KAIPTC, AU, GIZ, deliver reviewed African Standby Capacity Civilian Foundation Course.
Accra: The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) has concluded the African Standby Capacity Civilian Foundation Pilot Course, which was organised in partnership with the African Union Commission, the German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD).
The course exposed civilian experts within the framework of the African Standby Force (ASF) to the conceptual and institutional frameworks of African Union multidimensional Peace Support Operations in order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of all components in successfully executing the mandates of African Union missions.
Speaking to participants during the training, Miss Rumbidzaishe Mtambo, a Programme Officer, outlined the major role played by KAIPTC in the development of the Civilian Foundation Course, since it was a mandatory course for all civilians moving into the PSOs landscape.
She expressed hope that the mutual engagement with the Centre would continue to enhance civilian capacities and support the AU’s efforts to build a pool of ready-to-deploy civilian experts.
Another participant, Mr. Sewn Bakare said “I have been at the KAIPTC for the last few days and I have been thoroughly impressed by the quality of lectures and lecturers. The lecturers have spoken directly to some of our security concerns in the sub-region.”
Speaking at a ceremony to open the training, Mr. Eustace Chiwombe, the Chief of the Capability Development Unit of the Peace Support Operations Division of the African Union Commission said the revised Civilian Foundation Course is being piloted after years of implementation and underscored the need for candid feedback from the participants to refine and finalize it for comprehensive roll-out.
The GIZ Project Manager, Mr. Hannes Lambrecht, for his part, emphasized that the purpose of the programme was to further streamline the skills development and knowledge transfer for civilian experts in PSOs. He further indicated that although the programme has chalked some successes, it was imperative to review and update it to make it relevant for purpose, hence the rationale for piloting the course.
The Deputy Commandant of KAIPTC, Air Commodore George Arko-Dadzie paid glowing tributes to the facilitators drawn from the AUC, United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU), United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the British Peace Support Training Team-Africa (BPSTA) KAIPTC, Ghana Armed Forces, University of Ghana and Civil Society for their expertise and tremendous support for the pilot course.
He urged the participants to be conscious of the COVID-19 disease and adhere to all the preventive protocols to help keep the virus at bay.
The pilot course is funded by the AU through the GIZ Support Project at KAIPTC and the Training for Peace (TfP) Programme through the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD).
For further information, please contact the Corporate Affairs Unit of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) on +233302-718200 ext 1104/1203 or +233 550 303030. You can find the KAIPTC on Facebook and Twitter: @KaiptcGh and Instagram: @kaiptc. You can further find out more about the KAIPTC on our website: www.kaiptc.org
About the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre:
The Ghana Ministry of Defence (MoD) established the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in 1998 and commissioned it in 2004. The purpose was to build upon and share Ghana’s five decades of internationally acclaimed experience and competence in peace operations with other states in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region and the rest of Africa. This was in recognition of the need for training military, police and civilian men and women to meet the changing demands of multidimensional peace operations. The Centre is one of the three (3) Peacekeeping Training Centres of Excellence mandated by the ECOWAS to offer training in peacekeeping and peace support operations (PSO) in Africa.
The Centre delivers training courses in three thematic areas; Peace Support Operations, Conflict Management and Peace and Security Studies and also runs Masters and PhD programmes in same. The KAIPTC has a world-class research department that undertakes research in the thematic areas in Peace and Security. Located in Accra, Ghana, the KAIPTC is an internationally recognized institution and has to date trained and tutored over 25,207 participants and students since its inception.
KAIPTC is a gender-sensitive organization and committed to gender equality. Following the launch of its gender policy in 2014, the Centre has mainstreamed gender into its policies and programmes, and integrates same in its focal areas, namely training, research and postgraduate education. The Centre has developed a Sexual Harassment policy and fully oriented employees on same. It has also provided a Nursing and Childcare Centre and instituted a paternity leave policy, all with the aim to create a conducive work environment at KAIPTC.