I thank the Chairman of the committee for agreeing to take this motion at very short notice. As members are aware, under the Defence Acts, the deployment of a contingent of the Defence Forces on an overseas mission requires prior UN authorisation, Government approval and the approval of Dáil Éireann. This process is referred to as "the triple lock". The triple lock is a cornerstone of the Government's approach to deploying our Defence Forces overseas.
The Government had expected the necessary Security Council resolution would have been passed by the end of October. However, for various reasons, this did not happen. The requisite motion was passed unanimously by the Security Council last Monday, 22 November. The delay in finalising the resolution at the Security Council has imposed significant time constraints on Ireland completing its national decision-making process. The EU is due to take over the mission on 2 December and our troops are to be deployed, in theatre, prior to the commencement date.
As members will appreciate, it would have been inappropriate to bring a motion before the Dáil, in the absence of the final UN Security Council resolution authorising the establishment of EUFOR. I, therefore, appreciate that the committee, understanding the importance of the mission, agreed to fit this motion into its busy schedule. I thank the Chairman for his assistance in expediting this.
I propose to introduce the motion and provide some brief information and background on the proposed Defence Forces participation in this mission. On 9 November, the Government authorised me, as Minister for Defence, to arrange for the dispatch of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for a period of one year for service with EUFOR, the EU-led mission-operation in Bosnia Herzegovina, to be established under the authority of the United Nations, as the legal successor to the NATO-led Stabilisation Force, SFOR, in Bosnia Herzegovina, and to move a resolution in Dáil Éireann approving the dispatch of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service on this mission.
The Government decision was subject to the passage of the formal UN resolution authorising the establishment of EUFOR. Pursuant to this authority and the passage of the appropriate Security Council resolution, the following motion has been placed on the Order Paper for Dáil Éireann:
That Dáil Éireann approves the despatch, pursuant to section 2 of the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1960, as applied by Defence (Amendment) Act 1993, of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service with EUFOR, established under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1575 of 22 November 2004.
In commending this motion to the select committee, I would like to outline the background to EUFOR and the reason the Government decided to authorise the dispatch of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service with the new multinational stabilisation force in Bosnia Herzegovina. EUFOR is the legal successor to the current SFOR mission in Bosnia Herzegovina. SFOR was established in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1088 of 12 December 1996, with a mandate to implement the military aspects of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia Herzegovina, usually referred to as the "Dayton Agreement".
Members of the Defence Forces have served with SFOR since 1997, following Government decision and the subsequent approval by Dáil Éireann of the necessary enabling motion. Since then, the UN Security Council has authorised the continuation of SFOR for successive periods and the Government has approved continued Irish participation.
At the Copenhagen European Council in December 2002, the Heads of State of the EU indicated willingness to lead a military operation in Bosnia Herzegovina as a follow-on mission to SFOR. The EU Council conclusions dated 12 December 2003, reaffirmed this willingness and the Government agreed that, subject to completion of national decision-making procedures and the appropriate UN mandate, the Defence Forces would participate in a substantive manner in the then planned EU mission in Bosnia Herzegovina.
During the course of Ireland's EU Presidency, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, as President of the EU Council, wrote to the UN Secretary General setting out the terms of the EU takeover of the UN-authorised mission in Bosnia Herzegovina. In its resolution 1551 of 9 July 2004, the UN Security Council welcomed the EU's intention to launch a mission in Bosnia Herzegovina, including a military component from December 2004. The EU Council, on 12 July 2004, adopted a joint action by which the European Union shall conduct a military operation, called Althea/EUFOR, as a follow-on mission to SFOR. EUFOR was established as the military component of the new EU-led mission in Bosnia Herzegovina under UN Security Council Resolution 1575 of 22 November 2004, for a period of 12 months.
Similar to SFOR, EUFOR will be a Chapter VII mission, that is, it is entitled to use force to implement its mandates and to protect itself and the international civil presence. The role of EUFOR will be to assist the parties, in an even handed manner, to implement the peace accord to which they have freely agreed and to contribute to the continued development of the secure environment necessary for the consolidation and stabilisation of peace in the region. EUFOR will co-operate and work with the other agencies principally involved, including the Office of the High Representative, currently Lord Ashdown, the EU police mission, the UN agencies, including the UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and the OSCE. The co-operation covers a wide range of activities, including maintaining security, preventing a resumption of violence, supporting counter terrorism and the fight against organised crime, facilitating freedom of movement for the local population and assisting the return of refugees.
Ireland's participation in international peacekeeping is firmly grounded in the United Nations. Ireland has always been a strong and committed supporter of co-operative multilateral arrangements for collective security and the development of international organisations, particularly the UN. Successive Governments have confirmed that Ireland considers the UN to be the international authority for co-operative arrangements for collective security. Ireland has recognised and defended the primary role of the UN Security Council in maintaining international peace and security, in accordance with the UN charter.
The UN has recognised the advantages of regional organisations to which it can assign missions. Increased reliance on regional organisations to lead missions authorised by the UN is one of the major developments in the changing environment of UN peacekeeping in recent years. The UN's increasing reliance on regional action for crisis management has partly contributed to the development of the European Security and Defence Policy, which focuses on crisis management and humanitarian operations known as Petersberg Tasks.
The European Union, which has the capacity to mount peacekeeping operations, has engaged in two military operations so far, in Macedonia and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Defence Forces played an active part in Operation Artemis in the latter country, which exemplified the potential of such operations. The EU provided a force under a UN Security Council resolution, with France as the framework nation. The UN is involved in similar operations with other regional organisations. The initial deployment of troops in Liberia came from the Economic Community of West African States and from NATO in the case of Kosovo.
Co-operation between the EU and the UN is being developed to ensure a complementary and coherent response to crisis management operations. Members of the committee are aware that the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, welcomed the ESDP developments when he visited Ireland recently. In particular, he welcomed the development of EU rapid response elements which can be deployed at short notice to support UN peacekeeping operations. There is increasing co-operation between the UN and the EU in the area of crisis management. The EU is involved in "rule of law" areas such as courts and prisons, civil administration and civil protection, including responses to natural disasters. The increasing necessity for post-conflict peace building has necessitated the involvement of civilian police, typically including a training element. The capacity developed by the Garda in this field, having participated in a number of such operations, is recognised internationally.
The UN continues to be the touchstone for Ireland's participation in overseas missions. Decisions on Irish participation in ESDP missions, which are taken on a case by case basis, are subject to the triple lock approach. Irish participation in such operations is in keeping with its commitment to the UN and its policy of military neutrality. Its ESDP and UN activities are complementary and mutually reinforcing. The development of the ESDP and Ireland's commitment to the EU rapid reaction force provide an asset that can act effectively and cohesively to further international peace and security based on international law and humanitarian principles.
Ireland strongly supports substantive EU involvement in crisis management missions within an ESDP framework. The focus of Ireland's participation in such arrangements is to develop the ability of the Defence Forces to undertake multinational peace support operations with an optimum level of inter-operability with other participating countries, reflecting Ireland's commitment to international peace and security. The Government fully supports the substantive participation of the Defence Forces in the EUFOR mission. The enhanced capability being developed through Ireland's preparations for the EU rapid reaction force and its participation in operations such as EUFOR will maintain and further develop its effective involvement in peace support operations in support of the UN.
The Defence Forces' initial SFOR deployment involved a military police contingent. The contingent was withdrawn in January 2003 as part of the overall restructuring of the deployment of the Defence Forces in the western Balkans. The process of restructuring included the replacement of a transport company with an infantry company group at KFOR, the UN-authorised mission in Kosovo. Members of the Permanent Defence Force continued to serve at SFOR headquarters as part of the process. The personnel deployed at that headquarters will transfer to EUFOR when the mission is taken over by the EU.
It is proposed to deploy an additional 42 personnel to EUFOR as part of a Finnish-led multinational task force, bringing Ireland's total deployment in the mission to 54. A small number of additional personnel may be deployed from time to time, as is the case in all missions, to fill other roles within the overall mission. The multinational task force will consist of personnel from Finland, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Estonia and Belgium. The other nations which are serving with SFOR — Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom — will also participate in the task force. Ireland will provide personnel for the force's headquarters, military police unit and joint military affairs verification teams, as well as a national support element. As the framework nation for the military police unit and the joint military affairs verification teams, it will provide the central headquarters role in respect of such elements in the task force's headquarters. Ireland's military police role will enable it to build on the experience of its previous military police deployment in the mission.
The joint military affairs verification teams were established under the Dayton accord to monitor arms caches and arms movements by the two forces in Bosnia Herzegovina. The teams, which are advised on weapons purchases and movements, inspect the arms holdings of the two forces. They monitor their movements, including the movements and training of the two forces' military personnel, to ensure both sides comply with their obligations under the Dayton accord. The UN regularly seeks observers and monitors from the Irish Defence Forces, which are recognised as having key skills in this area. It is a hallmark of many of our smaller deployments throughout the world.
Initial planning and reconnaissance has commenced ahead of the proposed deployment of the contingent. Advance parties of 11 personnel for each element have been deployed to put in place the requisite arrangements for the proposed deployment. The EUFOR deployment will take place next week, subject to the approval of the Dáil, with a view to starting the takeover of the mission by the EU on 2 December. The initial deployment will be for a year with a possible extension thereafter, subject to the renewal of the UN mandate and a satisfactory review of the mission. The level of security in Bosnia Herzegovina is assessed as stable, mainly due to the strong presence of the international community there. The attitude of the political parties and the general public in Bosnia Herzegovina to an increased EU presence ranges from neutral to positive. Some elements may increase their activities during the handover by SFOR to EUFOR. While disaffected sectors of the population may use this period to express discontent with their socio-economic circumstances, there have been no concrete indications so far that any such activities are planned.
All troop contributors to EUFOR, like SFOR, are responsible for their costs. It is estimated that the additional cost to the Defence Vote of Ireland's participation in EUFOR, will be €3,458,456. That figure includes Ireland's contribution of €877,000 to common costs, in accordance with the EU Council decision of 17 June 2002 on the financing of operations with military or defence implications. The common cost contribution will be payable through the Athena mechanism, which is responsible at EU level for collecting the contributions of member states and the disbursement of moneys received in respect of operational common costs.
The EUFOR mission, which is important for the EU and Ireland, will be undertaken under the authorisation of the United Nations. The success of the mission, which is the largest such mission deployed by the EU to date, will signal the strength of the EU's ability to undertake a robust and large scale mission. It will highlight the EU's capacity to provide a real and substantive response to requests from the UN for it to undertake increasingly complex peace support operations. It reaffirms our support for the UN and multilateralism in a meaningful and substantive way.
I commend the motion to the committee.
