An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 42 | By CAPT DAIRE ROAChE, EUFOR BIh B osnia and herzegovina (Bih), one of the six republics that made up the former yugosla- via, entered a period of bitter war in 1992; a war that cost the lives of over 100,000 people. Finally, in 1995, with the assistance of the international community and NATO, the war was brought to an end with the signing of the Dayton Accords in Paris. The long road to restoring peace and prosperity in this war-ravaged nation had begun. The 2003 Thessaloniki Declara- tion confirmed that the future of the Western Balkans, of which BiH is a central and significant part, lies within the EU. On 2nd December 2004, nine years after the war ended, the EU launched a military opera- tion in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), named Operation Althea, to replace NATO's SFOR peacekeeping mission that had maintained security in the region since the war ended. Operation Althea is one facet of a comprehensive and coherent EU com- mitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It adds an extra dimension to the existing political engagement, assis- tance programmes, and police and monitoring missions that are already underway. Althea is the third, and largest, military operation that the EU has embarked upon to date. The European Military Force, known as EUFOR, is a manifestation of the European Secu- rity and Defence Policy (ESDP), from which has evolved the Common For- eign Security Policy (CFSP). The CFSP, in addition to the objective of strength- ening the security of the Union in all ways, also has a prime objective of preserving peace and strengthening international secu- rity in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter. EUFOR BiH de- ployed at the same manpower levels as SFOR ( just un- der 7,000 troops) to ensure con- tinued compliance with the Dayton Accords and to contribute to a safe and secure environment in BiH. Irish troops have served with Opera- tion Althea since the outset. The mandate for EUFOR's Opera- tion Althea comprises executive and non-executive elements. The mis- sion's mandate derived from the UN Security Council, is based on EU Council Joint Action/2004/570, which includes an executive part (support- ing the BiH authorities in maintaining a safe and secure environment), and a non-executive part (capacity building and training for the AFBiH). This sup- ports BiH in its progress to becoming a 'security provider' rather than a 'security consumer'. Basic decisions on the operation are taken by the Council of the European Union. The EU's Political and Security Committee exercises the political control and strategic direction of the operation, under the responsibility of the Council. Powers of decision with respect to the objectives and termination of the military operation remains vested in the Coun- cil, assisted by the EU Special Repre- sentative Lars-Gunnar Wiggemark and High Representative Federica Mogheri- ni. The EU Military Committee (EUMC) monitors the proper execution of the military operation. The EUFOR Commander, currently Major General Martin Dorfer, is based at Camp Butmir, Sarajevo. However, as it operates under the 'Berlin Plus' ar- rangements, Operational Commander EUFOR Althea is General Sir James Ru- pert Everard, who is Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and the OHQ is located at SHAPE, in Belgium. The majority of Irish Defence Forces involvement in Bosnia has been in the area of military policing. Irish MPs served with IFOR and SFOR from the late 1990s to 2003 as part of the International Military Police (IMP) Company and were first located in Ilidza before moving to Camp Butmir when it became the mission HQ. The IMP Coy was commanded by an Irish commandant and consisted of three OPERATION AlThEA Comdt Bernard Behan (25 IRCON) featuring on a popular 2018 EUFOR advertisement shown throughout Bosnia to highlight the work of the local observer teams (LOTs).

• Cover