Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann approves the despatch, pursuant to section 2 of the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1960, as applied by the Defence (Amendment) Act 1993, of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), established on 19th September, 2003, under UN Security Council Resolution 1509 (2003) in carrying out its additional role in relation to:

(i) the provision of security for the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the evacuation if and when needed of UNMIL military personnel and officials of the Court in the event of a serious security crisis affecting those personnel and the Court as set out in Security Council Resolution 1626 of 19th September, 2005; and

(ii) the apprehension and detention of former President Charles Taylor in the event of a return to Liberia and the transfer of him or the facilitation of his transfer to Sierra Leone for prosecution before the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the keeping of the Liberian Government, the Sierra Leonean Government and the Council fully informed as set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1638 of 11th November, 2005.

In commending the motion to the House, I will briefly outline the Defence Forces' participation in the United Nations Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, to date and the background to the request. UNMIL was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1509 of 19 September 2003, to support the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement, signed by the Liberian parties on 18 August 2003.

UNMIL was designed to support the establishment of peace in Liberia, which had been ravaged by civil unrest, and a brutal civil war involving child soldiers, horrific acts of barbarity and complete disregard for human life. The effect of the ongoing conflict over decades had completely destroyed the Liberian economy, ranking it at the bottom of the world development index. The situation in Liberia was also responsible for fomenting general unrest across the region.

UNMIL is a Chapter VII peace enforcement operation, which means that it is authorised to take all necessary measures to fulfil its mandate. Ireland has participated in UNMIL since December 2003. Together with an infantry company group from Sweden, it provides the quick reaction force to the UNMIL force commander. The Irish contingent comprises 427 personnel. The quick reaction force initially acted in a pathfinder role, going into the countryside, stabilising the situation, establishing contacts with local leaders and preparing the ground for the follow on deployment of the larger UN forces. Once this was completed, the quick reaction force became the rapid response element within UNMIL, responding to any crises that arose within the area of operations and supporting deployed contingents through long range patrols into the countryside. While it has been a difficult mission, particularly in terms of the operating environment, it is working very well for the Defence Forces.

On 19 September 2005, the UN Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter unanimously adopted Resolution 1626 extending the mandate of UNMIL until 31 March 2006, at which time it will be reviewed. The resolution further authorised UNMIL to deploy personnel to Sierra Leone to provide a continuing security detail for the special court for Sierra Leone in Freetown, to deploy an adequate number of military personnel to Sierra Leone, if and when needed, and to evacuate the security detail, as well as officials of the special court for Sierra Leone, in the event of a serious security crisis.

On 11 November 2005, the UN Security Council further extended UNMIL's mandate to include the apprehension, detention and transfer to the special court for Sierra Leone of the former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, in the event of his return to Liberia. The special court is an independent tribunal established jointly by the UN and the Government of Sierra Leone in 2002. Its function is to bring to justice those who bear greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996. The court is presided over by six trial judges, including one Irish judge, and five appeal judges. Thirteen persons have been brought before the Court, nine of whom are in the court's custody in Freetown and two of whom are deceased. A further indictee, whose current whereabouts are unknown, is also believed to be deceased. The final indictee, former President of Liberia, Mr. Charles Taylor, has been in exile in Nigeria since he relinquished the Liberian presidency in August 2003. The Nigerian authorities are willing to hand over Mr. Taylor to the democratically elected Government of Liberia. They are, however, not prepared to send him directly to the special court.

On 22 September 2005, the UN Secretariat informed the Irish mission to the UN that UNMIL would assume responsibility for the security of the special court for Sierra Leone from 1 December 2005. The UN requested Ireland's support in expanding the area of operations of UNMIL to include Sierra Leone and in particular the special court of Sierra Leone in Freetown.

A joint Irish-Swedish reconnaissance team visited UNMIL and Sierra Leone from 9 to 13 November 2005. The purpose of the visit was to assess the situation on the ground. The military authorities have advised that an evacuation of the special court, were it required, would be a complex and difficult operation given its location and the diverse make-up and nationalities of the forces involved. Security at the court is provided by a private security firm. In addition, police and military personnel of Sierra Leone are part of the overall security network, while UNMIL has provided a guard company currently comprising 150 Nigerian military personnel until mid-January 2006 when it will be replaced by a military guard of 250 Mongolian personnel.

The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces is of the opinion that the envisaged operation in Sierra Leone, should it come to pass, is within the Defence Forces' competence to perform from within the resources currently deployed in the quick reaction force. Subject to Dáil approval, deployment to UNMIL's additional roles would take place as soon as possible.

The current level of risk is estimated to be relatively low, while the financial costs of the additional role are relatively minor. The Secretary General of the UN has indicated that a review of the UNMIL mission will take place in March 2006 and, depending on the political and security position in Liberia at that time, a downsizing schedule for the UNMIL mission will be agreed.

The Government is of the view that the current deployment of the United Nations Mission in Liberia is critically important in providing continuing support for the comprehensive peace agreement, the political and economic recovery of Liberia and stability in the region as a whole. UNMIL is playing an extremely positive role in ensuring a secure environment for the holding of elections and in the run-up to the installation of the new government next January. A positive response by the House to the current United Nations request would be consistent with Ireland's commitment to UN peacekeeping, particularly in Africa. I commend the motion to the House.

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