UNITAR and Open University UK jointly opened the Wilton Park Conference on Peacekeeping and Protection of Civilians on 26 October, 2009. The conference that will last until 29 October will discuss the protection of civilian populations in contexts of peace operations. It will critically examine the challenges of protecting civilians in conflict and post-conflict situations and the role of peacekeeping operations in helping address these challenges. The conference will also consider the needs and methodologies for more effective peacekeeping training on the protection of civilians, and suggest mechanisms to strengthen the protection of civilians in field missions across the world.

 

The first session of UNITAR's Peacekeeping Training Programme (PTP) Advisory Board was held on 26 October on the occasion of the conference with the participation of distinguished members, including Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Center on International Cooperation (New York University), and former UN Under-Secretary-General and Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations who acts as Chair of the Advisory Board. The other Advisory Board members include Zainab H. Bangura, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone; Lieutenant General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, Canadian Senator; Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, Member of the International Advisory Council of the Folke Bernadotte Academy in Sweden; Lieutenant General Chikadibia Isaac Obiakor, Military Adviser, Assistant Secretary‐General, Office of Military Affairs; and Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary‐General for Disaster Risk Reduction. The Advisory Board provided critical insights so that PTP courses can best address concrete strategic needs in the field.

 

UNITAR will shortly be launching its new course in the area of Peacekeeping Training. This new product is an e-learning course on the Protection of Civilians and is designed in collaboration with Open University UK. It includes a module on sexual exploitation and abuse to raise awareness among potential personnel of peacekeeping operations.

For More information on the Conference and the Programme click here

 

More information on UNITAR Peacekeeping Training Programme, click here