Romanian Military Thinking

UNITED UNITED NATIONS NATIONS RAPID
RAPID
REACTION REACTION CAPABILITIES
CAPABILITIES
Captain Dorel BU{E, PhD
~ Lecturer, the National Defence University “Carol I” ~
2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Ovidiu BELEA
~ “Blue Scorpions” Battalion, Craiova ~
The authors present the concept
of “stand-by arrangements” – the
United Nations Stand-by Arrangements
System (UNSAS) – which was first
introduced in the “Agenda for Peace”
on January 31, 1992 and came as a
result of the fact that the United Nations
response time in dealing with diverse
situations was not always adapted to
their dynamics. In 1994, after the idea
had been launched through the
“Agenda for Peace”, a special team,
destined to monitor UNSAS, was
created within the Department
of Peacekeeping Operations.
Then, they mention the “Supplement
to the Agenda for Peace” published
in 1995, when the Secretary-General
asked for the creation of a “Rapid
Deployment Force”, established in 1996
under the form of the Multinational
United Nations Stand-by Forces
High-Readiness Brigade, also known
as the Stand-by High-Readiness Brigade
– SHIRBRIG.
To conclude, the authors mention
the recommendations made in regard
to the use and improvement of
UNSAS, as provided by the “Study on
the United Nations Peace Operations”,
August 2000, known as the “Brahimi
Report”, which determined the evolution
of the arrangement system.
132
T
he ability of intervening at the most short
notice after the arms stopped represents
one of the compulsory conditions for any
peace operation’s success. The Report of the Panel
on UN Peace Operations in 2000 estimated that “the
first 6 to 12 weeks following a ceasefire or peace accord
were often the most critical ones for establishing both a
stable peace and the credibility of a new operation.
Opportunities lost during that period were hard to regain”.
In addition to the quickness of the response reaction,
the deployed forces also have to meet efficiency criteria.
Therefore, the intention of the international community
as such to deploy forces in the field is not sufficient,
as these must be well trained and properly equipped.
In this respect, considering that the Troop-Contributing
Countries ~ TCC were, most of them, developing
countries, one noticed the fact that the deployed troops
did not have proper training and equipment
in accordance with their interposing mission. In this
context, it followed the necessity for some forces
in standby position, trained and equipped, and with
almost immediate deploy availability to exist.
Not a long time ago, the idea to associate Rapid
Reaction with the United Nations was something that
might have seemed incongruent or utopian. However,
since the establishment, the United Nations have
recognised, through the provisions of Chapter VII