Icelandic Crisis Response Unit
Encyclopedia
The Iceland Crisis Response Unit (ICRU) or Íslenska Friðargæslan, is a 30-person unit with a capacity roster of up to 200 people operated by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is primarily designated for peacekeeping
operations and was established in the 1990s to improve the status of Iceland within NATO as it lacked sufficient armed forces to support NATO peacekeeping operations. That role later evolved into providing an appropriate forum for deploying personnel within other organizations such as with OSCE field missions as well as with UN organizations such as UNIFEM, UNRWA and UNICEF.
The ICRU has been deployed to the former territories of Yugoslavia
, Kosovo
and Afghanistan
through NATO missions and UNIFEM and to the Middle East and North Africa with UNICEF, UNRWA and UNHCR. It had a civilian observer mission in Sri Lanka
in co-operation with Norway
(previously a Nordic mission) and has explosive ordnance disposal personnel from the Icelandic Coast Guard to Lebanon
and Iraq.
Iceland deployed its first peacekeepers in 1950, when two Icelandic policemen were sent to Palestine
as a part of an UN
peacekeeping operation. Though many Icelandic specialists have taken part in various peacekeeping operations since, mostly within the UN and its organizations but also within NATO, it was not until the 1990s that organized participation in peacekeeping operations was initiated, formalized with the establishment of the ICRU in 2001.
, Coast Guardsmen
and others that have relative training for the concerned institutions. in addition to those mentioned above, these backgrounds range from logistical backgrounds, medical or engineering backgrounds, social sciences and so on.
The previously deployed doctors, nurses, those deployed as Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) as well as those working at Kabul International Airport (KAIA) were trained by the Norwegian Defence Force
(previously the United Kingdom Armed Forces as well) as they were expected to merge into a military environment and the PRT's as well as those working at Kabul airport would be armed.
Despite being equipped and trained as a military force, some Icelandic politicians commonly maintain that the ICRU is a civilian unit. This opinion is based on the fact that no law explicitly states that the unit is a military force. The legal status of the ICRU can thus be compared to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, even though Icelandic law holds no legal obstructions to forming of military units.
. In 2007 it was transferred to the Defence Office and in 2008 to the Icelandic Defence Agency.
In 2008 many of these concerns were answered when the portion of ICRU deployed personnel still wearing a uniform and carrying weapons for self defense, accounting for a little less than a third of ICRU personnel at that time, changed to civilian clothing and returned their weapons. Now, according to the former Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, ICRU personnel do not wear uniforms or carry weapons unless under special circumstances and then only those that have had the appropriate training.
Some controversy remains on ICRU existence in general, but mainly towards ICRU participation in NATO missions in particular.
Iceland Nissan Patrol
armored and modified by Arctic Trucks
for driving in mountainous terrain (PRT teams previously deployed in Afghanistan).
/
Norway Heckler & Koch G3/AG-3
battle rifle Glock 17 pistol Diemaco C8 assault rifle Heckler & Koch MP5
submachine gun Rheinmetall MG3
medium machine gun
>
Iceland
No Equivalent >No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
Ranks
Ofursti (Colonel)
Undirofursti (Lt. Col.)
Majór (Major)
Kafteinn (Captain)
Liðsforingi (1st Lt.)
Undirliðsforingi (2nd Lt)
>
Iceland
No Equivalent >No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
No Equivalent
Ranks
Flokksstjóri 1.
(Mstr. Sgt.)
Flokksstjóri 2. (Sergeant)
Korporáll
(Corporal)
óbreyttur
(Private)
|
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
operations and was established in the 1990s to improve the status of Iceland within NATO as it lacked sufficient armed forces to support NATO peacekeeping operations. That role later evolved into providing an appropriate forum for deploying personnel within other organizations such as with OSCE field missions as well as with UN organizations such as UNIFEM, UNRWA and UNICEF.
The ICRU has been deployed to the former territories of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
through NATO missions and UNIFEM and to the Middle East and North Africa with UNICEF, UNRWA and UNHCR. It had a civilian observer mission in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
in co-operation with Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(previously a Nordic mission) and has explosive ordnance disposal personnel from the Icelandic Coast Guard to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Iraq.
Iceland deployed its first peacekeepers in 1950, when two Icelandic policemen were sent to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
as a part of an UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
peacekeeping operation. Though many Icelandic specialists have taken part in various peacekeeping operations since, mostly within the UN and its organizations but also within NATO, it was not until the 1990s that organized participation in peacekeeping operations was initiated, formalized with the establishment of the ICRU in 2001.
Personnel
The deployed personnel of the ICRU are experts, including Icelandic policemenIcelandic Police
The Icelandic National Police is the main police force of Iceland. It is responsible for law enforcement on all Icelandic territories except at sea where the Icelandic Coast Guard enforces the law. The two services assist each other as needed.- History :...
, Coast Guardsmen
Icelandic Coast Guard
The Icelandic Coast Guard is the service responsible for Iceland's coastal defense and maritime and aeronautical search and rescue. Origins of the Icelandic Coast Guard can be traced to 1859, when the corvette Ørnen started patrolling Icelandic waters...
and others that have relative training for the concerned institutions. in addition to those mentioned above, these backgrounds range from logistical backgrounds, medical or engineering backgrounds, social sciences and so on.
The previously deployed doctors, nurses, those deployed as Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) as well as those working at Kabul International Airport (KAIA) were trained by the Norwegian Defence Force
Norwegian Defence Force
The Norwegian Armed Forces numbers about 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees. According to mobilisation plans , the strength during full mobilisation would be approximately 83,000 combatant personnel. Norway has mandatory military service for men and voluntary service for women...
(previously the United Kingdom Armed Forces as well) as they were expected to merge into a military environment and the PRT's as well as those working at Kabul airport would be armed.
Despite being equipped and trained as a military force, some Icelandic politicians commonly maintain that the ICRU is a civilian unit. This opinion is based on the fact that no law explicitly states that the unit is a military force. The legal status of the ICRU can thus be compared to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, even though Icelandic law holds no legal obstructions to forming of military units.
Operations
The ICRU classifies its operations in the following manner- Peacekeeping and Crisis management
- Observer missions
- Reconstruction
- Humanitarian and Emergency assistance
Intelligence gathering
The Icelandic Defence Agency's Intelligence Unit (formerly The Icelandic Intelligence Service, or IIS) is charged with intelligence gathering for Defence purposes as well as expeditionary Peacekeeping operations. The Intelligence Unit's origins lie with the Sheriff of Keflavík International AirportSýslumaður
Sýslumaður is an office or title created in Iceland when it submitted to the King of Norway in 1262-1264. This sort of office had already been established in Norway, called sysselmann in contemporary Norwegian...
. In 2007 it was transferred to the Defence Office and in 2008 to the Icelandic Defence Agency.
Controversy
It is often claimed that Iceland has a tradition of non-militarisation and should therefore practice pacifism. The ICRU's existence, among other things, has thus generated much controversy with Icelandic Socialists, Social Democrats and other people on the left in Icelandic politics, with the main focus on ICRU deployments with NATO in Iraq, finalized in 2007, and in Afghanistan, ongoing, as not adhering to these principles. This criticism was particularly fierce when Icelandic peacekeepers were injured in a suicide bombing in Kabul in 2004.In 2008 many of these concerns were answered when the portion of ICRU deployed personnel still wearing a uniform and carrying weapons for self defense, accounting for a little less than a third of ICRU personnel at that time, changed to civilian clothing and returned their weapons. Now, according to the former Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, ICRU personnel do not wear uniforms or carry weapons unless under special circumstances and then only those that have had the appropriate training.
Some controversy remains on ICRU existence in general, but mainly towards ICRU participation in NATO missions in particular.
Vehicles
& Iceland Nissan PatrolNissan Patrol
The Nissan Patrol is a four-wheel drive vehicle manufactured by Nissan in Japan since 1951. In Japan since 1980, it has been known as the Nissan Safari. The Patrol is available in Australasia, Central and South America, South Africa, parts of Southeast Asia and Western Europe as well as Iran and...
armored and modified by Arctic Trucks
Arctic Trucks
Arctic Trucks originated in Iceland, its roots lay in the need for dealing with the difficult terrain in Iceland, summer and winter. In the 1970s the Icelandic people started experimenting with larger tires and low tire pressures on the snow with interesting results. But it was not until in the mid...
for driving in mountainous terrain (PRT teams previously deployed in Afghanistan).
Small arms
PRT teams previously deployed in Afghanistan as well as those previously working in Kabul International Airport were supplied with the weaponry and ammunition the military forces they are cooperating with use. The standard weaponry was in most cases however of Norwegian origin./
Norway Heckler & Koch G3/AG-3Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
battle rifle Glock 17 pistol Diemaco C8 assault rifle Heckler & Koch MP5
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
submachine gun Rheinmetall MG3
Rheinmetall MG3
The MG3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 universal machine gun that fired the 7.92x57mm Mauser round....
medium machine gun
Officers
IcelandMilitary of Iceland
Icelands defences consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard which patrols Icelandic waters and airspace and other services such as the National Commissioner's National Security and Special Forces Units....
Enlisted
IcelandMilitary of Iceland
Icelands defences consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard which patrols Icelandic waters and airspace and other services such as the National Commissioner's National Security and Special Forces Units....
(Mstr. Sgt.)
(Corporal)
(Private)