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Letter from Dutch Minister van Aartsen of
Foreign Affairs to Dutch Parliament
RE: The NATO summit in Washington
19 April 1999 DVB/VD-181/99
(Excerpts)
(Introduction)
Present developments in Kosovo also confirm the need for
a large number of adjustments which the Netherlands has proposed
within the framework of the Strategic Concept, like incorporating
a new core task in the field of peace operations, strengthening
'defence capabilities' with an emphasis on flexibility and
interoperability and the need for good civil-military cooperation.
.
........
1. Strategic Concept
(…..)
a. NATO core tasks
(…)
As far as the legal basis of NATO operations other than in
self-defence is concerned , Holland has taken the position,
as noted in the Main Principles paper, that NATO can undertake
crisis management and peace operations to strengthen international
rule of law, if a sufficient basis in international law for
this is present (preferably a mandate of the UN Security Council
or a request by the OSCE.) France and a few other countries
have, in the meantime, dropped the demand for an explicit
mandate from the Security Council
for NATO crisis management and peace support operations.
The discussion is now concentrating on the question of how
to refer to the United Nations Charter. The Netherlands is
arguing for a reference to 'the purposes and principles of
the UN Charter'.
c. Civil-Military cooperation
The Netherlands has taken the initiative for the insertion
of a paragraph on civil-military cooperation in peace operations,
asking for consideration of the the importance of this cooperation.
The Kosovo crisis shows that proper cooperation in this kind
of operation between the civil and military side of crisis
management operations is of great importance. The Dutch proposal
has been accepted.
d. Geographical reach of NATO peace operations
Regarding the geographical reach of possible peace operations
: these will in principle cover crisis control operations
in the periphery of NATO territory. Not a single NATO ally,
including the US, is arguing for a NATO role as 'worldwide
policeman'. There is a basic agreement on the formulation
that crisis management operations can in principle take place
wherever 'the security of the Euro-Atlantic area ' is at issue.
e. NATO nuclear policy
As a result of Dutch urging, among others, the Strategic
Concept will take into account a number of important developments
which have taken place since 1991. Important changes, as argued
for by Holland, include lowering readiness and substantial
reductions in the NATO arsenal. The circumstances under which
nuclear weapons are employed are now described in the new
Strategic Concept as 'extremely remote'. These adjustments
have been accepted. There is agreement, as has been argued
by the Netherlands, among others, that a discussion on nuclear
policy should be organized within NATO after the summit. In
this NATO countries will explore options for further confidence
building measures, arms control/disarmament and non-proliferation.
This is in accordance with the policies argued by Holland.
The Netherlands will actively participate in this discussion.
In this it will be necessary to pursue a permanent consensus
in NATO on this important issue, with the aim that this will
also be translated into a common position by the allies in
other fora where nuclear disarmament is discussed, such as
the First Committee of the General Assembly of the United
Nations and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
....
3. Partnership for Peace
....
A number of documents will be submitted to the conference.
The purpose of these will be greater involvement of the partners
in the preparation, decisionmaking and command of such operations,
on the further use of the defence planning process to help
prepare the armed forces of the partners for such operations,
to increase practical cooperation between the armed forces
of the allies and partners, on training and exercising. Political
consultation between the partners will also be intensified,
on regional problems among others.
...........
...
5. European Security and Defence Identity
.....
As well as in the EU, an important part of the debate is
also taking place
in NATO, as it is foreseen that in most cases use will be
made of existing NATO assets. Within the NATO framework the
Netherlands has made a number of proposals to go further than
Berlin (the so-called Berlin approach). The Netherlands supports
the idea of concluding as far as possible during the NATO
Summit the arrangements for EU access to NATO assets. The
procedures for access to and use of NATO assets should be
defined as precisely as possible, because the clearer the
definition of the assets (planning, military means, possible
national means) which European countries can use and under
which conditions they can use them, the less reason there
will be to build up a separate, duplicate European structure,
as proposed by a number of countries. The Netherlands does
not oppose completely independent EU operations, without the
use of NATO assets, but does not regard this as a first option
and wants to prevent the construction of duplicate structures
alongside those which we already have in NATO.
............................................
6. Weapons of mass destruction
[proposals on NATO WMD cooperation]
.....
The Netherlands wants to make some critical comments concerning
the further exposition of these ideas: the plans should not
overlap with existing NATO efforts in this area and should
be in accordance with existing non-proliferation treaties,
export control regimes and national measures.
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