From Vol. 23, No. 2 (1997/98)
Canadian Troops:
from the United Nations to IFOR
by J.L. Emmenegger
The United Nations peacekeeping troops of the UNPROFOR (UN Protection Force) in ex-Yugoslavia, especially those located in Bosnia-Herzegovina, were placed under NATO command on 20 December 1995, forming a new peacekeeping force called "IFOR" (Implementation Force). This was a consequence of the peace agreement signed in Dayton, OH, USA on 21 November 1995. This peace force was authorized by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1031. IFOR operates under clear NATO Rules of Engagement.
Practically, this change of command was an easy one: the UN flag was replaced on 20 December 1995 by the NATO one, and all national contingents' commanding officers were integrated inside a new Head Command Structure of NATO in Bosnia. Non-NATO contingents, as
their countries were not members of NATO, were then withdrawn.
This change was interesting for postal history collectors, as the IFOR soldiers made mention of IFOR in their sender's address, but continued to use, for example, the UN-blue soldier's airletter (Fig. 1) they had received before under UNPROFOR mandate. A second consequence was that
many contingents continued to use their previous postal system established under UNPROFOR, thereby using their own UN-contingent military postmarks, or those of the UNPROFOR free mail system (Fig. 2).
A few weeks after the IFOR creation, most of the national contingents received their new military postmarks referring to IFOR.
Should readers have other items of interest concerning this UNPROFOR to IFOR mailing system change, they may contact the author:
J.L. Emmenegger
P.O. Box 110
CH-1009 Pully
Switzerland
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Created: February 11, 1998