Department of Field Support

DFS officials in Somalia in November 2014.

The Department of Field Support (DFS) is a department of the United Nations dedicated to the support of peacekeeping field missions and political field missions.

Area of responsibilities

United Nations General Assembly report A/64/633^[1] (26 January 2010) states: Protecting and nurturing a fragile peace is a critical role of the United Nations. This endeavour depends upon a coalition of will and action on the part of multiple actors: the Security Council, in terms of setting mandates; the Member States, in their commitment of personnel and financial and material resources; the host countries, and their consent and cooperation; and the Secretariat and its own ability to stand up, support and sustain operations. Within this framework, the Department of Field Support was created to be primarily responsible for the mobilization all human, material and support services necessary to ensure that United Nations field missions are largely self-sufficient and can succeed under a wide range of post-conflict conditions.

DFS workers packing Haiti election ballots in 2011.

Organization

The Department of Field Support is headed by Mr. Atul Khare^[2] since 2 March 2015, following the departure of Under-Secretary-General Ms. Ameerah Haq. The DFS's seven main offices^[3] are: Office of the Assistant Secretary-General; Field Personnel Division; Field Budget and Finance Division; Logistics Support Division; Information & Communications Technology Division; Policy Evaluation and Training (PET) Division; DFS also includes the United Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi (UNLB).

Personnel

Field Service Officers are civilians assigned to support UN peacekeeping and political missions in the field. DFS provides support in the areas of security, finance, administration, human resources, logistics and technology.

History of the DFS

The origins of the Field Service go back to the beginning of the history of the UN's peacekeeping operations in 1948 when the Security Council authorized the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East. The mission's role was to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours – an operation which became known as the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).

References