The Training for Peace (TfP) Programme at ACCORD facilitated a session on the Civilian Dimension of the African Standby Force (ASF) at the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Senior Mission Leaders Course (SML) to expose participants to critical aspects in the planning, management and conduct of contemporary multidimensional and integrated peace operations.
The SML, conducted from 6 – 17 September 2010 in Harare, Zimbabwe, by the SADC Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre (RPTC), was attended by senior staff from the SADC Standby Force Planning Element and SADC Member states ministries and departments, including foreign affairs. The training aimed to strengthen the senior leadership capacity within the SADC Region, following the general guidelines of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Senior Leaders Course.
The course is the first SADC SML and TfP/ACCORD’s contribution allowed participants to have an understanding of the key role of civilians in peace operations within a multidimensional and integrated peacekeeping mission context. It also assisted in raising awareness on aspects of integrated mission planning, implementation and evaluation to ensure coordination among the civilian, police and military components of a mission and the humanitarian community.
TfP/ACCORD intends engaging with the SADC RPTC in the development and implementation of future SMLs to ensure that participants are included in the SADC Standby Force Hub of the Integrated ASF roster that will generate civilian peacekeeping standby capacity for SADC or AU peace operations within the ASF framework.
ACCORD’s contribution is based on the experience of working with the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) on the civilian dimension of peace operations in Africa and its long relationship with the SADC Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre (RPTC) on the training of civilians for peace operations.
