28.02.2011.
Assembly adopts the Government's decision regarding the participation in multinational peace keeping missions
The members of the Serbian Parliament today adopted a decision of the Government of Serbia envisioning that the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Serbian police would participate in the multinational UN operations in Congo, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Cyprus this and for the first time, in the Middle East and in peacekeeping missions in the EU missions in Somalia and Uganda.
It is a decision meaning the adoption of the annual plan of the deployment of the Armed Forces of Serbia and other defense forces in multinational operations in 2011 including the participation of the Serbian Armed Forces in multinational operations in 2011.
The Members of the Ministry of Defence and SAF will participate in UN peacekeeping operations in Congo, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Cyprus, where they have already been engaged, while for the first time they will participate in UN peacekeeping mission in the Middle East, as well as in the peacekeeping operations in EU missions in Somalia and Uganda. Furthermore, as the decisions reads the members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will also participate this year in UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti and in Liberia, where they are already engaged.
A total of 31 members of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Serbia and nine police officers, including women wile b deployed.
The aim of the UN Mission in the Middle East, where Serbia plans to dispatch two independent military observers, represents Serbia’s commitment to prevent the resurgence of the conflict between Israel and Arab countries.
The task of our members will be overseeing the demarcation line and the cease-fire process between the conflicted forces in the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights, as well as providing support to the forces stationed in the southern Lebanon.
As regards the multinational EU military operation for training security forces in the Somali Republic and Uganda, in accordance with the current mandate, it is engaged in restoring, training, equipping and maintaining the level of preparedness of Somali security forces.
The main task of the mission is to provide support to the transitional government in Somalia, to its people and help stabilize the current situation, while the military training is conducted in Uganda, where security conditions are better than the Somali Republic.
In the multinational military operation deploying EU maritime forces in the Somali Republic, the Ministry of Defence is planning to initially engage two officers of the Riverine, which, together with eight members of the EU countries, will work on curbing, preventing and suppressing the activities of pirates and numerous armed looting along the coast of Somalia.
The Serbian Armed Forces will, as stated in the decision, put some of its capacities at the disposal of UN involvement in multinational operations and concluded stand-by arrangement ".
VS this arrangement will place at UN’s disposal, if necessary, its medical and surgical teams with up to six members, including15 staff officers and 10 military observers, which will require further allocation of budgetary funds reaching up to 390 million RSD.
The Serbian "blue helmets" are already present and in the UN mission in Cyprus, the Serbian Armed Forces are already engaged within the Slovak-Hungarian contingent, as well as in Lebanon, as part of the Spanish contingent of peacekeepers.
As for the deployment of SAF members in Congo, Liberia and Ivory Coast, the members of the Serbian army participate independently, largely as part of military medical teams performing the duties of military observers.
The Members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are engaged with the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia, and in the same activities in Haiti, where they provided great help and support following the devastating earthquake which hit Haiti last year.
