The Government has moved with commendable despatch to decide that Ireland will contribute to Kfor, the United Nations mandated international security force in Kosovo, and to put the legislation through the Oireachtas. Yesterday the Dail approved the sending of an Irish contingent of 80-100 transport troops and 32 vehicles. They will form part of the humanitarian task force for the large Kfor contingent, helping especially with infrastructural reconstruction. The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, suggested that should Unifil be run down rapidly in southern Lebanon as a result of the re-invigorated peace process there, Ireland would have an opportunity to deploy a larger contingent in Kosovo. The significance of this decision is therefore greater than appears from the small unit agreed by the Dail yesterday. It forms part of a wider review of peacekeeping policy by the Government, within the context of European security and the Kosovo crisis.
The Kfor force comes under NATO command, within a UN mandate legally endorsing the alliance's role in this regional setting. Many other states will provide contingents financed from their national budgets, including neutral states. Ireland, unlike them, is not yet a member of the NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace organisation (PfP), whose main function is to provide training for just such operations, so as to ensure the various forces involved can work efficiently together. The Government has virtually concluded negotiations with PfP and will seek Dail approval to join it in September.
Thus, the Kfor involvement sets the scene for a longer term re-orientation of Irish international peacekeeping policy. This coincides with the EU's decision to develop its own capabilities in this field. Kosovo demonstrates in the most dramatic fashion what is required. It is essential that these tasks be tackled effectively if confidence is to be restored in the region. Daily revelations of cruel atrocities during the war and the flight of Serb residents underline what happens if this is not achieved and a culture of impunity takes root. Ireland has much to contribute to such operations arising from long UN experience of peacekeeping and working with other armed forces. If these skills are to be preserved in the new context of European security, it is necessary to participate in the organisations where the best contemporary practices are developed. The UN has agreed, with the end of the Cold War, to devolve such operations to regional security organisations, NATO being the most important one in Europe. The Bosnia operation has set precedents for military inter-operability among many different national armies, which will be further developed in Kosovo. PfP membership will enhance Irish capabilities to participate in such operations, without compromising this State's UN commitments or its military neutrality.