In efforts towards enhancing the African Standby Capacity (ASC) roster with capable and well equipped Civilians for Peace Support Operations (PSOs), ACCORD was invited to assess the implementation of the new Civilian Foundation Course (CFC) training package and to present on aspects of Negotiation, Mediation and Dialogue. Hosted and convened by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Regional Peacekeeping Training Center (RPTC), this was the first in-person training since 2019 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roster members from nine SADC member states: Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe attended the training between 14 – 25 February in Harare, Zimbabwe. The course content provided participants with a realistic perspective on the theoretical and institutional frameworks, cross-cutting issues as well as an overview of core functional areas of multidimensional PSOs. Designed for pre-deployment training, the main aim of the CFC training was to equip the roster members with knowledge and skills required for successful implementation in PSOs, thereby contributing to increased efficiency and effectiveness of all the components within a multidimensional PSO.
Being the first Training Centre of Excellence (TCE) to utilise the new CFC training package, the SADC RPTC demonstrated that the new training package is standardised and harmonised for usage by the AUC, Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), TCEs and Training Institutions (TIs). ACCORD’s Programme Officer, Mr Wandile Langa presented on Negotiation, Mediation and Dialogue while other presentations included, the Nature of Conflicts in Africa; the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) & African Governance Architecture (AGA); an Overview of the AU; the Mission Mandating Process; the African Standby Force and RECs/RMs; and Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. Zimbabwe’s news channel ZBC reported on the SADC’s efforts towards finding ways to maintain peace and security in the region. Through the 26-year old Training for Peace (TfP) Programme, ACCORD continues to support the AU’s concerted efforts on building and training a pool of ready-to-deploy civilian experts. The CFC training was attended by Programme Officers, Mr. Wandile Langa and Ms. Rumbidzaishe Matambo, representing ACCORD’s Peace Support Operations Cluster. The TfP Programme at ACCORD is an initiative funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
