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| Updated: 02-Feb-2006 | NATO On-line library |
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Security through Partnership Peace-support operations
Partner countries have played a critical role in the NATO-led peace-support operations in the Balkans and they are now also making an essential contribution to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan. The participation of Partner countries in these operations enhances security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond. It enables Partner forces to gain practical experience of working together with Allied forces to help restore stability to crisis areas. It also helps ease the burden of the multiplication of missions on members of the Alliance. Moreover, Partner involvement in a NATO-led operation underscores a broad international consensus to help manage crises and prevent the spread of instability. Soldiers from a large number of Partner countries have become used to working alongside NATO counterparts, learning how the Alliance operates in complex and difficult circumstances. This, more than any other single factor, has been critical in improving relations and building confidence and understanding between military forces, which until the end of the Cold War, formed hostile alliances confronting each other across a divided continent. Today, NATO and Partner countries are working together in the field to confront the challenges of the 21st century.
NATO has been leading the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since August 2003. The mission of this UN-mandated force is to assist the Afghan authorities in efforts to bring peace and stability to the country, which is recovering from two decades of civil war, and to prevent it from being used again as a base for terrorists. The original mandate limited ISAF operations to Kabul and the surrounding areas but has since been expanded beyond the capital under a new UN mandate. ISAF’s presence has gradually been extended into the north of the country by the establishment of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) – teams of civilian and military personnel working in the provinces to extend the authority of the central government and to facilitate development and reconstruction. Preparations to expand further into regions west of Kabul got underway in the autumn of 2004. Moreover, extra troops were deployed for eight weeks to support the electoral process in the run-up to and during the presidential elections that took place in October 2004. In September 2004, ten Partner countries were participating in ISAF, some supplying valuable specialised forces such as military police and demining teams. Moreover, Partner countries in Central Asia have been instrumental in ensuring the logistic supply of ISAF forces as equipment must cross several Partner countries before arriving in Afghanistan. Relationships developed through the Partnership for Peace have laid the basis for Allies to draw up bilateral agreements for the transit of material across these states and the basing of forces and supplies on their territory. For example, Germany and Uzbekistan have concluded a formal agreement on the use of the military airfield in Termez, near the border with Afghanistan, to help ensure an air bridge to Kabul and northern parts of Afghanistan; an agreement between the Netherlands and the Kyrgyz Republic allows Dutch F-16 fighter aircraft to operate from the airport in Bishkek; and France has a similar agreement with Tajikistan, allowing it to operate a logistics hub in Dushanbe. Given the diverse ethnic make-up of Afghanistan, several Central Asian Partners also have influence on important local actors, which they can use in support of ISAF objectives. The type of assistance being provided by Partners to ISAF, an operation far from NATO’s traditional perimeter, is one of the reasons why Partnership is so important for the Alliance. The Balkan operations Ever since the initial deployment of the Alliance’s first-ever peacekeeping mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Partner countries have been an integral part of the NATO-led peace-support operations in the Balkans. Over the years, as much as 10 per cent of troops participating in the NATO-led peace-support operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 18 per cent of peacekeeping troops making up the Kosovo Force (KFOR) have been contributed by Partner countries and other non-NATO countries.
Bosnia and Herzegovina IFOR was replaced by the smaller Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in December 1996. In addition to deterring a resumption of hostilities and promoting a climate in which the peace process could move forward, SFOR’s mission was extended to include support for civilian agencies involved in the international community’s efforts to build a lasting peace in the country. The peacekeeping troops helped refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes and contributed to reforming the Bosnian military forces. As the security situation gradually improved, the number of peacekeepers in the country was progressively reduced from the 60,000 troops that were originally deployed to some 7,000 in 2004. The NATO-led operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was brought to an end in December 2004, when responsibilities for maintaining security were handed over to a follow-on mission led by the European Union. The successful accomplishment of SFOR’s mission is testimony to the wisdom of taking a broad, long-term perspective on peacekeeping and reconstruction. It is also a vindication of the patience and persistence that Allies and Partner countries have shown in the entire Balkans region over the preceding decade, and which they continue to show with regard to Kosovo. The termination of SFOR has not meant the end of NATO’s engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATO has retained its own military headquarters in the country, which is focusing on helping the Bosnian authorities with defence reform and in preparing the country for membership of the Partnership for Peace. It is also working on counter-terrorism, apprehending war-crimes suspects and intelligence-gathering. Kosovo The conclusion of a Military Technical Agreement between NATO and Yugoslav commanders allowed the Kosovo Force (KFOR) to deploy to the province in June 1999 under a UN mandate. Its mission is to deter renewed hostility, establish a secure environment and support the international humanitarian effort and the work of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). At full strength, KFOR’s initial deployment numbered some 43,000 troops. Progressive troop reductions have more than halved this figure. In October 2004, the 18,000-strong force was made up of troops from most NATO member states, nine Partner countries and two other non-NATO countries, namely Argentina and Morocco. In close cooperation with UNMIK, KFOR is helping build a secure environment in Kosovo in which the growth of democracy can be fostered with international aid. Civil reconstruction is underway and a measure of security and normal life has been re-established in the province. However, as the outbreak of inter-ethnic violence in March 2004 demonstrated, significant challenges remain and there is a continued need for a robust military presence in Kosovo. Working together One of the key aims of the Partnership for Peace is to develop Partner country forces so that they are able to work together with NATO forces in peacekeeping activities. Bilateral programmes and military exercises help Partner countries to develop forces with the capacity to participate in peacekeeping activities alongside NATO forces. Learning to speak the same language, English, and developing interoperability are of key importance. Increasingly, their military forces are adapting to the
The participation of Partners and other non-NATO countries in NATO-led peace-support operations is guided by the Political-Military Framework. It is facilitated by the International Coordination Centre established at SHAPE in October 1995 to provide briefing and planning facilities for all non-NATO troop contributing countries. Individual participation by the various states is subject to a financial and technical agreement, which is worked out between each troop-contributing country and NATO, once proposed contributions to such operations have been assessed. Each Partner country assumes responsibility for the deployment of its contingents and for providing the support needed to enable them to function effectively. In some cases, support is also made available on a bilateral basis by a NATO member country. Although most non-NATO countries that contribute troops to NATO-led peacekeeping operations belong to the PfP programme and come from Europe, several troop-contributors are from other continents and some have no formal relationship with the Alliance. From South America, Argentina has contributed peacekeepers to both SFOR and KFOR, and
Russian peacekeepers For over seven years, until their withdrawal from SFOR and KFOR in summer 2003, Russia provided the largest non-NATO contingents to the peacekeeping forces in the Balkans, where Russian soldiers worked alongside Allied and other Partner counterparts to support the international community’s efforts to build lasting security and stability in the region. Russian peacekeepers first deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 1996, where they were part of a multinational brigade in the northern sector, conducting daily patrols and security checks and helping with reconstruction and humanitarian tasks. Having played a vital diplomatic role in securing an end to the Kosovo conflict, despite differences over NATO’s 1999 air campaign, Russian troops deployed to Kosovo in June 1999, where they worked as part of multinational brigades in the east, north and south of the province as well as helping run the Pristina airfield and providing medical facilities and services. 
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