Country: Spain
Registration deadline: 01 Jul 2019
Starting date: 02 Sep 2019
Ending date: 06 Sep 2019
Following the failures of the international community to intervene in Rwanda, Srebrenica, Liberia, Sierra Leone and many other conflicts, and starting with the United Nations Security Council Resolution establishing the peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone in 1999, it is now unquestioned that, without prejudice of the host State, which has the first and foremost responsibility to protect civilians, peace keeping operations place Protection of Civilians (POC) as one their core mandates. Security Council Resolutions have stronger mandates than in previous decades and acknowledge that civilians must be protected from the consequences of violent conflicts. POC mandates are multi-dimensional, and focus on providing physical protection, the support to the establishment of a protective environment and political advocacy with the parties into the conflict. Current POC policies and guidelines are intended to take necessary action to enable these three different levels of responses to protection challenges.
Addressing these concerns is also key to creating lasting political solutions to conflicts. In this respect, the United Nations Secretariat, through its Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO), has responded to requests of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (A63/19) and UN Security Council (S/RES/1894, 2009) and introduced standard operational guidance to inform implementation of civilian protection mandates, which have been supplemented by Mission-specific policies and practices that address specific local circumstances.
Objectives
This international training course will allow participants to understand the theory and practice of POC in UN field missions. Using case studies, interactive exercises and experience sharing, participants will expand their POC knowledge and skills to be better equipped to face the challenges of developing and implementing effective POC strategies.
The training course aims to familiarize participants with the concepts, tools and methodologies in place to implement POC strategies and programmes from a practical perspective. Specifically, it also aims to prepare participants for the recruitment processes as POC Officers with the UN Secretariat and field missions.
The overall objectives of the course are therefore to:
- Provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of POC practice in UN field missions;
- Receive extensive materials and practical guidance and insights from highly experienced current and former senior POC officers;
- Provide participants with effective tools in a highly specialised area of UN practice;
- Prepare candidates for recruitment as POC, Protection, and Child Protection officers with UN DPKO; and provide guidance for those seeking engagement with UN Agencies, Funds, & Programmes, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), etc; and
- Provide an opportunity for candidates to network and develop mentoring relationships with current and former practitioners within the United Nations.
For whom is this course?
The course is designed to benefit candidates wishing to become POC officers with United Nations Field Operations, and would be of interest to staff members in international entities, UN Agencies Funds and Programmes, NGOs and corporations operating in protection activities and programmes, officers in Ministries of Foreign Affairs dealing with UN portfolios, police and military officers contemplating peacekeeping and observation missions as part of their pre-deployment training, research institutes and other international organisations and donors supporting field missions.
How to register:
The application deadline is the 1st July2019, but acceptance onto the course will be granted on a rolling basis. To apply for the course, please submit your current Curriculum Vitae and the completed application formto Eva Lopez, course coordinator, at info@bcnpeacecenter.org