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The Guidelines on Police Administration form the fourth and final pillar of the SGF, but this area may be the most critical for success. Police administration is the backbone of UN policing. Many UNPOL come to peacekeeping missions with extensive experience in capacity-building, or operations, or command in their home countries. But performing administrative functions within the unique environment of a UN police component may be the most challenging to comprehend. Yet, without efficient and effective systems to process payroll, manage vehicles, promote staff welfare, assess performance or ensure appropriate conduct, peacekeepers cannot perform any of their mandated tasks.

The workshop for the development of these Guidelines took place in Brindisi, Italy, at the base of the Standing Police Capacity from 19-21 July 2016. Organised by the United Nations in cooperation with the Government of Italy and the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (CoESPU), the event brought together 45 participants from 32 Member States, regional and international partners, think tanks and government agencies, as well as senior administrative officers from six UN missions.

The Guidelines are considered a kind of ‘handbook’ on police administration within a United Nations context. They provide Heads of Police Components (HOPCs), Police Chiefs of Staff (Police COS) and other senior staff with a clearer understanding of what police administration entails and how it fits within the everyday functioning of a United Nations field mission. The Guidelines empower police personnel serving in the component’s Administration Pillar to create and sustain an enabling environment for the conduct of a police component’s mandate-related activities. With a view to harmonizing police practice across field missions, the Guidelines provide direction on broader administration-related matters, including the general structure of a police component, the development of its strategic plans, and coordination with the chiefs of other component pillars and police planning personnel.

The Standard Operating Procedures on Vacancy Management and Succession Planning for Heads of Police Components in Peacekeeping Operations and Special Political Missions (2016) provide instructions for vacancy management and succession planning of heads of police components.

The report of the Secretary-General on United Nations policing outlines how the environment in which the United Nations police operates has been altered by changing conflict dynamics. The United Nations police now engages in United Nations peace operations and post-conflict and other crisis situations across the entire peace and security spectrum, from conflict prevention and management to peacekeeping, peacebuilding and peace sustainment. It is often the breakdown of law and order that triggers United Nations deployment and, conversely the establishment or re-establishment of policing and other rule of law functions that allows United Nations peace operations to downsize and eventually withdraw.

It also contains the Secretary-General's response to the external review of the functions, structure and capacity of the Police Division of 31 May 2016. Notably, it sets out my vision as to how to ensure that the United Nations police is ready to respond effectively to the challenges of the twenty-first century and contains 14 key recommendations. The report constitutes the second report on the United Nations police, the first (A/66/615) having been submitted to the General Assembly in December 2011 in response to a request by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (see A/65/19, para. 78).

Find out more about the work of the United Nations Police Division Standing Police Capacity, based in Brindisi, Italy.

For the United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS) Ministers of the Interior, Chiefs of Police and high-level officials from more than 100 Member States gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to review the evolution of today’s operating environment of the United Nations Police. During this daylong event, we heard participants:

• Acknowledge the exponential growth of the United Nations Police numbers and tasks;

• Recognize the central role of the United Nations Police in helping to rebuild, reform and restructure criminal justice chains;

• Reaffirm the operational necessity of gender-sensitive policing, the nomination of gender focal points and women's participation in United Nations policing to ultimately reach the goal of 20per cent;

• Commend the United Nations Police Division for its efforts to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of United Nations Police, tackling both doctrinal and capability gaps in the field; and

• Look forward to the Secretary-General’s report on United Nations Police and encourage him to endorse the external independent review report recommendations by proposing concrete initiatives to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of United Nations Police.

Ministros del Interior, jefes de policía y autoridades superiores de más de 100 Estados Miembros se reunieron en la Sede de las Naciones Unidas, en Nueva York, para examinar la evolución del entorno operativo actual de la Policía de las Naciones Unidas. Durante este encuentro de un día de duración pudo escucharse a los participantes:

• Reconocer el crecimiento exponencial de los efectivos y las tareas de la Policía de las Naciones Unidas;
• Reconocer la función central de la Policía de las Naciones Unidas en cuanto a ayudar a reconstruir, reformar y reestructurar los mecanismos de justicia y seguridad;
• Reafirmar la necesidad operativa de prácticas policiales que tengan en cuenta la perspectiva de género, la designación de coordinadores en cuestiones de género y la participación femenina en las actividades policiales de las Naciones Unidas con el objetivo de que alcance a un 20%;
• Elogiar a la División de Policía de las Naciones Unidas por sus esfuerzos dedicados a acentuar la eficacia y eficiencia de la Policía de las Naciones Unidas, abordando a la vez los aspectos doctrinarios y las insuficiencias de capacidad sobre el terreno;
• Manifestar su interés por el informe que presentará el Secretario General sobre la Policía de las Naciones Unidas e instarle a apoyar las recomendaciones del informe del examen externo e independiente que propone iniciativas concretas destinadas a mejorar la eficiencia y la eficacia de la Policía de las Naciones Unidas.

Les ministres de l’intérieur, les chefs de police et des hauts responsables de plus de 100 États Membres se sont réunis au Siège de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, à New York, pour examiner l’évolution de l’environnement opérationnel dans lequel exerce la Police des Nations Unies. Lors de cette journée, nous avons entendu les participants :

• faire état de la croissance exponentielle des effectifs et des fonctions de la Police des Nations Unies;

• reconnaître l’importance du rôle de la Police des Nations Unies dans la reconstruction, la réforme et la restructuration des différents maillons de la justice pénale;

• réaffirmer la nécessité, d’un point de vue opérationnel, d’avoir une police sensible à la question des genres, la nomination de points focaux responsables de la coordination des questions de genre et la participation des femmes en vue d’atteindre l’objectif de 20 pour cent de femmes dans les effectifs de la Police des Nations Unies;

• féliciter la Division de la Police des Nations Unies pour ses efforts ayant permis d’améliorer son efficacité, en comblant à la fois les lacunes sur le plan doctrinal, mais aussi les manques de capacité sur le terrain; et

• attendre avec intérêt le rapport du Secrétaire général sur la Police des Nations Unies et encourager celui-ci à adopter les recommandations énoncées dans le rapport de l’examen externe indépendant en proposant des initiatives concrètes pour accroître l’efficacité de la Police des Nations Unies.