Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:120 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland has been or is likely to be asked to send troops to new locations abroad on peacekeeping missions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12270/99]
Written Answers. - Military Neutrality.
Ireland has not been asked to send troops to any new locations abroad to serve with peacekeeping missions. No new peacekeeping missions have been established recently by organisations of which Ireland is a member. The most recent UN operation – in Sierra Leone – was established in July 1998. Ireland was invited to consider participation in this mission but decided not to take part due to Defence Forces staff constraints and the poor security situation in Sierra Leone.
There are a number of conflict situations worldwide, including, for example, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia-Eritrea, Angola, East Timor, as well as Kosovo, which may, if resolved, see the establishment of UN or other peacekeeping or observer missions. It is possible that Ireland may receive a request to participate in one or more such missions from those organisations – the UN and the OSCE – of which we are members. Any request for participation by Irish troops would be given careful consideration and assessed on the basis of the security situation, the mandate of the mission, and other factors such as equipment and skills necessary for the mission.
In October 1998, Ireland signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing 850 troops to UN peacekeeping under the UN standby arrangements system. While the bulk of the troops committed under this arrangement are already deployed in the field, primarily with UNIFIL in Lebanon, the UN may request troops from the remainder of the allocation where a suitable opportunity is identified. This has not occurred to date. There is no obligation to provide troops in such circumstances.