98 The report concluded that strengthened welfare programmes would add to the well-being of all personnel and enhance the morale and efficiency of peacekeepers. A minimum standard of welfare and recreation throughout missions would promote adherence to codes of conduct and discipline by alleviating adverse conditions. It would also help to reduce the level of staff turnover and foster a shared sense of purpose among the personnel serving the United Nations. On 7 April, the General Assembly deferred consideration of the Secretary-General’s report until its sixty-fourth session (decision 63/550 C). Death and disability The Special Committee [A/63/19] expressed concern that the UN death and disability claims process for peacekeeping personnel was overly cumbersome, lengthy and lacking in transparency. It also noted that discrepancies existed between the compensation benefits provided to experts on mission and those provided to members of contingents. The Special Committee in that context recalled section X of General Assembly resolution 61/276 [YUN 2007, p. 81], on death and disability claims, and requested that the Secretary-General ensure its implementation. Training Report of Secretary-General. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 60/266 [YUN 2006, p. 89], the Secretary-General, in January, reported [A/63/680] on the progress of training in peacekeeping, reviewing the key findings of a peacekeeping training needs assessment and the training strategy that had been implemented to meet priority needs. The report reviewed the roles and responsibilities of the various offices and sections, both at Headquarters and in the field. It described the training initiatives being undertaken throughout dpko and dfs, and examined the resources required as well as the methods and localities for peacekeeping training. While much work had been done to improve training, further work was needed to finalize and implement a new training strategy, the Secretary-General said. Peacekeeping personnel were increasingly required to operate in complex, changing and challenging conditions, which required that the United Nations deploy personnel able to perform a variety of tasks across different functional areas, often in difficult environments and with limited resources. A strategic training needs assessment undertaken in the first half of 2008 by the Integrated Training Service— a shared resource that supported dpko, dfs, peacekeeping missions and Member States—examined the three main phases of peacekeeping training: prior to
Part One: Political and security questions deployment to a mission; on arrival at a mission or at Headquarters; and throughout a peacekeeping assignment. Accordingly, a new UN peacekeeping training strategy was developed and approved in May 2008, with a view to creating a training system that met the needs of modern, complex peacekeeping operations. The strategy redefined the role that each office should play vis-à-vis field missions, Headquarters and Member States, to maximize comparative advantage, expertise and value. It aimed to enable peacekeeping personnel to meet evolving challenges, perform their specialist functions in an effective, professional and integrated manner, and demonstrate the core UN values and competencies. As UN peacekeeping was an ongoing, long-term effort, effective training must be linked to career development and the establishment of a cadre of peacekeeping professionals, the Secretary-General said. The United Nations had made considerable progress in developing and implementing peacekeeping training. Predeployment, induction and ongoing training were steadily improving and continued progress could be expected. Nevertheless, the Organization must be realistic about what could be achieved. While the new training strategy established clear goals and mechanisms, limited resources meant that not all training needs could be met. Member States and training partners were therefore encouraged to continue to support the two Departments in those efforts. On 7 April, the General Assembly deferred consideration of the Secretary-General’s report until its sixty-fourth session (decision 63/550 C). Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations consideration. The Special Committee [A/63/19] reaffirmed the need to ensure that all personnel selected for peacekeeping missions had the required professional background, expertise and training, and recalled the shared responsibility of the Member States and the Secretariat concerning the training of personnel to be deployed in UN peacekeeping operations. It took note of the development by dpko of its UN peacekeeping training strategy. It also took note of the ongoing work of the Integrated Training Service concerning the development of a set of minimum training standards and training modules. It welcomed the updating of training material with information on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and on hiv/aids. Acknowledging that the complex and multidimensional nature of peacekeeping demanded expertise and experience that most Member States could not muster on a continuous basis, the Special Committee encouraged cooperation in peacekeeping training among Member States, including through the provision of training opportunities and assistance to