Crisis Management
Screening Iceland
Chapter 31, Foreign, Security and Defence Policy – Bilateral
Brussels, 20 May 2011
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Common Objectives
• Iceland shares the objectives of the EU in crisis
management and conflict prevention
• Iceland party to major policy declarations by the UN,
OSCE and NATO
• Promotion of peace and stability, human rights and
gender equality, post conflict assistance and support
of civil society
• Iceland active in Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa.
• Icelandic – EU Framework Agreement on Crisis
Management 2005
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Iceland's Crisis Management
• Under MFA´s Directorate for International
Development Cooperation
• Participation in Crisis Management organised by the
MFA´s Iceland Crisis Response Unit (ICRU)
• Direct financial contributions to the ICRU 11% of
ODA
• Important part of Iceland's foreign policy and
external relations
• Part of the Strategy for Iceland's Development
Cooperation 2011 – 2014
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Strategy for Iceland's Development Cooperation
2011 - 2014
Implementation
Policy
MFA
Natural
Resources
Human
Capital
Peacebuilding
energy
fisheries
education
health
good governance
reconstruction
Humanitarian
Assistance
Gender equality / Environment
MFA
ICEIDA
MFA
Multilateral
cooperation
Bilateral
cooperation
WFP
World Bank
Malawi
UNICEF
Mozambique
UN WOMEN
Uganda
OCHA
CERF
NGOs
UNU
Afghanistan
NGOs
Palestine*
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History
1950s First assignments
1994 Active participation
2001 ICRU established as a unit within the MFA
2004 ICRU made a department within the MFA
2007 Act No 73 on ICRU and its Participation in
International Crisis Response.
2008 Act No 121 on Iceland's International
Development Cooperation.
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Act 73/2007 on ICRU, Art. 1 (1)
• “The Ministry for Foreign Affairs may participate in
international crisis response schemes and send
civilian experts on crisis response assignments for
that purpose.
Crisis response assignments include, among other
things, the following operations:
– a. Participation in assignments to ensure stability and to
work with the inhabitants of conflict zones.
– b. Assignments to support political and economic
development with the aim of achieving lasting peace.
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Act 73/2007 on ICRU, Art. 1 (2)
– c. Assignments to support the development of
infrastructure of society after armed conflict has ended,
e.g. in the fields of administration, supply networks and
telecommunications.
– d. Participation in preventive projects conceived to avert
armed conflict in unstable areas.
Assignments of the Icelandic Crisis Response Unit
may never contravene the provisions of
humanitarian and human rights conventions.”
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Selection of Seconded Experts
• Diverse Professions
– Human rights experts, police officers, coast guard
officers, health personnel, gender experts, public
information officers
•
•
•
•
Applications through the MFA website
Stand-by roster, response list
Selection based on project requirements
Assessment by ICRU and in consultation with
partner organisations
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Training and Seminars
• Briefing on ICRU operations and history, laws and
Code of Conduct, by MFA
• Working in security situations, by the State
Commissioner for Police/Icelandic Coast Guard
• Specialised training (logistics, communications etc.)
by WFP
• Gender awareness, by UNIFEM/UN Women
• Participation in training courses given by European
partners
• NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany
• Multinational Civil-Military Cooperation Capability
(CIMIC) Group, Motta di Livenza, Italy
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Gender Policies
• Action Plan for the implementation of UNSC
resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Evaluation
– Main focus:
• Increased women's participation in decision making and peace
processes
• Protection of women and girls in conflict zones
• Integration of gender perspectives and gender education into
peacekeeping
• Gender budgeting assessment of the ICRU
• Gender ratio in ICRU expert positions: 45% female
• Gender equality achieved in election monitoring in
2010
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Civilian Experts in the Field 2002-2010: Gender Ratio
Men
100%
Women
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
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ICRU Participation in Various Missions since 2001
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Kosovo: KFOR, Council of Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina: UNPROFOR, EUPM
Macedonia: EU’s Concordia
Serbia: UNIFEM
Afghanistan: ISAF, UNIFEM
Iraq: EOD team, NATO Training Mission
Lebanon: SRSA, UNMAS, UNIFIL, UNRWA
Sri Lanka: SLMM
Liberia: UN DPKO, UNIFEM
Sudan: UNICEF, WFP
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Pristina Airport, Kosovo 2002-2004
• Management of the Slatina Airport in Pristina
• 10 – 12 ICRU personnel active at any given
time
• Training of air traffic control personnel
• Preparing the handover to the UN and the
Kosovo Authorities
• First major task of the ICRU
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Iraq and Lebanon
• Iraq
– Icelandic Coast Guard Explosives Disposal (EOD) Team
active in the field 2003 and 2004 in cooperation with the
Danish Military
– Public information Officers (PIOs) assigned to the NATO
Training Mission (NTM-I) in Bagdad
• Lebanon
– Icelandic Coast Guard Explosives Disposal (EOD) Team
working with the Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA)
and the UNMAC/ UN Mine in Lebanon in 2007 and 2008
• Focus on destroying cluster bombs.
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Administration of Kabul International
Airport (KAIA) 2004 - 2005
• Iceland focal point for operations
• Responsible for the administration and
running of KAIA under ISAF
• Positions included Commander of KAIA, Fire
Chief, Air Operations and heads of major
support functions
• More than 20 employees at KAIA at any given
time
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Mobile Liaison and Observation Teams
in Afghanistan 2005-2007
• Icelandic Mobile Liaison and Observation Teams (MLOTs) in
Northern and Western Afghanistan 2005 – 2007
• Up to 20 personnel active at any given time
• In the Norwegian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in
Maymanah in Fahryab Province
• In the Lithuanian-led PRT in Chagcharan in Ghor Province
• Tasks included
– Assisting with reconstruction in remote rural areas
– Assisting with the coordination of humanitarian and emergency aid
and providing information to international relief organisations
– Cooperation with local authorities and police
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Sri Lanka Monitoring
Mission (SLMM) - 2008
•
•
•
•
Nordic monitoring role
Monitoring cease fire agreement since 2002
Report violations of the agreement
Establish dialogue between partners and
settle disputes on a local level
• 10 Icelandic positions in SLMM
• Termination of SLMM in 2008
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Liberia DPKO 2008 - 2010
• UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Police Section
• Two Icelandic policemen at any given time
• Tasks
–
–
–
–
–
Law enforcement capacity building
Training of the Liberian National Police
Participation in Donor Aid Coordination Team
Participation in Investigation Advisory Unit
Working with Emergency Response Unit
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Present Deployment
• Afghanistan
– Civilian experts to the International Security and
Assistance Force (ISAF)
– Support functions, policy, development and long term
capacity building
• Middle East
– Various positions with UN Agencies
• Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia
– Long term cooperation with UNIFEM/UN Women on
gender issues.
– Cooperation with the OSCE on election monitoring.
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Some Focus Areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Development and long term capacity building
Health care and sanitary issues
Law enforcement
Media and public information
Policy and management
Gender issues
Election monitoring
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Civilian Experts in 2010 by Organisation
UNRWA
2%
UNMIL
18%
ISAF
43%
UNICEF
16%
UNIFEM
13%
OCHA
8%
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Afghanistan 2010-2011
• Office of the Senior Civilian Representative (SCR) of NATO´s
Secretary General: Director for Political Affairs
• Office of the Commander of ISAF (COMISAF): Deputy Director
for Development
• ISAF DCOS Stability Division: Social Development Expert,
Gender Advisor
• Head of Personnel Service in the base at the Kabul
International Airport (KAIA)
• Deputy Commander Base Support Group, KAIA
• Icelandic Development Advisors in the Norwegian-led PRT in
Maymanah and the Lithuanian-led PRT in Chagcharan 2005
until 2010
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Middle East 2010-2011
• The occupied Palestinian territories
– Management Officer with UNRWA HQ in Amman, Jordan
– Management Officer with UNWRA in Beirut, Lebanon.
– Advisor on Displacement at the UNRWA Protection Team
in Jerusalem
– Health care specialist with UNICEF in Jerusalem
– Disaster Management expert with OCHA, Jerusalem
• Yemen and Pakistan:
– Emergency Information Officers
with UNICEF
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The Balkans 2010-2011
• Experts with UNIFEM/UN Women Regional
Programme
– Cooperation since 1999
– Gender Advisors in Serbia
– Gender Advisors in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
– Promote the third MDG on gender equality and
the empowerment of women
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Election Monitoring with the OSCE
• Participation in monitoring with the OSCE
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
rights (ODIHR)
• Participation in short and long term
observation
– Albania, Armenia, Azerbadjan, Belarus, BosniaHerzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgizstan,
Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
– Macedonia in June 2011.
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Iceland-EU Cooperation on
Peace-keeping and Crisis Management
• Agreement between the European Union and
the Republic of Iceland establishing a
framework for the participation of the
Republic of Iceland in the European Union
crisis-management from 21st February 2005
• The basis for the cooperation of Iceland and
EU in the field of peace-keeping and crisis
management operations
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Participation in CONCORDIA 2003
• Agreement between the European Union and
the Republic of Iceland on the participation of
the Republic of Iceland in the European Union
Force (EUF) in The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia (CONCORDIA), from 3rd July
2003 until end of 2003
• Civilian information expert to CONCORDIA
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Participation in EUPM 2003-2009
• Agreement between the European Union and
the Republic of Iceland on the participation of
the Republic of Iceland in the European Union
Police Mission (EUPM) in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH), from 10th December 2002
• Two policemen at any given time to the EUPM
– Tasks
• War crimes investigations
• Fighting organised crime
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Crisis Management Operations
OSCE Election Monitoring
Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Georgia, Belarus,
Kirgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine
UNIFEM/UN Women/EU/
Council of Europe
Bosnia–Herzegovina , Serbia, Kosovo
ISAF
Kabul Afghanistan
UNICEF
Yemen, Pakistan
PRESENT
DPKO-UNMIL
Liberia
FINISHED
ELECTION MONITORING
OCHA/UNRWA/UNICEF
oPt, Amman, Beirut, Damascus,
Jerusalem, Sudan
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Ministry for Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.is
EU Application Website http://europe.mfa.is/
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