An Cosantóir

20 | Observer Group (OGL) by Wesley Bourke Photos by Cpl Colum Lawlor and courtesy of www.unmultimedia.org/photo/ A view of Observation Post LAB located in Southern Lebanon. 22 October 1974 Lebanon Photo # 137993 UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata O bservation Group Lebanon (OGL) is part of UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organization), the longest continuous UN peacekeeping mission, having been established in 1948 in the wake of the first Arab/Israeli war. It is also the Defence Forces' longest on-going mission, with Irish officers' first serving with UNTSO in December 1958. We met with OGL's Chief of Staff, Finnish Lt Col Juha Niemi, and some of his observers. After the Second World War the fledgling United Nations was faced with many challenges, The Middle East soon came to the top of the list as a result of the international call Lt Col Juha Niemi to create a Jewish homeland. In November 1947, the UN General Assembly endorsed a plan for the partition of Palestine (which at the time was under British mandate) to create an Arab State and a Jewish State, with Jerusalem to be given international status. The plan was rejected by the Palestinians and other Arab states. Notwithstanding Arab objections, the UK relinquished its mandate on May 14th 1948 and the state of Israel was proclaimed. The following day, Palestinian Arabs, assisted by their Arab neighbours, opened hostilities against Israel in what became known as the 1948 Arab/Israeli War. An Cosantóir November 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie On May 29th UN Security Council Resolution 50 was adopted, calling for a cessation of hostilities in Palestine and establishing the mechanisms for supervising a truce by way of a UN mediator, with the assistance of a group of military observers. The first group of observers arrived in the region in June 1948 and the mission later became known as the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation. Ten years later, after the ending of UNOGIL, the Defence Forces' first overseas mission, Irish observers joined UNTSO. UNTSO is an unarmed mission currently comprising 153 military observers and 94 international civilian staff. Operating over a vast area and encompassing several countries it is divided into several observer groups and liaison offices. The mission HQ and Observer Group Golan-Tiberius (OGG-T) are based in Israel, with liaison offices in Egypt (Liaison Office Cairo) and Lebanon (Liaison Office Beirut), and observer groups in Lebanon (OGL) and Syria (Observer Group Golan-Damascus). "Our basic task has not changed since the establishment of the mission," Lt Col Niemi told us. "That is, to monitor the armistice agreements made in 1949 between Israel/Lebanon, Israel/Syria, Israel/Egypt, and Israel/Jordan. Over the years the mission has been affected by conflicts in the region. In South Lebanon for example OGL has had to deal with the PLO, Lebanon's civil war, Israeli occupation, Hezbollah, and the recent 2006 Israeli invasion. Since the 2006 war OGL also reports to UNIFIL to help the Force Commander carry out his mandate." Although a peace treaty was signed between Egypt and Israel, Egypt asked UNTSO to retain a presence, which is done through Liaison Office Cairo. Observa-

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