By Javier Solana

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EUFOR's withdrawal : the EU's engagement in the region will continue

13 Mar, 2009 07:32 am

"EUFOR operation demonstrated how the EU has become a global provider of security and stability", says Javier SOLANA, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

At midnight on 14 March 2009 the European Union will officially hand over its military peacekeeping mission, operating in Chad and the Central African Republic on the borders of Darfur, to the UN follow-on peacekeeping mission.

The aims of EUFOR Tchad/RCA were to contribute to the establishment of a safe and secure environment to protect civilians in danger, particularly refugees and displaced persons, and to allow the UN, international humanitarian organisations and NGOs to carry out their work safely.

The challenges of the security situation lived up to expectations during the mission. At the outset, attacks by rebel forces against the legitimate Chadian authorities set the tone for the security challenges we would face. There were numerous episodes of banditry, criminality and further rebel attacks.

During my last visit to the region, I visited the camps and spoke to refugees, displaced people and the humanitarian workers working to alleviate their plight. I saw at first hand what the mission had already achieved and the potential and good-will there was in EUFOR to make a positive difference.

In this tenth anniversary of ESDP, several elements of the deployment and withdrawal of EUFOR mark the evolution of ESDP. Our mission should be judged not only on what it has achieved, but also in relation to what has been achieved in partnership with the UN, or what will be achieved by the UN as a result of EUFOR's deployment.

First, this operation demonstrated how the EU has become a global provider of security and stability. At the request of the UN Security Council we deployed EUFOR quickly and decisively in order to stop the violence against civilians and to protect refugees and displaced persons in Chad and the Central African Republic resulting from the crisis in Darfur.

Second, through EUFOR the European Union has proved itself as a valuable partner for stability for the United Nations. We have worked hand in hand with the UN, and have been a facilitator for its missions. EUFOR assisted the deployment of MINURCAT, the UN police mission, and provided a safe and secure environment for it to implement its mandate to operate in refugee and IDP camps. Further, EUFOR has provided a bridge to facilitate the UN's launch of its follow-on peacekeeping force. We have worked in close partnership at all levels to facilitate the transition and most European troop contributors will re-hat their soldiers under the UN follow-on mission to ensure there is no security gap.

Third, we affirmed the credibility of our military capability. At 3 700 troops, this is the largest EU military operation and perhaps the most demanding to date. Under the excellent command of Irish Lieutenant General Nash and French Brigadier General Ganascia, we managed the huge logistical challenges of deploying in a remote, vast and inhospitable terrain. Chad and the Central African Republic are landlocked countries, our area of operations is more than half the size of France, and with a double water problem - shortage of fresh water and, due to the seasonal rains in the summer months, floods at other times, causing additional operational challenges. The mission deployed into terrain with next to no infrastructure and where temperatures often reach over 40 degrees centigrade. It built seven military camps from scratch, which will be handed over for use by the UN follow-on force and the Chadians. The experience gained especially on the logistical side will help Europe to do even better in the future in this type of operation.

Fourth, in deploying EUFOR, Europe has given further substance to its commitment in the joint EU-Africa Strategy of December 2007, a top priority of which is the establishment of peace and security on the African continent. Twenty-three Member States joined by Russia, Albania and Croatia, contributed to EUFOR, demonstrating the broad-based political support for the mission. The large contributions of France, Ireland and Poland were essential to the success of the mission.

EUFOR was one dimension of the EU's contribution to the wider international and multi-dimensional presence and complemented other EU initiatives, including the political, economic, development and diplomatic ones.

The EU's engagement in the region will continue after the withdrawal of EUFOR. We will continue to dispense some €300 million of assistance for humanitarian, reconstruction and development efforts in the affected areas. Further, the EU will continue to support the internal political reconciliation process in Chad and the regional initiatives aimed at laying the foundations for lasting peace and stability in the region and on the African Continent.

A tribune by Javier Solana on Europolitics