USGs Announce Expert Panel on Technology and Innovation in UN Peacekeeping
Under-Secretaries-General Hervé Ladsous (DPKO) and Ameerah Haq (DFS) announced today the appointment of a five-member Expert Panel to advise them on how best to use new technologies and innovations to benefit United Nations peacekeeping.
The Panel will be led by Ms. Jane Holl Lute (United States), a seasoned expert on peace and security who is currently the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Relocation of Camp Hurriya Residents Outside of Iraq. The four other members of the Expert Panel are Lieutenant General (retired) Abhijit Guha (India), Major General (retired) Michael Fryer (South Africa), Major General (retired) Ib Johannes Bager (Denmark) and Dr. Walter Dorn (Canada).
The members bring considerable experience and understanding of Peacekeeping and in particular the need for new technologies and innovations to improve performance in carrying out the critical tasks entrusted to peacekeepers. The initiative is part of a concerted effort by both Departments to realize efficiency gains and cost savings from the use of new and emerging technologies and innovations. The Panel will advise on how these technologies can be leveraged to enable peacekeepers to respond more effectively to an increasing number of complex, multidimensional tasks in challenging field environments. It will also examine how technological innovations can improve operational effectiveness, multiply impact and enhance safety and security of both Peacekeepers and host communities.
The Expert Panel will visit field missions and consult widely with Member States, partner organizations with similar field operations, non-governmental and governmental research institutions and think tanks as well as industry leaders in areas of interest to United Nations peacekeeping. The Panel will convene in early June and its final report is expected to be released by November 2014. It will recommend how the two Departments can benefit from ongoing technological innovations in a systematic and integrated manner in the longer term.
4 June 2014
Biographical Notes on Expert Panel on Technological Innovation in
UN Peacekeeping Members
Jane Holl Lute served as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support in 2008 and as Assistant Secretary-General for Mission Support in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations from 2003 to 2008. She has also served as the former United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (2009-2013). Prior to joining the UN, Ms. Holl Lute was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Fund. She served on the National Security Council staff under Presidents Bush (41) and Clinton and had a distinguished career in the United States Army.
Abhijit Guha has recently concluded a term as the Director of the Office for Peacekeeping Strategic Partnerships in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and also served as the former Deputy Military Adviser in the Department from 2010 until 2012.
Michael Fryer served as the Police Commissioner for UNAMID (2007-2010).
Prior to that, he headed the South African Police Force’s Specialized Operations Division and also served as Commander of the South African Special Task Force.
Ib Johannes Bager retired from the Danish Army as a senior commander for NATO and a specialist in signals and communications technologies. He is currently historical adviser to the Danish Army, reorganizing Army archives to incorporate ITbased installations and exhibitions.
Walter Dorn teaches at the Canadian Forces College and at the Royal Military College of Canada. He is a professor of defence studies and until recently served as Chair of the Department of Security and International Affairs. Mr. Dorn has been studying and advocating for technology and innovation in UN peacekeeping for two decades and is an author of a book and many articles on the subject.
