The Dutch contribution to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)
The first 2 – unarmed – observers left for the Middle East on 7 July 1956 for a period of 1 year. Before that, from mid-August to 8 October 1948, the Ministry of War had supplied UNTSO with 4 De Havilland DH-89 A Dominie aircraft for personnel transport.
Dutch observers seconded
The 2 Dutch observers had only been at work for a few months when one of them was temporarily transferred to United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF I) to help start that mission. A precedent had thus been set to use UNTSO again in the future as an ‘agency’ for UN observers. Other Dutch UNTSO observers were thus seconded (temporarily) to, besides UNEF I, United Nations Observation Group in Lebanon (UNOGIL), United Nations India-Pakistan Observation Mission (UNIPOM) and United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR.)
More observers
In the course of the 50s and 60s, the number of observers was increased in stages to 15. This figure was to remain constant until 1995, when it dropped to 11 plus 1 staff officer periodically.
Additional aircraft
On 11 June 1967, the government provided a Fokker F-27 Friendship from 334 Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), including 4 crew members, for use by UNTSO's chief of staff; this was to replace his Dakota that had been destroyed during the Six-Day War. The Friendship was replaced on 21 August by an F27 Troopship, which was better designed for the transport of personnel. The aircraft returned to the Netherlands on 19 November 1967.
Updated on 18 March 2010 (this description is a snapshot in time; recent information about this mission is not included).