Today the German cabinet decided to extend the foreign missions.
The mission in the Lebanon (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon - UNIFIL) as well as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Active Endeavour (OAE) are scheduled to end on 15 December 2009, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on 13 December 2009. UNIFIL is now to be extended until 30 June 2010, while all other mandates are to be extended by one year. The resolution must still be approved by the German Bundestag.
Mission in Afghanistan
The ceiling on troops made available will remain unchanged at 4,500. In future German troops will still be deployed in the north of the country and in Kabul.
One priority of the German input is to train the Afghan security forces. Only then can responsibility for security be transferred to the Afghans step by step.
Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed an international conference on Afghanistan jointly with the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It is now to be held in early 2010. The German contribution will then be reviewed in the light of the results achieved.
Germany’s contribution to the deployment of NATO AWACS aircraft within ISAF is not to be extended. The mission has been unable to take up its work to date because overflight rights have not yet been granted.
Expectations of President Karzai’s government
In her government statement on 10 November 2009, Angela Merkel called on the Afghan government to work consistently for good governance and to build the security forces. "We want to establish a responsible hand-over strategy,” the Chancellor declared, speaking in the German Bundestag.
Concrete targets are to be agreed with respect to the rule of law and human rights, security and economic and social development in Afghanistan. This is also made clear in the inter-ministerial paper on Afghanistan adopted at today’s cabinet meeting.
Missions in the Horn of Africa and the Mediterranean
The sea and sea-based air forces around the Horn of Africa (OEF) and in the Mediterranean (OAE) are fighting terrorism. It is important to cut off access to retreats used by terrorists and to block routes used by terrorists.
These missions were the response of the international community to the terrorist attacks against the USA on 11 September 2001 in New York. Currently, some 230 soldiers of the Federal Armed Forces are deployed there. The ceiling on troops is now to be reduced from 800 to 700, but the mission is to be continued otherwise unchanged.
UNIFIL – patrolling the Lebanese coast
The aim and the duty of the German contribution to UNIFIL is to establish peace and stability in the Lebanon and hence in the Middle East at large.
The soldiers are securing sea borders and thus preventing weapons entering the Lebanon illegally.
Another priority is to train the Lebanese navy, which will soon be able to monitor the country’s sea borders independently. This will be an important step in strengthening Lebanese sovereignty.
The ceiling on troops is to be cut from 1,200 to 800. At present around 450 soldiers are deployed.
