Government Deepens Commitment To Peacekeeping
Hon Max Bradford
Minister of Defence
MEDIA RELEASE
30 June 1999
GOVERNMENT DEEPENS
COMMITMENT TO PEACEKEEPING
The Minister of Defence,
Hon Max Bradford, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon
Don McKinnon today announced the Government had offered four
military observers to the United Nations peacekeeping forces
in Kosovo.
The officers have been put on standby and will leave as soon as the UN requires them.
The announcement was the latest in a wide range of New Zealand commitments to international peacekeeping.
These include:
n The
upcoming deployment of the frigate HMNZS Te Kaha to join
United Nations sanctions monitoring forces in the Gulf in
October.
n The decision to continue having military
personnel on stand-by for the UN weapons inspection
monitoring effort in Iraq.
n The continued deployment of
technical advisers with the Laos Unexploded Ordnance
programme.
n The continued deployment of 30 peace
monitoring staff in Bougainville until the end of this
year.
The Navy's newest frigate HMNZS Te Kaha sailed on Monday to participate in a variety of regional exercises from July to September.
It will then join the Multinational Interception Force in the Gulf in October and November to police UN sanctions.
Mr Bradford said the first operational deployment of Te Kaha to monitor Iraq's obligations to destroy its weapons of mass destruction visibly demonstrated New Zealand's commitment to the rule of international law.
"At the same time we have
signalled to the UN our willingness to continue to support
the United Nations Special Commission on disarming Iraq,
UNSCOM.
"We have three personnel in New York and 11 personnel in NZ on standby to return to duties in Iraq if required.
"In addition, four military observers had been offered to UN forces in Kosovo to help refugees return and to assist the transition back to a peaceful society," Mr Bradford said.
"We also have a small, but very important deployment in Laos, where we have two technical advisers to the headquarters of the Laos Unexploded Ordinance Programme, which has responsibility for removing tons of unexploded ordnance from the 1960s & 1970s."
Mr Bradford said New Zealand's substantial and perhaps most successful peacekeeping effort, in Bougainville, has been proceeding well.
"We intend to keep our 30 peace monitors on the island and to fund the Pacific Island country monitors (26 at present) at least until the end of this year," Mr Bradford said.
"Opposition parties would wrongly have New
Zealanders believe that our Defence Force doesn't perform
enough peacekeeping. The announcements of this month alone
clearly prove them wrong," he
said.