Working together in peacekeeping: cooperation between central European countries.

Genuine commitments require practical implementation. Maintenance of international peace and security remains a paramount purpose of the United Nations. Therefore, the contribution to the United Nations activities in this area, notably peacekeeping, is one of the most important duties of its Member States. Slovenia has been aware of this ever since the proclamation of its independence on 25 June 1991 and its admission to the United Nations less than a year later.

In examining the possibilities for its contribution to United Nations peacekeeping, Slovenia was confronted with a constraint typical for a country of its size: relatively limited human and financial resources. These resources were already stretched due to numerous obligations of Slovenia in the field of international military cooperation, like the participation in the Partnership for Peace or the trilateral Slovenian-Hungarian-Italian brigade. Consequently, we turned to our neighbourhood, Central Europe, where the duster of medium-sized and smaller countries would likely have similar constraints.

The first cooperation was developed with neighbouring Austria, a country with rich experience in training for and participating in UN peacekeeping. Other Central European countries, like Hungary, already had fruitful cooperation with Austria. In September 1997, the Slovenian contingent often troops was deployed with the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). This contingent, the first ever from Slovenia, now serves as part of the Austrian-Hungarian-Slovenian battalion. Such traits are not only a useful way for smaller Member States to contribute effectively to the UN peacekeeping, but are a United Nations in miniature, since they comprise troops from various nations.

With due care, the issues of language diversity and differences in military doctrines and traditions can become an important asset, not hindrance, for such units and operations in which they take part.

Experience with this initial deployment has been very positive, and there are consultations presently under way with a view to increasing substantially the Slovenian contingent in UNFICYP. Beginning in August 1998, another case of Central European cooperation is going on in the United Nations Trace Supervision Organization (UNTSO), where two military observers each from Slovakia and Slovenia will assume duties formerly performed by four Austrian military observers. This will provide us with the opportunity to broaden the scope of our contribution both in geographical sense and with respect to specialized duties-troops, military observers-of UN peacekeeping.

Inherent constraints of limited resources and positive experience of joint activities, including those in other regions, like Nordic cooperation, have prompted the Central European countries to take further steps in strengthening cooperation in peacekeeping. On 19 March 1998, the Defence Ministers of Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia met in Vienna and signed the Letter of Intern concerning the Central European Nations Cooperation in Peace Support (CENCOOP). The purpose of CENCOOP is to pool the resources of participating countries so as to enhance their capability and readiness to contribute effectively to a variety of international operations, including those under the authority of the United Nations. We are now working together to develop this initiative further, as well as to attract even wider participation.

RELATED ARTICLE: General Assembly to Discuss Peacekeeping Draft

Member States honoured the memory of more than 1,800 peacekeepers who had died in the cause of peace, as the Special Committee on peacekeeping Operations endorsed a draft declaration, to be adopted by the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. They also reiterated their support for efforts to promote the safety and security of United Nations peacekeeping personnel and reaffirmed their commitment and willingness to provide full support to peacekeepers to ensure that they were able successfully to fulfil their tasks. Peacekeeping should continue to be a key instrument available to the United Nations in discharging its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, the Committee said, cautioning, however, that peacekeeping operations should not be used as a substitute for addressing the root causes of conflicts.

The report further called for police and military tasks to be clearly differentiated, and emphasized the need for full integration of civilian police in the planning phase of new peacekeeping operations.

Reiterating the importance of stand-by arrangements and a rapid deployment system, the Special Committee stated that the United Nations should be able to rapidly deploy a peacekeeping mission as soon as the Council adopted an authorizing mandate.

Concern was expressed at the continued delays in the reimbursement of troop costs and contingent-owned equipment leases. The Committee called for an increase and broadening of the number of qualified suppliers on the procurement roster.