Greater use of Garda officers on United Nations duty could be in prospect following the publication of a special UN report on international peace operations. The report highlights the role of civilian police serving with the UN in societies emerging from violent conflict.
There are at present 59 Garda officers on overseas UN duty: 35 in Bosnia, 18 in Cyprus and six in Eastern Slovenia. A modest increase could be on the cards if recommendations by the UN expert panel are implemented.
The 10-member UN panel, chaired by a former Algerian foreign minister, Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, encourages each member-state to establish a pool of civilian police officers who would be on standby for deployment on peace duties.
The report also urges a "doctrinal shift" in the use of civilian police along with other law-enforcement officials as well as human rights experts, in strengthening the institutions of law and enhancing respect for the individual in countries recovering from conflict.
The panel urges that consideration be given to the development of an interim criminal code for use by transitional civil administrations in societies where traditional law and order had broken down.
The Garda has been involved in UN duties since 1989 and there would probably be no major difficulty in a measured increase in the force's commitment. There is considerable interest among members in service overseas with the UN, which is regarded as useful experience. Last year the Garda briefed and trained RUC officers at the training college in Templemore, Co Tipperary, prior to the deployment of RUC members on UN duty in Bosnia and Kosovo.
The recommendations dealing with civilian police are just one aspect of a broad-ranging and sometimes hard-hitting report, which seeks to put UN peace operations on a sounder footing. In one of its more trenchant criticisms, the report states: "No failure did more to damage the standing and credibility of UN peacekeeping in the 1990s than its reluctance to distinguish victim from aggressor."
The report continues: "This means that UN military units must be capable of defending themselves, other mission components and the mission's mandate. Rules of engagement should be sufficiently robust and not force UN contingents to cede the initiative to their attackers."
The report states that UN peacekeepers who witnessed violence against civilians "should be presumed to be authorised to stop it, within their means, in support of basic UN principles".
The panel calls for greater clarity and realism in relation to peace operations: "Once realistic mission requirements have been set and agreed to, the Security Council should leave its authorising resolution in draft form until the secretary-general confirms that he has received troop and other commitments from member-states sufficient to meet those requirements."
The panel stresses the need for more rapid deployment of UN forces in peace operations and suggests that the troops should be in place within 30 days of a Security Council decision in the case of traditional operations and within 90 days where more complex missions were concerned.
At present there are approximately 1,000 Irish soldiers on UN duty abroad: 700 in Lebanon, 140 in Kosovo, over 100 in Sarajevo and 40 in East Timor.
Commenting on the problems with regard to peace operations, a Defence Forces spokesman said yesterday: "The only thing you need is the willingness of the UN membership to take on the difficulties that are there." In too many cases in the past, he added, "the UN has been slow to react, has not given a strong mandate to the military forces and has allowed the problem to sit there and continue."
The Brahimi Report was commissioned by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, last March as part of the preparations for next month's Millennium Summit in New York. Commenting on the report's contents in a telephone interview, Mr Brahimi said: "We describe the reality as we see it now and also I think we are reflecting the lessons learnt during these past 10 years."
The UN report's Executive Summary and Key Recommendations are available on The Irish Times website at: www.ireland.com