Since its inception in 2004, Chile has contributed to the forces of the EUFOR-ALTHEA mission in BiH.  The mission is made up of 18 European Union member states as well as Albania, Chile, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Switzerland and Turkey.

The addition of Chile and other non-EU countries to the mission is greatly appreciated by the leaders of the operation, they said.

“The presence of the military contingent from Chile is...highly significant politically as it shows EUFOR as an international mission with wide support outside of the confines of European and NATO-member countries,” said Major General Dieter Heidecker, commander of EUFOR forces in BiH.

EUFOR-ALTHEA was put in place to take over after NATO withdrew from the area and the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1575 approved the deployment of an EU-run force to the region.

The objective of the mission is to maintain stability in BiH following the three-year war that tore apart the former state of Yugoslavia and claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people. The conflict was resolved in 1995 through the signing the Dayton Accords in Paris, thanks in large part to the involvement of the international community and NATO forces.

Heidecker explained that Chile’s personnel contribute directly to the success of the mission.

“Chilean military personnel play a fundamental role in the capacity building of Armed Forces of BiH by transferring their professional skill and expertise both through individual skill training and collective training of troop formations,” Heidecker said. “In this way, uniformed military staff from Chile are directly contributing to the maintenance of a Safe and Secure Environment (SSE) in BiH and are helping to establishing the enduring building blocks that would allow a SSE in BiH to become  a self-sustainable reality into the future.”

Chile’s decision to renew its commitment to EUFOR-ALTHEA for another year follows the U.N. Security Council’s decision on Nov. 14, 2012, to recall its previous resolutions concerning the former Yugoslavia.

Chile has been increasingly participating in peacekeeping missions. As of Nov. 30, 2012, Chile had 533 troops involved in U.N. peacekeeping missions globally, most of which are deployed in Haiti.

By Charlotte Karrlsson-Willis (kwillis@santiagotimes.cl)