By Laurina B Lormia
The ECOWAS Commission launched its Pilot Course on the protection of Civilians in Peace Support Operations at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
This collaborative human capacity-building effort brought together 22 participants drawn from the ECOWAS member States potentially earmarked for rapid deployment in Peace Support Operations.
The course is aimed at imparting the basic knowledge and skills on implementing the Protection of Civilians mandate in ECOWAS Peace Support Operations (PSOs).
The course sought to promote the awareness of multidimensional field operations and how all components can work together to develop and implement field strategies on the protection of civilians for successful operation in ECOWAS missions.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, the Deputy Commandant of the KAIPTC, Air Commodore David Anetey Akrong, welcomed the participants and facilitators, mentioning the importance of this course and its alignment to the Centre’s strategic plans of being the preferred training center of excellence for regional peace and security training.
The Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of Germany in Ghana, Sivine Jansen, stated that civilians, especially women, children, and the vulnerable, are the worst affected when conflict erupts; as a result, POC has become the central element of mandate implementation in peace support operations for the United Nations (UN), Africa Union (AU), and the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanism (REC/RMs), especially ECOWAS.
This is of great importance to the German Government as it aims to support regional peacebuilding efforts towards the global peace agenda.
And that was the reason we are happy to support this course as a needs-based intervention developed by ECOWAS in collaboration with the KAIPTC.
The Ambassador of European Union to Ghana, Ambassador Irchad Razaaly, stated that the training will provide explanations on the fundamental concepts of protection of civilians, information on the multifaceted roles played by various protection actors, explore the critical legal concepts and norms that underpin POC efforts, and educate on how to identify and implement POC strategies at all levels.
It is expected that at the end of the training, you will be equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills to translate the conceptual and legal frameworks of POC into tangible, effective actions on the ground.
In declaring the course opened, the Head of ECOWAS Peace Support Operations Division (PSOD), Adamu Sani, thanked the KAIPTC for their support to the Commission in sustaining the operational readiness of the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) through training.
He stated that the protection of civilians was at the heart of ECOWAS peace interventions within the region, with the need to have adequately trained personnel that would be able to implement protection strategies when deployed in Peace Support Operations environment.
This training was organized with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through the GIZ-ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) Project.
