Page 51 - Coespu 2018-4

COESPU AROUND THE WORLD

By Capt. Vito FRANCHINI
“24th IAPTC Conference”

th
st
Auckland (New Zealand), October 1 - 5 , 2018

The CoESPU took part in the 24th IAPTC
Annual Conference. The “International
Association of Peacekeeping Training
Centers”, organized by the local Defense
Force, focused on “Innovative Capacity
Building for Effective Peace Operations”,
and was attended by 281 representatives
from 58 Countries. It aimed, among other
topics, to enhance ‘basic’ military training
for peacekeepers, to improve the coordination among mission components in peacekeeping
trainings, with a particular view on increasing women’s participation in peacekeeping.
The conference highlighted the need to advance innovative approaches to capacity building and
peacekeeping training. While the integrated approach to peacekeeping continues to be a key
point, with a relevant role ensured to military and civilian components, the conference
contributed to placing renewed focus on the important role of the police component.

At the end of the discussions, participants agreed to focus on sharing experiences, case studies,
and incidents from the field in future IAPTC Annual Conferences to highlight some of the
emerging threats and challenges at the operational level. This would contribute to aligning
training materials with the changing environments on the ground. Furthermore, the IAPTC
community needs to keep abreast with recent developments at the policy level and emerging
challenges in peacekeeping environments at the mission level.

The Secretariat reported on the work that has been done over the past year and shared its views
about the future IAPTC engagements. In 2018, among other developments, the Secretariat will
concentrate on the launch of a new brand and a new web site (and related social media contents)
to enforce the Association visibility.

Among the Panels held during the week, UNESCO experts - reacting to specific input given by
the CoESPU Director during 2017 Cairo Conference - presented a report on Cultural Heritage
Protection in post-conflict situations. Maj. Gen. Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz, during the
Panel on Security and Use of Force gave an overview on the need to deploy the military
component to fill the security gap in peacekeeping missions.

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