CENTRAL PREMISES

Mr President

It is the intention of the Government that Norway’s military participation in operations abroad in 2004 should be maintained at a high level. In the Defence Budget for 2004, endorsed on 4 December, funds amounting to NOK 700 million have been allocated for this purpose.

The Government aims to maintain our engagement in the three principal operational areas of Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq with relevant and highly regarded force contributions. In addition Norway will take part in UN-led operations and certain other selected operations.

The Armed Forces are mid-way through a process of radical restructuring. We are adapting our defence organisation to match new national and international security challenges. Our aim is to have Armed Forces of high quality, capable of rapid reaction and both relevant and effective in the context of the new spectrum of threats and missions both at home and abroad.

The Armed Forces’ contribution to international crisis management and stabilisation will not weaken our capacity to defend Norwegian territory. International involvement will, on the contrary, help to strengthen our ability to maintain an effective, relevant and highly motivated defence capability here at home.

The old mobilisation based defence was well suited to the situation for which it was designed, but is no longer capable of meeting the new requirements for rapid reaction, adaptability, quality or flexibility.

Thus the transformation of our defence organisation to ensure a more rapid response capability is driven first and foremost by the need to be able to deploy smaller and more rapidly available forces in areas close to home.

For operations abroad we will never be called upon to deploy more rapidly than our allies – it is primarily here at home that the need for a national rapid response capability arises.

One of the main objectives behind the establishment of the Army, Navy and Air Force High Readiness Forces is to provide a rapid response capability which can be used to ensure more effective defence at home. The greater part of Norway’s armed forces, which now consist of just such High Readiness Force elements, will at any given time be based at home, ready to respond rapidly to any threats, crises or other situations in which support to the civil community is needed.

There is therefore, President, no conflict between defence structures for national and international operations. Given today’s security situation, the requirements for both parts of the mission spectrum are both largely coincident and mutually reinforcing.

Interoperability for military forces cannot simply be adopted, it has to be developed over time, through participation in the NATO alliance in the form of multinational training and exercises, and in real operations.

The defence organisation has already done much to meet the new requirements. We are steering the right course. Feedback from NATO about our force contributions has been extremely positive. Our force elements have proved relevant to the task and fully equal to the challenges posed by modern military operations. The operational input and professional competence of Norwegian personnel are of a very high standard, not least due to our restructuring at home. All this serves to underpin and enhance Norway’s role as a credible Alliance partner.

It is nevertheless critically important that we should carry through to completion the restructuring on which we are now embarked. That is to say the strengthening of the operational capability of the Armed Forces by continuing to focus on rapid reaction capability, fitness for purpose, flexibility and quality.

Cooperation with allies is an essential precondition for the achievement of this objective. We have to contribute to the right mix of military capability through cooperation with our allies and partner nations in such areas as procurement, logistics, maintenance, instruction and training as well as through joint force contributions to actual operations.

The measures to improve NATO’s military capabilities, agreed at the Summit meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Alliance in Prague last year, the so-called Prague Capabilities Commitment (PCC), will be of great importance to our ability to meet new challenges. The aim is to achieve more through cooperation than could be achieved by individual member states alone. The way ahead in this respect involves the choice of strategic partners, role sharing and specialisation and new capabilities acquired through joint funding.

Norway is playing an active part in PCC activities and in that context is leading a high level group tasked with providing NATO with access to improved strategic sealift facilities.

Norway is focusing especially on cooperation with countries with which we have close links geographically, politically and culturally. Such countries include Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Cooperation with these North Sea neighbours will give Norway the benefit of financial savings as well as operational advantages.

This enhances our ability to contribute relevant and valuable capabilities to operations abroad through the “plugging in” of relatively small Norwegian units into larger multinational forces. In this way, these multinational forces will at the same time become more closely committed to the defence of Norway.

The dividends in terms of defence and security policy that we derive through cooperation with these European members of NATO are highly significant.

The establishment of a NATO Response Force (NRF) was also agreed at the Prague Summit meeting and provides a catalyst for the reshaping, or transformation, of the Alliance. The build-up of this multinational force is central to the continuing relevance of NATO both militarily and in terms of security policy. Our participation also helps to enhance the ability of our own forces to operate jointly with our allies in multinational operations.

The NATO Response Force is likely in future to constitute the Alliance’s most important tool for participation in crisis management operations both in and outside the NATO area. In other words, it could be deployed both in Afghanistan and in Norway. Participation is both a central obligation for Alliance members and an important contribution to the collective defence and security of the Alliance.

We must therefore plan for the commitments we intend to make to the NATO Response Force in parallel with, and coordinated with, our future involvement in operations abroad. This means that the force elements that Norway will be committing to the NRF in a given 6 month period cannot be deployed for other purposes during that period.

Our capabilities declared for operations abroad during 2004 are therefore being coordinated with our commitment to the NRF.

As a consequence of NATO’s requirements in terms of readiness and joint training in advance of the 6 month operational period, it will not normally be possible to use force contributions to NRF for other missions during the period for which they are committed to the NRF. In principle, member countries may only withdraw force contributions declared to the NRK in the event of acute national need.

Norwegian contributions to operations abroad are drawn primarily from the standing forces that make up the High Readiness Force. In addition, units of 6th Division are being trained in preparation for deployment, if the need should arise, on operations abroad. Furthermore, personnel with previous experience in the Services can still be recruited for international service, although this form of recruiting is both less predictable and more demanding in terms of cost and interoperability training time.

The scale of participation within the preset budgetary limit for operations abroad in 2004 will therefore be determined mainly by the capabilities available in the Army, Navy and Air Force High Readiness Forces. At the same time, most of the existing single-Service capabilities will be incorporated in the respective High Readiness Forces.

Norwegian military units must, in principle, be capable of reacting just as rapidly at home as when deployed abroad, and the defence of Norway depends therefore largely on the High Readiness Forces. Important exceptions include the Coast Guard and the Home Guard.

These are the central premises for our participation in operations abroad.

Norway’s participation in operations abroad is based on the wish to contribute to peace and stability in conflict areas of significance to our own security or to security in a broader international context. We are currently contributing more than 1000 men and women to a range of operations. Norway’s contribution to international operations is an important one. The implementation of such operations is essential to ensuring a positive course of development, both political and economic.

The guard and security company contributed by the Norwegian Army to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan is playing a central part in preparing the way for an important step forward in the so-called Bonn Process. Providing protection for the Loya Jirga, the Grand Assembly seeking to agree a new constitution for Afghanistan, is a vital contribution to the realisation of democratic elections next year.

The Norwegian engineer company in Iraq has accomplished a great deal for the civilian population of Basra and the surrounding district. One of the preconditions for stability and hope for a better future is that the essential needs of the local population for electricity, gas, oil and water etc. should be met.

• The engineer company has repaired and made safe the power supply system after criminal elements had pulled down the power lines to steal and sell the copper. The need for a power supply is not simply a domestic consideration. The local refineries are entirely dependent on electrical power in order to maintain supplies of petrol and diesel fuel as well as gas for domestic consumption.
• The company’s mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal specialists have so far destroyed more than 35,000 explosive items such as mines, hand grenades, hand gun ammunition, missiles and torpedoes. Such unexploded devices pose a severe risk to the local civilian population.
• A new bridge has been built and another has been repaired and made safe to use.
• The company has inspected the local water supply system to establish what repair and other work is needed, covering the whole of the British sector in southern Iraq. This has involved an area 12 times the size of Kosovo.
• Two schools in the area have been tidied up and made safe.
• The NBC section are surveying the use of industrial chemicals in the area, including the potential risk of pollution, as well as assisting the explosive ordnance disposal teams.
• The medical platoon provides support for all other activities and uses any spare time to treat the local population for ailments and minor injuries.
• The minefields are known and marked. They are located mainly in border areas and pose a less acute threat to the local population. Priority is therefore given to other tasks. Even so, the company has to date destroyed some 7,500 mines.
• All units take their share of guard and security duties and, at any given time, personnel are deployed on duty wherever the need is greatest.

It is nothing new for Norwegian military forces to undertake this kind of activity – both to give help where the need is most acute and to “win the peace”. This is something that Norwegian soldiers on international duty have learnt from long experience: in Lebanon, in the Balkans, in Afghanistan and now in Iraq.

In a post-conflict phase, a military presence, together with traditional aid and support for the reconstruction and establishment of civil institutions, are three elements that form a natural whole. It is not a question of either/or, we need all three.

Participation in such missions can at times entail substantial risk. That is why the highest priority is always given to the safety and security of Norwegian personnel. The Government attaches great importance to ensuring that units deployed on such missions are properly trained and equipped for their own protection. The welfare of personnel during and after the mission are also given all due care and attention.

The security measures taken are adjusted from time to time in the light of current threat assessments. In this context we depend on an effective intelligence service and close cooperation in the intelligence field.

Both threat assessments and the security measures adopted for the safety of personnel during their service are the outcome of close cooperation with our allies and other collaborative partners in the various operations in which Norway participates.

We ensure, moreover, that units are equipped with the various forms of protective equipment from bullet-proof vests and helmets to armoured vehicles. Further measures are implemented as required, for example movement restrictions or other measures designed to increase force security.

Furthermore, it is most important that the rules of engagement under which the forces operate are sufficiently robust to give the forces the flexibility to ensure their own safety in the best way possible.

Force contributions to operations abroad during 2004

A continued international military presence in Afghanistan remains essential if the country is to remain on a positive course of development, both economically and politically. It is now important to ensure that the transitional Afghan government is capable of following up the Bonn Process and extending its influence in the provinces.

The establishment of a stable and democratic form of government in Afghanistan is absolutely central to preventing the country from backsliding and becoming once again a refuge and training ground for international terrorism.

Norway’s contributions to the operations in Afghanistan have been widely acknowledged. We have shown that even small nations can be capable at short notice of making relevant contributions to the most demanding missions.

The security challenges in Afghanistan are severe. NATO took over the leadership of ISAF in August this year and has signalled its long-term involvement. It is of decisive importance that the Alliance should succeed in its mission in Afghanistan, the first such NATO operation outside Europe.

NATO is, and will remain, the main cornerstone of Norwegian security. Norway must therefore play an active part in NATO’s operations as its own contribution to ensuring that the Alliance remains both relevant and strong. It is the Government’s intention to give high priority to Norway’s military participation in ISAF during 2004.

It is clear that a more comprehensive role for NATO in Afghanistan will call for willingness on the part of members of the Alliance and our partner nations to contribute more forces to ISAF than is the case today (5,500 personnel). To date it has proved a challenge to meet the force requirement for the existing area in and around Kabul covered by the UN mandate.

NATO has therefore decided on a gradual widening of the operational area in order to ensure that ISAF has sufficient forces at its disposal and the necessary capabilities to carry out its mission without weakening the position in Kabul.

The Alliance is now considering the various possible ways in which ISAF’s role outside Kabul can be strengthened, for example by establishing so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT).

The purpose of these teams is to contribute to the creation of security and stability in the provinces. Central aspects of this task are support for reform in the security sector and assistance with the work of reconstruction.

Norway’s current contributions to ISAF IV include a Civil-Military Cooperation unit and a Medical/Surgical unit. These contributions are due to end in January 2004.

In addition, since 1 December, Norway has contributed a mechanised infantry company as ISAF’s security and reaction force. This force is now engaged on duties in connection with the conduct of the Constitutional Loya Jirga, seeking to agree a new constitution for Afghanistan, and the force will remain deployed on similar duties in ISAF V until August 2004.

With the current situation in Afghanistan, it is important to contribute to the task of extending the influence of the Afghan central authorities in the provinces. The establishment of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) is one of NATO’s principal tools in working to this end.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated in his introduction, Norway has signalled its readiness to a Nordic-British PRT within the ISAF framework. The Government will continue to work on defining the governing principles which would enable us to participate in such PRT cooperation..

We must not forget the background to the international military involvement in Afghanistan: the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September. Norway is also contributing in other ways to the strengthening of the Alliance’s ability to combat international terrorism.

The NATO operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean will continue to be an important arena for this contribution and it constitutes one of the most tangible elements of the Article 5 measures set in motion by NATO in the immediate aftermath of September 11.

NATO is currently reassessing Operation Active Endeavour. The background to this review lies in the difficulties experienced in meeting the force requirements for the operation and a desirability of a closer linkage with NATO’s concept for defence against terrorism.

In 2004, therefore, Norway will routinely contribute relevant resources to the surveillance of shipping in the Mediterranean. Our military contribution will also continue to form part of NATO’s standing naval forces.

A long-term international military presence will also be necessary to bring security and political stability to Iraq. The establishment of a multinational stabilisation force was essential to the creation of the right conditions for the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure and the establishment of democratic institutions in that country.

There is broad international agreement concerning the need for a security presence in Iraq during the post-conflict phase. Further emphasis was given to this need with the adoption in October of UN Security Council resolution 1511 which urges member states to contribute to the international stabilisation force in Iraq.

From the Norwegian side, it is important that we should take heed of the UN’s request and continue to support these endeavours in 2004.

It is the Government’s intention that parts of the heavy machinery and construction capabilities of the Telemark Battalion’s engineer company should continue to be made available in the British sector in Iraq. The duration of this contribution is six months.

Furthermore the Government is planning to extend Norway’s support for the Polish divisional command staff by providing a small number of staff officers.

Since 1999, KFOR has played a central role in paving the way for a peaceful and democratic course of development in Kosovo. It is in Norway’s interest to contribute forces through NATO to help to prevent Kosovo becoming once again the “trouble spot of Europe”.

The central security challenges continue to stem from interethnic violence, organised criminality and political extremism associated with Kosovo-Albanian nationalism. A certain amount of movement is, however, apparent in the political process, including the initiation of dialogue and negotiations between Beograd and Pristina on the final status of Kosovo.

If the security situation allows it, NATO will, in the course of 2004, adopt a more flexible and less personnel-intensive military presence in Kosovo. Norway’s military contribution to KFOR will be reduced in step with this development. Up until the summer of 2004, however, Norway’s contribution of infantry will continue at the present level.

The Government’s aim thereafter is to offer a small number of helicopters for the second half of 2004. Helicopters provide a capability that is very much in demand and the Armed Forces have already had helicopters in KFOR on a previous occasion.

Over the last decade we have witnessed a shift of emphasis from participation in UN-led operations to operations led by NATO or by a coalition of the willing. This has become particularly apparent since NATO became involved in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans in the early 1990s and in connection with the coalition operations in Afghanistan.

This is due not least to the fact that NATO possesses both a well-proven command structure and the kind of forces that are required.

This does not mean that the Government no longer gives priority in general terms to the United Nations, or to participation in operations conducted with a UN mandate. The NATO operations already referred to also have a clear mandate from the UN.

Norway also contributes to a whole range of UN operations. We have staff officers and observers in the Middle east, Ethiopia, Eritrea and in the Balkans. We have recently undertaken missions for the UN in the Congo and Liberia, and Norway also provides military personnel for other peacekeeping operations such as Multinational Force Observers in the Middle East and the Joint Military Commission in Sudan.

I would also refer to the Foreign Minister’s statement in that, if a peace agreement is achieved in Sudan, the Government will give positive consideration to Norwegian participation in a UN-led force. Informal discussions are currently taking place in the UN regarding the possibility of such a force for Sudan. The Government will return to this matter when any possible requirements, including funding, have been clarified.

The Government proposes that our involvement in UN operations should continue at a similar level in 2004.

It is right that the number of personnel serving directly in UN-led operations, in “Blue Berets”, should be much lower now than it was 10 years ago. This is due primarily to the fact that the UN, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter, now delegates peacekeeping missions increasingly to regional organisations such as NATO and the EU.

Various conflicts experienced during the 1990s have highlighted limitations in the UN’s ability to manage international operations. The military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq call for comprehensive command, control and intelligence facilities. The UN itself is not equipped to lead this type of operation.

The UN on its own cannot possibly solve the problems of the global community. In such cases, having NATO as a collaborative partner makes all the difference.

I would therefore stress that all operations abroad, and other missions to which Norway currently contributes, or plans to contribute in 2004, are conducted with a clear mandate from the UN Security Council.

It is important to emphasise that other institutions, such as NATO and the EU, do not undermine the role of the UN but, on the contrary, seek to strengthen its authority by leading operations in accordance with a UN mandate. This is established Norwegian policy and will remain a firm objective. Therefore, Mr President, the United Nations remains for Norway the prime and most important agency where the management of international crises and conflicts is concerned.