Training for Peace in Africa - Newsletter No 1 (2011)

In this policy brief , Kwesi Aning, Samuel Atuobi and Naila Salihu explore the concept of civilian protection and how it applies to the ongoing Ivorian crisis. They discuss the challenges related to protecting civilians in Cote d’Ivoire and suggest ways of dealing with these. The authors argue that the international community needs to pay particular attention to the issue of civilian protection in order to reduce civilian casualties while the conflict lasts.

This ISS paper identifies the key challenges to the smooth deployment of trained police officers to peacekeeping operations. To this end, it examines the priorities of national police organizations, sequencing of training, gender disparities, operational level coordination, etc. The study uses experiences gained from the years of police training by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to two police regions in Africa, namely the Southern African Regional Police Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) and the Eastern African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO).

TfP-coordinator and head of the Peace Missions Program at ISS, Henri Boshoff, died in a car accident on 25th April 2011. Boshoff headed TfP activities at ISS, contributed to research and policy work and was responsible for the training of hundreds of African peacekeepers – military, police and civilian. He will be deeply missed by people all over the peacekeeping, research and training community. The Institute of Security Studies has decided to establish a trust fund in memory of Henri Boshoff.

High quality and relevant training is crucial to improve peacekeeper’s capacities to protect civilians in peacekeeping operations. Recently, both the United Nations and the African Union have been engaged in strengthening their roles in addressing protection needs on the ground. In this Policy and Practice Brief , Andreas Øien Stensland (NUPI) and Gustavo de Carvalho (ACCORD) review recent policy developments on PoC training and present recommendations for peacekeeping training centres that consider developing and conducting trainings on PoC.

In this policy brief from NUPI/ACCORD , Cedric de Coning and John Karlsrud take a closer look at the recently published Guéhenno-report: ‘Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict’. In recent years, there has been a shift towards more people from the global South staffing civilian positions in UN peace operations. The authors therefore recommend further support to strengthen national and regional capacities in the South, through South-South and triangular cooperation.

On June 14, rostering and training organizations met with Member States and various parts of the UN in New York. More than 120 participants attended the meeting to discuss how to take the recommendations of the Guéhenno Report forward, including establishing the Civilian Partnership Cell within the UN and how to support the UN in mapping existing civilian capacity, identify gaps, and track long-term commitments to fill those gaps.

The Training for Peace programme enters into its fourth phase and receives support for a new five-year period from the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Click here to read more about the fourth phase of the TfP programme.