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IN THE FIELD: Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) and Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen (H) were inspecting NATO’s Trident Juncture exercise in 2018, where total defense and civil assistance to the Armed Forces were tested on a large scale. Photo: Martha Holmes, VG
Employees of companies that provide services to the Armed Forces can become legitimate targets of attack, in line with soldiers, in crisis or at war.
Martin Kolberg, spokesman for the Labor Party’s defense policy, is concerned and fears that government outsourcing of tasks to the armed forces will go too far.
– If it becomes dependent on private suppliers in critical areas such as repairs and spare parts, then the Armed Forces run the risk of losing their own management capacity, Kolberg tells VG.
The Armed Forces are increasingly acquiring services such as transportation, maintenance and storage, which the Armed Forces employees themselves have previously performed. Strategic cooperation with the business community and the civil sector is part of the government’s plan to rationalize the Armed Forces.
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Unsatisfactory answers
But the majority in the Storting’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee – the Labor Party, the Green Party, the Socialist People’s Party and the Socialist People’s Party – were not satisfied with the responses of Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen (H) during the consideration of the long-term plan for the Armed Forces.
– We requested a series of practical and international law clarifications to which the government could not provide satisfactory answers, says Martin Kolberg.
– Can we be sure that these companies will be there in a crisis? Is there a danger that the Armed Forces will be weakened when military personnel do not have to maintain their own equipment? Is the security of foreign suppliers evaluated? What about international law and the risk to civilians?
DID NOT GET A RESPONSE: The Storting representative, Martin Kolberg (Labor Party), wanted clarification on the international law of war for civilians selling goods and services to the Armed Forces. Photography: Janne Møller-Hansen, VG
Not controversial
Bakke-Jensen responds in an email to VG that it is neither controversial nor legally problematic for civilians to perform various tasks for the Armed Forces.
“However, the use of civilians in a function or for tasks that must be considered as direct participation in disputes will be contrary to international law. When the Armed Forces enter into agreements with civilian suppliers, therefore, they must also be based on assessments of international law he adds.
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Protect civilians
But it is not entirely clear where the border is going before civilians working for the Armed Forces, possibly becoming legal targets of war:
– The international law of war protects civilians in conflict. But it is the role you have that determines whether you are a military target and whether this role supports military power, Gro Nystuen, an international law lawyer and deputy director of the Norwegian Institute for Human Rights, tells VG.
During NATO’s major Trident Juncture exercise in 2018, the Armed Forces purchased services from individuals on a much larger scale than before, to practice what is often called total defense. The Armed Forces also tested cooperation with various other civilian actors.
– It is conceivable that many of NATO’s exercise providers are unaware that through their role they can become military targets in accordance with international law, Nystuen says.
He has contributed to a report made by the Utsyn think tank, a forum for foreign affairs and security, on privatization in the Armed Forces. There they write that the use of civilian personnel in armed conflicts requires clear demarcations for what civilian personnel can be used for:
“If these people join the armed forces in an armed conflict between states, they will become military targets,” writes Utsyn.
TRANSPORTATION: A Bring truck on its way through Romsdalen. Photo: Helge Sunde, Samfoto
Negotiated for 850 mill.
In 2018, FLO, the logistics organization of the Armed Forces, negotiated NOK 847 million through strategic cooperation, according to a presentation. Many of the agreements will replace services that the Armed Forces itself has previously performed.
Bring, which is Norway Post’s logistics system, is one of the main providers for the Armed Forces. In 2018, Bring made 40,000 deliveries for the Armed Forces.
Norway Post communications director Elisabeth Gjølme says they have a commercial agreement with the Armed Forces, to provide services in peacetime, as well as in a “low conflict situation” where there is also a contingency clause.
“So far the contingency clause has not been used. In a high conflict (war) situation, the defense has broad powers / authority to requisition the resources they need from both the Norway Post and other Norwegian companies, writes Gjølme in an email. electronic to VG.
No training in international law
VG has also asked the Norway Post if the employees are familiar with international law and if they could become military targets:
“There is no customer specific information / training for all employees related to international law. More specific assignments receive the necessary training. The way employees are trusted and trained varies depending on the task and each employee’s exposure, “Elisabeth Gjølme responds.
Norway Post’s lead shop steward confirms:
– I have not participated in discussions on such topics in Norway Post, nor do I know that others have, says Gerd Øiahals, head of the Trade Union Post and Finance, to VG.
The government must now investigate this in more detail. It emerged as a unanimous demand from the Storting during the consideration of the long-term plan of the Armed Forces.
Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen confirms to VG that the Government will return to the Storting with a case on the use of non-military personnel and the relationship with the international law of war by 2022.
