Finland has a long track record in international peacekeeping operations stretching back to the first deployment of Finnish troops to Suez in 1956. Since then, Finland has provided troops for duties in some 30 different UN, EU and NATO-led operations.
The Ministry of Defense is now preparing to issue crisis management veteran ID cards to those who have served on these missions. The cards are to be issued this coming autumn, first to approximately 30,000 men and women under the age of 60 whose personal information is still on file with the Defense Forces. The current addresses of the remaining 15,000 over the age of 60 will be verified in cooperating with the Peacekeepers' Association and issued at a later date.
Recognition
The chairman of Finland's Peacekeepers' Association, Paavo Kiljunen, told Yle that the new status and the ID card are a major gesture of official recognition of the significance of peacekeeping efforts.
Kiljunen also stressed that a peacekeeping or crisis management veteran is not the same as a war veteran.
"War veterans are specially honoured citizens of Finland. We don't want to detract from that. The crisis management ID card is in line with international practice," he explained.
At least initially, the ID cards will not entitle the bearer to any special benefits. In future, though, it is possible they will provide discounts, for example on public transport.
Parliament is set to see a draft bill this spring revising legislation on military service-related injuries. According to Paavo Kiljunen, the present law does not sufficiently take into consideration the special nature of service abroad or service-related psychological injuries.