An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 10 | By SgT WAyNE FITzgERAlD 70th AnniversAry of United nAtions PeAcekeePing The United Nations began Peacekeeping in 1948, when the Security Council authorised the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East. The mission's role was to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours – an operation which became known as the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) – and still on-going today. Since then, 71 peacekeeping operations have been deployed by the UN, 57 of them since 1988. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of military personnel, police and civilians from more than 120 countries have participated in UN Peacekeeping Operations. More than 3,326 UN peacekeepers have died while serving under the UN flag. On 29th May 2018, the UN, along with its member states and NGOs, held solemn events around the world to honour fallen peacekeepers. "At its best, UN peacekeeping is a remarkable enterprise of multilateral- ism and international solidarity… And UN peacekeeping missions now operate in far more dangerous, complex and high-risk environments. They are under threat from armed groups, criminals and terrorists, who have access to powerful modern weapons. Last year, we lost 59 peacekeepers through malicious acts – a sharp increase since 2016, when the figure was 34. I pay tribute to the fallen; we will never forget their sacrifice. These figures are unacceptable and weigh on us all." UN Secretary General António Guterres said to Security Council High- Level Debate on Collective Action to Improve UN Peacekeeping Opera- tions – 28th March 2018. 60th aNNiVeRSaRy of iRiSh DefeNce foRceS PeacekeePiNG On the 25th April 2018, President Michael D. Higgins met with UN Secretary General António Guterres, on the second day of his visit to the UN in New York during the High Level Meeting on Peace Building and Sustaining Peace. "Ireland, the country I represent, knows from our own Peace Process which continues to this day that peace does not come without engaging with the experience of the Other, that it remains a process to be nurtured. Humanitarian actions must not any longer be allowed to serve as sufficient responses to crises that are political in their ori- gins. Humanitarian action is not a substitute for political dialogue and mediation. Nor is the remarkable work of UN peace- keepers, whose service, including that of many Irish men and women over the past 60 years, whom I salute here today. UN peace support operations save countless lives, but they can only ever be but one element of a comprehensive response." President Higgins emphasised the contribution of the Irish peacekeeping forces over the past six decades, in which, in any given year, Ireland has had some 1,000 peacekeepers deployed. The President paid tribute to the Defence Forces for their role in the field, and for their invaluable work informing Irish society, upon their return, of the work of the United Nations. cuRReNt miSSioNS (w.e.f. 18th may 2018) PeRSoNNel UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON - UNIFIL 379 UNITED NATIONS DISENGAGEMENT OBSERVER FORCE (SYRIA) - UNDOF 138 UNITED NATIONS TRUCE SUPERVISION ORGANISATION (MIDDLE EAST) - UNTSO 12 UNITED NATIONS NEW YORK (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) - UNNY 2 UNITED NATIONS MISSION FOR THE REFERENDUM IN WESTERN SAHARA - MINURSO 3 UNITED NATION OBSERVER MISSION IN CONGO - MONUSCO 4 EUROPEAN UNION TRAINING MISSION MALI - EUTM MALI 20 EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY STAFF (BRUSSELS) - EUMS 3 EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY COMMITTEE (BRUSSELS) - EUMC 4 EUROPEAN UNION FORCE BOSNIA HERzEGOVINA - EUFOR BIH 5 EUROPEAN UNION IN SUPPORT OF OPERATION ALTHEA - (SHAPE, NATO, MONS, BELGIUM) 1 EUROPEAN UNION IN SUPPORT OF OPERATION SOPHIA 61 LIAISON OFFICE & PNMR IRELAND - (SHAPE, NATO, MONS, BELGIUM) 1 KOSOVO FORCE HEADQUARTERS - KFOR HQ 12 PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE HEADQUARTERS (BRUSSELS) - PFP HQ 2 ORGANISATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE (AUSTRIA) - OSCE 2 total 649 United Nations Peacekeeping President Michael D. Higgins meets UN Secretary General António Guterres. Photo: UN Photo

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