation framework has been supported by enhanced liaison; a Civilian Liaison Officer has been appointed by NATO to the UN Secretariat. Complementing the work of, and coordinating with the Military Liaison Officer, the Civilian Liaison is tasked to ensure maximum transparency and interaction between NATO and the UN Secretariat. The position is unique in the sense of being linked to the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division within the International Staff, yet serving the wider NATO family, including the Strategic Commands.
On the one hand, the Liaison Officer ensures that contacts are established and well maintained between the different levels and parts of the two organizations. On the other hand, the Liaison Officer provides an avenue for information exchange between NATO and the UN.
I have been serving as the Civilian Liaison Officer since December 2015, only the second person to fill this role. I have found that my work goes well beyond facilitating interaction between the two secretariats. I maintain close dialogue and cooperation with Allied permanent representations in New York. To the extent possible, I inform them on Allied policies relevant for their work in and with the UN. On occasion, I interact with representations of partner nations as well. I follow closely the developments within the UN system concerning the maintenance of peace and security. As such, the work of the Security Council is of primary interest and forms part of my reporting to NATO Headquarters. Decisions and deliberations of the Security Council on matters pertaining to Euro-Atlantic security are of natural interest to the leadership of the Alliance.
The issues I work on are manifold. I maintain dialogue on international developments relevant for NATO and there is a keen interest in Alliance policies from the UN and its membership. There is an obvious focus on where NATO is present with missions and operations: Afghanistan and Kosovo. I work on developing further and implementing policies NATO has developed in conjunction with UN priorities, in particular on women, peace and security; the protection of civilians; conflict related sexual and gender based violence; and children and armed conflict. I help develop our cooperation further on counter-terrorism. I follow deliberations on disarmament and non-proliferation to ensure well-informed Allied consultations in Brussels on these matters.
- What are the current priorities in NATO-UN cooperation?
The list of cooperation items is long as you can see, but it has been expanding exponentially, as have the possibilities for cooperation, since September 2015. That month, Secretary General Stoltenberg participated in the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping in New York, and made distinct pledges to the UN’s effort to review and improve its peace operations. Building on NATO’s know-how, lessons learned and capabilities, the Alliance promised support to develop the UN’s capacities in enhancing support for the protection of UN forces, in particular from Improvised Explosive Devices; to enhancing support in training and preparedness; to help improve the UN’s rapid deployment abilities and other targeted support, notably strategic airlift and developing medical capabilities; to work closely with the UN and the EU on capacity building in countries at risk.
These pledges have opened up new areas for specific support based on what NATO does best; military capabilities and standards. The UN will need different approaches from NATO, as peacekeeping is different from a NATO operation or mission. But our experience in the field and our lessons learned from that experience can provide valuable examples for the UN to develop its own capabilities as it looks to address new challenges. The nature of peacekeeping is evolving and becoming ever more dangerous in some instances. NATO’s know-how in the field of Counter Improvised Explosive Devices can only help the UN as it seeks ways to mitigate this threat to its troops and its missions.
So the potential of cooperation is wide and expanding. Political difficulties remain, however, linked mostly to an outdated notion many in the UN membership harbor of NATO. The Alliance needs to tell its own story in the UN as well, to show how it is constantly adapting to meet new challenges in the 21st century. Within means and capabilities, as a Liaison Officer it is also my responsibility to tell this story here in New York. To help shape the view of an Alliance that is part of the global efforts to maintain peace and security and the respect of the fundamental values enshrined in the Washington Treaty and the UN charter.
Krisztian Meszaros
NATO Civilian Liaison Officer to the United Nations
Conclusions
Possibilities for the further bilateral cooperation between multinational organizations remain waste and prosperous and necessary to fulfill their respectful mandates in their responsibility for global and regional security and to keeping the world stable. Next opportunity to the share the views will be the United Nations Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial on September 7-8th, 2016 in London. We are looking forward to the upcoming conclusions of this important meeting envisioning the necessary pledges for the peace operations through the renewed participation of Western police and troop contributing countries in UN-led peace operations which could provide the window of opportunity to improve the necessary effectiveness and efficiency of operations on the ground.
Krisztian Meszaros, NATO Civilian Liaison Officer to the United Nations was interviewed by Mitja Miklavec, Military Adviser at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Nations
New York, August 2016