The United Nations Security Council has unanimously agreed a comprehensive resolution on East Timor authorising a UN-mandated multinational force to intervene there. If it is implemented immediately and effectively it will go some way to restore the world organisation's credibility after last week's disastrous withdrawal from the territory. By far the most urgent tasks the force faces are to bring humanitarian aid to a displaced and highly vulnerable population and to secure East Timor's population and borders against continuing subversion by Indonesian military and militias. The Government's decision to send 40 Ranger troops is a welcome and realistic recognition that this could require robust military action.
The multinational force has been given a clear mandate to fulfil its tasks, including the use of all necessary means. Such tasks as returning refugees to their homes, securing humanitarian access, supporting the United Nations Mission to East Timor (UNAMET) in carrying out its tasks are explicitly dealt with. It is foreseen that a UN peacekeeping force will be assembled in due course to oversee the territory's transition to independence. After some initial argument about the force's composition, it is clear now that many Asian states will participate.
The Indonesian government is called upon to co-operate with the force and reminded of its continuing obligations under the May 5th agreement with the UN, under which it was given responsibility for security - a fateful decision in the light of last week's events. That this is, therefore, more than an emollient request is made clear from the power struggle in Jakarta between those who agreed to the UN force and those who still oppose it. Its outcome is by no means determined. The long planning by the Indonesian military of last week's horrifyingly effective assault on the pro-independence majority in East Timor, and the continuing menacing activities of the militias there both underline how dangerous - and how necessary - this mission is likely to be.
The Government's decision to send Ranger troops to East Timor is a sign of how large the issue has loomed in Irish public consciousness and foreign policy. It will be subject to Dail approval because of the nature of the mandate. They are a special services unit and will work with Australian troops to secure borders and provide cover for more normal peacekeeping work. Their safety and effectiveness will depend to a large degree on how efficiently they can work with such an international force. In future it is to be expected that training for such UN activities will come through participation in the NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace network of military co-operation in Europe, which the Government is proposing that Ireland should join this autumn. It has to be recognised that this is the reality within the European region as well as in other ones, where the UN relies on established military alliances, rather than assembling a force from scratch. In those circumstances it is better to be involved in such co-operation if peacekeeping skills are to be maintained.