The two-man teams of German soldiers drive down the main street. Just a few minutes ago the men in the green-brown camouflage uniforms checked out of their command post by radio. Their assignment this morning is a patrol of Prizren. The situation in the southern Kosovo city is relatively quiet. Even so, the Bundeswehr soldiers are armed, so that they are prepared for any eventuality. The team is accompanied by a man in civilian clothing: an interpreter who translates between the local population and the soldiers. For, another part of their assignment is to approach the people, to gauge the mood in the city and to note any problems. A smile here, a wave or a brief chat there. But the men also frequently leave the main road to take a look down side streets and into backyards. The patrol drives diagonally across the Shadervan, Prizren’s central square, into the city park, and then back to the camp a few hours later. In 48 hours at the latest, the Bundeswehr soldiers will be out on patrol again ensuring that their presence is felt on the streets. As on this UN-mandated KFOR mission in the Balkans, Germany supports the United Nations’ peace missions and crisis-prevention policy all over the world, sending peacekeeping troops, police officers, qualified civilian personnel and technical equipment – and providing a lot of finance.
Global engagement
The Bundeswehr has taken part in over 130 missions to date, from disaster relief to peacekeeping missions – almost always under the mandate of the United Nations. About 6,800 soldiers are currently on active duty in twelve missions: monitoring the peace accord in southern Sudan as military observers, or helping to build a multiethnic, peaceful and democratic environment based on the rule of law in Kosovo. In Kosovo, the German army has taken over responsibility for its own sector for the first time in a peacekeeping mission. It has been present here since 1999 – and now has over 2,200 soldiers in the country. This military involvement goes hand in hand with civil support. This year Germany will be providing judges, public prosecutors and police officers for EULEX, the largest civilian mission of the European Union to date under the European Security and Defence Policy. Their aim is to create a state under the rule of law.
Security through international cooperation
A key element of Germany’s peace and security policy is its participation in international organizations. As the third largest contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping budget, the Federal Government funds many UN missions. Furthermore, Germany has also established itself as an important seat of United Nations agencies with 24 UN offices in Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Institutions such as the UNESCO Institute for Education and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea have their headquarters here. Germany is among the active participants not only at the UN, but also at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE is the only security organization in which all European countries, the successor states of the Soviet Union, the USA and Canada are represented. In addition to financial support (Germany provides about 10 % of the OSCE’s budget) German staff are making an important contribution to the work of this organization.
