Completed missions
Kosovo
The Iceland Crisis Response Unit has participated in various missions in Kosovo in recent years. One of them was the administration and operation of the airport in Pristina, which is one of the largest projects the ICRU has managed and was considered a great success. Ten Icelanders were deployed in connection with that project which lasted from January 2003 – April 2004.
Additionally, individuals have been deployed with KFOR and UNMIK in the region. They include doctors, nurses, dentists and police officers. The Iceland Crisis Response Unit has also collaborated with UNIFEM in Iceland and sent specialists to Kosovo to work on equal rights affairs, infrastructure development and training and education.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In 1994 medically trained employees were first sent to Bosnia to work with the UN peacekeeping mission there UNPROFOR and later NATO’s SFOR. It marked Iceland’s increasing participation in peacekeeping efforts. When the conflict ended in Bosnia, it was necessary to rebuild the whole police system. The ICRU participated in that project by deploying Icelandic police officers to the region with the European Union Mission.
Macedonia
The European Union’s first military operation, Concordia, was launched in March 2003. Iceland contributed personnel for the project and sent a media and information officer to Macedonia. The project included supervision of daily news bulletins, managing a weekly news conference and accompanying reporters to the former conflict zone.
www.consilium.europa.eu/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=594&lang=EN
Afghanistan
Following the success of the administration project at the airport in Pristina, Iceland took over the management of the international airport in Kabul in 2004 as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). ISAF’s goal is to promote security and encourage development. Icelanders at the airport have served various positions, for example firemen, air-traffic controllers and mechanics. Additionally to the airport management, Iceland has participated in the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Chaghcharan and Meymana (PRT). Iceland provided liasion and observation teams that utilized modified off-road trucks for transport. Iceland has also contributed personnel to ISAF headquarters in Kabul, including media and information representatives. In cooperation with UNIFEM in Iceland a teaching and training project for women in Afghanistan has also been undertaken.
Iraq
The Iceland Crisis Response Unit contributed a public information officer to the NATO training mission in Iraq from 2005 to 2007. The officer issued press releases, prepared press conferences and was responsible for inner media and information representation of the project.www.afsouth.nato.int/JFCN_Missions/NTM-I/NTM-I.htm
In late 2003 the ICRU deployed explosive ordnance disposal experts to Iraq, where they cooperated with Danish forces for a period of several months.
Lebanon
Four individuals were temporarily deployed to Lebanon in 2007 on an EOD team with Swedish Rescue Services Agency, SRSA, as part of the Mine Action Coordination Centre-South Lebanon project. The individuals deployed were explosive disposal experts and emergency medics.
Tanzania, Liberia and Sudan
ICRU recently entered into a cooperation with UN’s WFP whose object is to have fully trained personnel available at any time. One individual was working in Liberia in the summer of 2006 in accordance with this agreement and additionally one individual went on training in Tanzania and two in Italy. Most recently an Icelander was deployed to Sudan, training for and later working on distribution of aid and food supplies to the people of Sudan.