Abstract
Where it exists, training for United Nations peacekeeping is fragmented. Many troop-contributing countries do not offer any peacekeeping training. This is not surprising considering the ad hoc approach taken to peacekeeping by the UN, coupled with the fact that 77 out of 184 Member States have participated in UN operations.1 The fragmentation has its roots in the political situation which developed at the UN in the early 1960s (see Chapter 1). Between 1964 and 1988 the development of any institutions relating to peacekeeping did not occur for political reasons. In terms of training this has meant that no centralized, institutionalized training programme under the auspices of the UN specifically for peacekeeping has been developed. Peacekeeping has remained an ‘ad hoc institution’ and training has been left to the countries contributing troops and a handful of international organizations. Even today the prospect that the UN might develop a centralized, institutionalized training programme is minimal. The Secretariat has neither the time nor resources to take on such a huge project, and in many logistical respects it would be inefficient. To carry out such a large-scale training programme, troops from countries all over the world would have to be transported to and from a central location. In addition, housing, food, and the materials and staff for the training programme would have to be provided. Not surprisingly, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has no real interest in developing a centralized training system. Rather what is most often suggested in this context is the development of regional training centres (or national centres) around the world which would get information and direction from the DPKO.
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Notes and References
Australian Parliament Doc. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, Defence Sub-Committee, Inquiry into Australia’s Participation in Peacekeeping. Submission and Incorporated Documents, Vol. 3, Annex II, 28 September 1993.
Interview with appointee, Christian Harleman, New York, 2 September 1992.
For example, see UN Docs. A/48/173, 25 May 1993 and A/48/403/Add.1, 2 November 1993; NATO Press Service, Press Release, M-NACC-2(93)73, ‘Progress Report to Ministers by the NACC Ad Hoc Group on Cooperation in Peacekeeping’, 3 December 1993; Canadian House of Commons Doc., ‘The Dilemmas of a Committed Peacekeepers: Canada and the Renewal of Peacekeeping’, Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, June 1993, esp. pp. 21–6; Canadian House of Commons Doc., Proceedings: Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, Issue No. 42, 30 March 1993.
H. Moleman, ‘Bosnia for beginners’, The Guardian, 19 December 1993.
Australia, Hungary, Nigeria, Thailand and the US are ‘developing’ training centres.
CF-DPKO Doc Memorandum, 4500-1, February 1991, p. 2.
CF Doc. Brigadier-General Douglas, ‘Peacekeeping Operations Review — Interim Report’, 26 November 1991, p. 10 (Interim ‘Douglas Report’).
CF-DPKO Doc. briefing paper.
CF-DPKO Doc Report 4500-1, 12e Regiment blinde du Canada, 28 February 1991, p. 3.
CF-DPKO Doc. 4640-1, ‘Peacekeeping Briefing Session — Officers, Pilot Course’, Annex C, 25 April 1991.
CF Doc Interim ‘Douglas Report’, 1991, pp. 11–12.
Ibid, p. 8.
Canadian House of Commons Doc, ‘The Dilemmas of Committed Peacekeepers: Canada and the Renewal of Peacekeeping’, Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, June 1993, p. 25.
P. Langille and E. Simpson (1991), CFB Cornwallis: Canada’s Peacekeeping Training Centre, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia: Common Security Consultants, p. 3. See also, P. Langille and E. Simpson (1992), A Blueprint for a Peacekeeping Training Centre of Excellence, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia: Common Security Consultants and Stratman Consulting Inc.
‘CFB Cornwallis’, p. 10.
D.M. Last (1992), ‘Training Officers to Mediate’, draft, article prepared for Peacekeeping and International Relations, National Press Building, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, p. 1.
D. Last (1993), ‘Negotiating skills for peacekeepers’, Peace Magazine, 9(4/5):17.
CF Doc Draft proposal, ‘Design for research on mediation by peacekeepers’, 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Commanding Officer L. Col. M.D. Capstick, 22 May 1991, p. 1.
IDF Doc. ‘Preparation and Training for UNIFIL’, Training Circular, Office of Director of Training, Defence Forces Headquarters, Dublin, Ireland, October 1991.
Ibid, Appendix B, p. 2.
Ibid, Appendix D, p. 1.
‘Peace troops who suffer in silence’, Irish Independent, 1 July 1992, p. 10.
Ibid, p. 10.
Ibid, p. 10.
Interview with Harleman, 30 October 1990, at the IPA in New York.
Nordic Doc. Information Circular, ‘Nordic Stand-By Forces and Training System’.
Ibid, p. 3.
Ibid, p. 6.
UN Doc. A/45/502, p. 2.
Boutros-Ghali, 1992a, pp. 30–1.
Boutros-Ghali, 1992a, pp. 30–1.
UN Doc. OHRM Training Service, ‘So You Think You Want To Go To Namibia’, 19 January 1989, p. 1.
UN Doc. OHRM Training Service, ‘Report of Briefing and Training Programs for Staff Assigned to UNTAG Namibia, January–March 1989’, p. 2.
UN Doc. SRO, Namibia, ‘Job Description, Post Nos. 46–85’, paragraphs 1 and 4.
UN Doc. OHRM Training Service, ‘Outline for Training For Peacekeeping Missions’.
UN Doc. UNTAG, ‘Manual for UNTAG Election Supervisors’, November 1989.
UN Chronicle, December 1989, p. 8.
UN Doc. ‘UNTAG Namibia: Description and Analysis of the Mission’s Operational Arrangements’, 9 September 1991 (draft copy), p. 179 (para. 372).
UN Doc. OHRM Training Service ‘Operational Plan for In-Country Mission Training’.
UN Doc. Press Release, UNITAR/626, 8 November 1991.
IPA Doc. Information Sheet.
Harleman, 1990, p. 3.
‘International Civilian Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Training Program’, Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR), Stadtschlaining, Austria.
Ibid.
CF Doc. ‘Negotiation in Peacekeeping’, 1991, p. 13.
Ibid, p. 11.
Heiberg, in Rikhye and Skjelsbaek, 1990, p. 148.
Heiberg, in Rikhye and Skjelsbaek, 1990, p. 150.
This point is made in Heiberg, in Rikhye and Skjelsbaek, 1990, p. 162, in reference to the preparation of the Ghanaian and Nepalese battalions. The article points out difficulties that both battalions have with their peacekeeping duties which can be directly attributed to lack of training.
Several UNTAG election supervisors seconded from their governments pointed out the negative aspects of the UNTAG on-site training programme. One complaint was directed at the large numbers of trainees which meant that they could not actually practise the polling techniques themselves. Another complaint was directed at the trainers for having poor English language skills.
Grove and Torbiorn, 1985, p. 223.
See Brislin, 1986.
Thornberry, in Hay, 1991, p. 19.
UN Doc. ‘UNIAG Namibia: Description and Analysis of the Mission’s Operational Arrangements’, 9 September 1991 (draft copy), p. 271 (para. 692).
For further discussion of these ethical issues, see Burton and Dukes, Vol. 4, 1990,; Webb, in Mitchell and Webb, 1988; Laue, 1982.
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© 1994 A. B. Fetherston
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Fetherston, A.B. (1994). Training for United Nations Peacekeepers. In: Towards a Theory of United Nations Peacekeeping. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23642-8_8
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