Force for Good
Presentation synopses
United Nations Weapons Inspections in Iraq: Australian Dimensions
Rod Barton
The cease-fire conditions of the 1991 Gulf War required Iraq to “unconditionally accept the destruction, removal, or rendering harmless” of its Weapons of Mass Destruction. To oversee this work the United Nations set up a Special Commission (UNSCOM) of weapons inspectors and so started a unique period in the history of UN operations. Throughout the early 1990s weapon inspectors supervised the destruction of thousands of chemical and biological weapons, and their delivery systems including ballistic missiles. They also destroyed hundreds of tonnes of materials and equipment used to make these weapons. With the destruction of Iraq’s biological weapons facilities in mid-1996, UNSCOM had effectively disarmed Iraq. However because of some discrepancies between imported items and inventories, and complications caused by Iraq’s lack of cooperation, the fact of Iraq’s disarmament was not apparent at the time.
Over 100 Australians civilian and military personnel, some in key roles, were involved with UNSCOM and made a substantial contribution to its success. This presentation examines the reasons for Australia’s involvement in UNSCOM and highlights the role played by some of the Australian inspectors.
The presentation concludes with an examination of what lessons have been learned from inspections in Iraq and what might be improved if the exercise was to be repeated in another country in the future.
DFAT's Role
James Batley
The end of the immediate post-independence period has given rise to complex governance and state-building challenges in Australia’s immediate region. This has demanded a higher level of activity from overseas operating agencies, including DFAT. Australian responses have included peace support operations in Bougainville, East Timor and Solomon Islands.
During this time, DFAT’s role has grown from one largely focussed at the strategic level in Canberra to one which includes active involvement in field operations, and from being a supporting player to being a lead player in some operations, for instance in the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands. DFAT staff have added value by bringing a range of skills into play, complementing the capabilities of other agencies.
The relative frequency of operations in Australia’s immediate region has paid dividends in terms of personal and institutional links between DFAT and other agencies. DFAT’s growing experience and professionalism has been matched by, and is part of, a strongly developing capacity to mount whole-of-government operations in support of national objectives in the region. DFAT’s role as the coordinating agency for such operations has developed strongly in recent years. At the same time, DFAT has played a key role in developing successful models for “whole-of-region” operations.
Australian Peacekeeping: Realizing our Responsibility to Protect
Alex Bellamy
This paper will assess changes in Australian peacekeeping in the past sixty years and identify key challenges for the future. It will begin by briefly charting Australia's role as one of the 'internationalist minded' pioneers of peacekeeping noting that from early days there was a tension between its commitment to internationalism and poilitical support for its powerful friends -- a tension first manifest in the debate about committing to UNEF. Under the leadership of Gareth Evans, Australia expanded its internationalism after the Cold War making important contributions to missions in Rwanda and Somalia -- the latter providing a rare example of success in an otherwise problematic UN operation. In the past decade, however, Australia's overall commitment to UN operations has declined markedly as its commitment to non-UN operations has increased. This was manifested in the on-going debate about whether or not to make a contribution to UNAMID due to be deployed to Darfur. As a result, Australian peacekeeping sits at a fork in the road. It is very well placed to make a serious commitment to back up its solemn 'responsibility to protect' pledge. It has much sought after niche capabilities and is leading the world in thinking about the place of policing. As we reflect on Australia's proud past, we need to give serious thought about the political direction, material resources and skills necessary to fulfil our 'responsibility to protect' and the Defence Minister's ambition that the ADF (and AFP) 'shine a light into the dark places of the world'. The paper will conclude by offering some specific ways in which this might be achieved - the recent appointment of Andy Hughes as the UN's senior policeman being a very good start.
From Neighbourhood Watch to Neighbourhood Intervention – The Evolution of Australia’s Peace Support in the Near Region
Dr Bob Breen
Australia began relations with near neighbours as a superior-minded British settler colony among European and other British colonies in Indonesia and Melanesia in the 19th Century. Australia did not take a serious military interest in the near region until the Japanese encroachments of World War II. From then on Australia began a neighbourhood watch.
In the spirit of strategic denial, successive Australian governments monitored and encouraged regional consultation and the development of indigenous security forces. Eschewing hegemony and respecting sovereignty Australia did not intervene to quell neighbourhood rebellions, military coups, riots or insurgencies, but only put military forces on alert and occasionally pre-positioned them for evacuation operations.
Australia moved from neighbourhood watch to neighbourhood intervention during the 1990s as state failures loomed and breakdowns in law and order became more serious. After invitation, Australian forces deployed with regional allies to PNG (Bougainville), Indonesia (East Timor) and the Solomon Islands.
An Australian diplomatic, military, police and aid agency intervention partnership that had its beginnings in Bougainville in 1994 and matured during subsequent regional operations was consolidated further during emergency interventions into the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Tonga in 2006. In 2007 this partnership that was forged in the fire of necessity has become an improving instrument for Australian peace support in the near region.
Domestic politics, regional relationships and humanitarian intervention: The Australian Government’s decisions regarding participation in peacekeeping missions in Cambodia, Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia
Dr John Connor
This paper will examine how public opinion, hard-headed foreign policy and the occasional desire to be an international good citizen all played a part in the Australian government’s decisions to participate in the four major peacekeeping missions of the early to mid 1990s: Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia and Rwanda. In Cambodia, Australia took a leading role in finding a peace settlement and was determined to play a major role in the peacekeeping mission. However, it was difficult to balance the Australian public’s desire to hold the Khmer Rouge leadership accountable for the Cambodian genocide with the government’s belief that it was necessary to negotiate with these leaders to keep them within the peace process. In Somalia, both Australian aid organisations and the Australian Army lobbied for a larger commitment to the mission than the government had initially contemplated. In Bosnia, the Australians sent a handful of peacekeepers but argued that this crisis was outside Australia’s region and should be dealt with by the European Union and NATO. Rwanda was also outside Australia’s region but the government decided to send a medical team, enabling the deployment of African and other peacekeepers.
Commanding Multinational Forces
Major General Tim Ford, AO (Retd)
Commander 1st Division 1996-1998
Head of Mission UNTSO Apr 1998-Apr 2000
Military Adviser DPKO UNHQ Sep 2000-Sep 2002
Tim Ford will draw lessons concerning the command of multinational forces from his experience as a commander in the ADF and the UN, including his continuing appointments as an UN senior leadership mentor and adviser. The address will note that the military component of UN missions is operating in a multinational environment, and that while many similarities can be drawn to other coalition operations, UN peace operations place additional demands on military leaders and contingents. Recent developments in UN forces preparation and deployment will be noted.
The Australian Defence Force and Peacekeeping
Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, AO, DSC, CSM
The paper will explore what the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has learned from its peacekeeping missions and how it might face the challenges of contemporary peace operations in the future.
Increasingly contemporary peacekeeping operations are not just about achieving military objectives. They are also concerned with ensuring political stability, promoting good governance and human rights, providing humanitarian assistance and laying the groundwork for sustainable economic development.
The ADF has participated in 39 peace operations under the command of the United Nations (UN) and 16 non-UN peacekeeping operations, many of which were sanctioned by the UN. Australian troops have been deployed as peacekeepers, peace-builders and peace enforcers.
The ADF’s force structure provides combat forces that are capable of deploying beyond our shores or performing Defence of Australia tasks. Although the ADF is structured for ‘war’ it has proven capable of quickly adapting to the institutional arrangements and needs of peacekeeping. Increasingly the ADF is being asked to support complex peace operations that include tackling internal instability within integrated missions that are comprised of military, police, civilian, and humanitarian organisations. This trend is unlikely to change and planning for peacekeeping / stabilising operations will likely take a more prominent place in our defence planning than it has in the past.
UNTSO
Major General Ian Gordon, AO
UNTSO is the UN's first and longest running peacekeeping Mission. It was established to monitor the initial truce and then later the Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbouring Arab countries.
UNTSO's Mission is to observe and report on the way the Parties to the various agreements (Armistice and Security Council Resolutions) are honouring their commitments to those agreements. The UNTSO Mission area includes Israel Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. While the UNTSO Mission Area has remained unchanged, the tasks assigned to UNTSO continue to evolve according to the circumstances.
UNTSO has 153 Military staff (Observers and staff officers) and 223 civilian staff.
Currently, UNTSO's main task is to provide unarmed Military Observers to support UNIFIL and UNDOF. These Observers work under the Operational Control of Force Commanders UNIFIL and UNDOF. UNTSO's trained and impartial military officers verify and report ceasefire violations, investigate allegations of ceasefire violations, conduct inspections, act as guides and liaison officers, and maintain a detailed knowledge of important features of the UNIFIL and UNDOF Areas of Operations.
The Chief of Staff's priorities are to maintain close relationships throughout the Mission Area, maintain high standards of professionalism for the Observers, ensure the safety and security of all members of UNTSO and maintain the UN's requirements for accountability.
Australian Peacekeeping and the New World Order
Professor David Horner
By the beginning of 1988 Australia had deployed forces on UN and other peacekeeping missions for more than 40 years, and claimed a proud record of contributing positively to UN peace making and peacekeeping endeavours. Yet at that time Australia had only 13 military personnel deployed on multinational peacekeeping operations, and apart for a few notable instances in the early 1980s, the numbers of Australians committed to such activities had not changed much over 40 years. Between August 1988 and October 1991, however, Australia deployed more than 2,300 military personnel to peacekeeping and similar operations in Iran, Namibia, Pakistan, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Western Sahara. In the context of the end of the Cold War and the claim that there was now a new world order, this paper explains how and why Australia’s approach to peacekeeping changed and what impact these changes had on Australia’s defence and foreign policies. It also seeks to make some assessment of the effectiveness of Australia’s contribution to these missions.
UNTSO
Colonel Keith D Howard, RFD ED (Retd)
UNTSO is the UN's first and longest running peacekeeping Mission. It was established to monitor the initial truce and then later the Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbouring Arab countries.
UNTSO's Mission is to observe and report on the way the Parties to the various agreements (Armistice and Security Council Resolutions) are honouring their commitments to those agreements. The UNTSO Mission area includes Israel Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. While the UNTSO Mission Area has remained unchanged, the tasks assigned to UNTSO continue to evolve according to the circumstances.
UNTSO has 153 Military staff (Observers and staff officers) and 223 civilian staff.
Currently, UNTSO's main task is to provide unarmed Military Observers to support UNIFIL and UNDOF. These Observers work under the Operational Control of Force Commanders UNIFIL and UNDOF. UNTSO's trained and impartial military officers verify and report ceasefire violations, investigate allegations of ceasefire violations, conduct inspections, act as guides and liaison officers, and maintain a detailed knowledge of important features of the UNIFIL and UNDOF Areas of Operations.
The Chief of Staff's priorities are to maintain close relationships throughout the Mission Area, maintain high standards of professionalism for the Observers, ensure the safety and security of all members of UNTSO and maintain the UN's requirements for accountability.
Official History of Peacekeeping and Post–Cold War Operations
Peter Londey
The first volume of the Official History will deal with the long development of peacekeeping over the decades since the moment, 60 years ago today, when the first UN peacekeepers arrived in Batavia, capital of the Netherlands East Indies. I will try to show how from there peacekeeping developed in a largely ad hoc way, and the part Australians played in those developments. The way peacekeeping developed, I will suggest, had far less to do with the Cold War than with the nature of the problems the UN faced in a world complicated by decolonisation. As colonial powers faded away or were forced out of their former possessions, the UN – which favoured the process itself – found itself faced with problems beyond its capacity. If the truth be told, this first volume of the Official History deals largely with a series of failures, as the world community found it had no tools adequate to deal with the conflicts unleashed by the unprecedented retreat of empires in the half-century following the Second World War.
Landmines, Australians and Peacekeeping
Ian Mansfield
The presentation will be a review of humanitarian demining around the world over the past 19 years, with an emphasis on the role played by Australian military personnel.
Over 60 countries in the world today are affected by the presence of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. These devices cause death and injury to civilians, impede humanitarian relief activities, and hinder reconstruction and development. Traditionally, activities intended to reduce the impact of mines, especially mine clearance, were seen as the domain of national armies. However, over the past two decades humanitarian demining, or mine action, has evolved rapidly as a specific sector of expertise within broader relief and development efforts.
The origin of mine action can be traced to October 1988, when for the first time, the United Nations appealed for funds to carry out civilian demining activities in Afghanistan. The mine action sector has now developed to such an extent that there are national programmes in over 40 countries, such as Angola, Cambodia, and Lebanon. These cover mine and battle area clearance, survey, mine risk education, stockpile destruction and victim assistance. In addition, 154 countries have signed the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (or Ottawa Treaty) which places a complete ban on anti-personnel mines.
The Australian Army has played a significant role in the development of the sector. A series of mine clearance training teams were sent to advise the Afghan programme during the period 1989 to 1993, and instructors were sent to Cambodia and Mozambique during the mid to late 1990’s. Officers later served in individual capacities in Bosnia and on the ISAF headquarters in Afghanistan.
The presentation will be given by Ian Mansfield, who was the Commanding Officer of the training team in Afghanistan in 1991- 92, and who has subsequently worked in mine action in the field and headquarters for the United Nations and other organizations. Ian will trace the worldwide evolution of mine action over the past 18 years, highlighting the key achievements of the sector. He will also describe the significant role played by Australian Army soldiers in shaping the sector in general, and in training and advising the demining programmes in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Mozambique.
Commanding Multinational Forces
Major General Roger Powell, AO (Retd)
Commander PMG, (Bougainville, PNG) 1998-99
Deputy Force Commander PKF, UNTAET (East Timor) 2001
Roger Powell will draw on the experience he gained from two multinational command appointments, first Bougainville, PNG and then Timor Leste (East Timor). In each deployment, he was the senior military Australian officer selected as part of a very significant Australian contribution, committed over a number of years, in which attempts were made to stabilize the situation and then assist in building an enduring level of stability within, and external to the trouble spots in question. This continues to be the case in East Timor. Roger carried the baton in these two appointments, both for periods of six months, having been passed the responsibility from two very gifted predecessors, and then in turn handing over to two equally talented successors. His brief story in this relay of dedicated effort will highlight the challenges he faced and the progress that was made during his tenure.
