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Conclusions
Communication Issues Communication, in all of its forms, is the key to success. Establishing appropriate coordination and cooperation mechanisms should be done as soon as possible. Continuously exercising interpersonal skills is critical to success of the mission. Liaison, personal contacts, communications protocols, informational briefings, etc. greatly assist the planning and execution of a MNF mission. Coordination and cooperation is not limited to the military components, but must be extended to all elements, whether political, police, humanitarian or host nation. Briefings in a multi national environment are often key to convincing the leadership of appropriate courses of action. They must be understandable to the wide range of multi-national staff and Commanders who may come from different military backgrounds, training, cultural differences and linguistic backgrounds. A logical thought process needs to be followed which deals with assumptions, analyses the issues, states the mission, addresses the key concerns, and provide options. In a newly formed multi-national structure, there is often a temptation to defer to the Commander and the senior leadership, however it is crucial that the staff tell the leadership what they need to hear. They may not want to hear it or like it; however their decisions must be based on all the pertinent facts. Staffs have to obligation to present these issues in a clear and direct fashion. A public information campaign that explains the intent of the intervening parties, particularly the nature of the role of the MNF, helps to calm the populace, negates the effects of disinformation, serves as a catalyst for the efforts of the international community to achieve its aims, and speeds the process of recovery and transition to peace. Planning Issues The mission may not be able to accomplish all the tasks imposed by the mandate in the desired time frame. An analysis of the mandate to extract the direct tasks and the implied tasks needs to be completed and matched against the forces available and time constraints imposed on the mission. Based on this assessment the Commander will need to establish priorities and advise the coalition political authorities if there are aspects that require additional guidance. Planning staffs will face serious constraints in the early phases of a multi national operation, where information, force composition, and guidance may be limited or nonexistent. Although the commanderŐs guidance will normally be reasonably detailed, staffs may need to make an analysis based on a minimum amount of information and under severe time constraints. Clear assumptions are the key to ensuring that the planning is achieved within the time and information limitations. Assumptions must be clearly stated and supported. Planning for the transition from a MNF to a UN led operation will need to start immediately the force is deployed. This is a very complex process and will involve substantial changes to the MNF mission. Early planning will require the Commander and staff to make some key assumptions - the most critical one being that the end state of the MNF has been achieved and that a transition to a UN led force is possible. Integration Issues
The tendency often exists within the military planning group to assume that the military are responsible for every aspect of the mandate and this can lead to poor coordination and planning. Understanding what the legitimate tasks are for each of the components is crucial and determining the military role in relationship to the component that has the responsibility is an essential aspect that must be brought to the commander. This is demonstrated visually: Diagram 1 Transition Issues The transition planning process will require continuous coordination between the political leadership of the MNF and the UN as well as the military components. Cooperation and coordination mechanisms between the MNF, the other mission components and the United Nations need to be established early. The mandate for the UN force will change from that given to the MNF and the conditions established by the Security Council will also change. In particular the mandate authorization to operate under Chapter VI or Chapter VII will be reevaluated and impact on the authority to use force in the new mission post the transition. Rules of Engagement would change and require renegotiation for MNF units that are staying in the mission. Re-evaluation of the Chapter VI / VII mission may be necessary. Implications for training of forces in theatre are only one of the aspects that must be catered for. Command relationships for the forces transitioning to a UN led mission are critical - within the MNF and the subsequent UN mission the command relationships may be the same, however this terminology may be understood differently and therefore need to be renegotiated. Similarly the transfer of authority of command over the forces will need to be established clearly to avoid confusion. Logistics structures will change, often quite dramatically as the MNF transitions to a UN led UN mission and planning will need to prepare the groundwork to support this transition. The revised logistics support structures may need to be renegotiated by individual Troop Contributing Countries remaining in the mission and decisions will need to be made by nations joining the force regarding the UN logistics options available. Choosing from the range of logistic support operations could mean that nations participating in the UN led mission might have different logistics support structures other than for bulk products, food and water. Key staff may need to transition from the MNF headquarters to provide the UN mission a base upon which to build a multi-national headquarters. In the opinion of many, the MNF Commander should probably rotate as the mission transitions to permit an appropriate relationship to be established between the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) and the Force Commander. Internationalization of the force from a more regional MNF to a broader UN mission is often a positive aspect, although issues such as training, interoperability, communications and language must be addressed as forces arrive. The following table further summarizes the differences between a Multi-national Force and a UN mission: Diagram 2 Civilian Police Issues Whether an MNF or a UN Force is operating in the theatre, it is critical that they understand issues associated with civilian police operations on the ground and the support that is required if they are to achieve their mandated tasks. Every level of the force to the individual soldier must have an understanding of laws governing the rights of people deprived of their liberty, protecting crime scenes, awareness of the police mandates, their organization and roles and the aspects of the rule of law. Implications for preparatory or in mission training of the military components are evident. Humanitarian Issues Military tend to think in terms of physical security where an individual or group may need protection from armed elements, criminal activity or threats of violence. Although this is an aspect of the humanitarian response, humanitarian security has a much broader connotation, one in which the individual or group has access to those crucial issues that will sustain life over the next 24 hours - these being minimum levels of food, water, shelter, medical assistance and freedom from violence. Physical security is not an issue if the risks to life are threatened by any of the above. The humanitarian community is diverse, professional, competent and often very good in fulfilling their role. However it is not a homogeneous structure and the military must educate themselves regarding the various groups, their responsibilities and modus operandi. Creating the interface with the humanitarian structures and providing for adequate coordination and cooperation is crucial. The exchange of liaison officers remains one of the best solutions to developing and maintaining the vital coordination links. Humanitarian organizations and agencies would already be in place and operational before any unified military intervention would occur. Therefore they would have a high degree of situational awareness and knowledge about the local community, culture, activities, and economy. Regardless of the security situation, military forces perform a supportive role to humanitarian relief activities but are not in charge of them, nor can they place performance requirements on them. Private, voluntary agencies are self-regulating, and in the interests of professionalism, may voluntarily comply with SPHERE standards, but they are only accountable to their donors.
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Through
the multinational, multidisciplinary working-group approach to resolving
specific problems, and through experiences shared, participants
readily contributed to the final outcomes. Though in actual events
the level of complexity is far greater, the conclusions reached
reflect the nature and realities of modern peace support operations.
A seminar can only expose individuals to some of the key issues
involved in MNF and UN led operations and the transition between
these two. The challenge is for each individual to continue their
personal education using the many resources available.
Political
and humanitarian aspects of the mission may be as important as the
military mission itself. Commanders must be fully understand the
tasks that have been allocated to other components of the mission
even if they do not fall within the purview of the coalition mandate
and the commander must be prepared to adjust the military plan to
support these components adequately.