Peacekeeping environment becoming complex – Gen. Fagge
Peacekeeping environment becoming complex – Gen. Fagge
The Commandant, Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre (MLAILPKC), Maj.-Gen. Auwal Fagge, says that the peacekeeping environment is becoming complex and required competence on the part of military observers.
Fagge, who was represented by the Deputy Commandant, Brig.-Gen. Sunday Makolo stated this at the graduating ceremony of United Nations Military Observers Training Of Trainers Course 1/2022 on Friday in Abuja.
The course was facilitated by MLAILPKC in collaboration with the United Nations Integrated Training Services and United States Global Peace Operation Initiative for UN military observers from eight African countries.
He said the course was designed to enhance the understanding of the basic UN structures, techniques, principles, practices, and procedures needed for identifying, observing, monitoring and reporting the events in complex multidimensional peace support operation environments.
The commandant urged the participants to keep abreast with present happenings in the peacekeeping environment by constantly updating their knowledge whenever they were deployed as observers in peacekeeping missions.
“Also, you should be aware that the peacekeeping environment is becoming very complex with a high degree of unpredictability.
“Consequently, military observers and other UN staff have become targets of attacks from various quarters in the mission areas.
“Such operating environments have therefore tasked observers to deploy their ingenuity, endurance, character and professional competence in several ways.
“It is for this reason that the course curriculum was reviewed to include lectures like spectrum of peace, legal framework for UN peacekeeping, conflict related sexual violence among others,” he said.
Fagge commended the participants and facilitators from the UN training services and the US for the successful completion of the course.
According to him, it is evident from the highlights of the course overview and the output that the objective of the course was met.
“It is, therefore, expected that you make very good use of the knowledge you have acquired and apply yourselves to the rudiment and the dictates of your duty,” he added.
The Chief of Training (Army), Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalami Ibrahim said the successful hosting of the training course in Nigeria was an acknowledgement of the nation’s work and commitment to peacekeeping missions.
Ibrahim was represented by the Acting Deputy Chief of Training, Linkages and Integration, Brig.-Gen. Albert Lebo.
He commended the facilitators for the successful conduct of the course on the techniques that involved addressing the challenges encountered in the ever-changing peace support operations environment.
Ibrahim noted that the UN peacekeeping mission had strived to meet and keep up with the challenging demands in peacekeeping environments.
According to him, that is why the UN has evolved operational functions like liaison, interview techniques, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration.
“Others include observation and reporting as products of the ever-changing nature of peacekeeping, hence the UN attempts to update the military observer courses by introducing the specialised training materials.
“Therefore, it was of no doubt that the training the trainer UN observer course would familiarise trainers from member states with the new specialised training materials in order for them to equally train more officers on return to their respective countries.
“It is envisaged that the training will go further to achieve the end state of the UN military observer teams which work together with other UN agencies towards sustainable world peace,” he said.
The Team Leader, UN Integrated Training Services, Col. Alexandre Simioni, commended the participating countries for their commitment to the UN peacekeeping missions and the successful completion of the course.
Simioni said the objectives of the course were to enhance the capacity of participants to deliver the UN military observers training package nationally or internationally, as well as to support the UN gender parity package.
He said that a total of 23 officers, 11 males and 12 females from eight countries were trained, adding that the objectives of the course had been achieved.
A participant, who spoke on behalf of others, Capt. Firstina Gbonia from the Benin Republic thanked the UN and MLAILPKC for affording them the opportunity to acquire new knowledge on peacekeeping operations.
Gbonia pledged that the participants would deploy the knowledge that they acquired towards enhancing their competence and that of other officers they would train.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 23 participants comprised eight from Nigeria, three from Benin, one from Ghana, two from Malawi and three from Sierra Leone.
Also, Togo, Rwanda and Zambia had two participants each on the two-week training course.
