UN Seminar on Peacekeeping and Training (UNMUM) at the National Defence University, Pakistan

The Challenges Forum Partner, the National Defence University of Pakistan, hosted a UN Seminar on Peacekeeping and Training in Islamabad 3-4 November 2015 as part of the United Nations Military Unit Manuals (UNMUM) project initiated in 2013. The objective of the meeting was to provide a key opportunity for the roll out and the implementation of the UN Manuals.

The project United Nations Military Units Manuals (UNMUM) was initiated in 2013 by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations Office of the Military Affairs (UNDPKO OMA), in close collaboration with Member States and field missions. It encompasses 11 manuals for the military components that are deployed to promote stability and security alongside police and civil entities in peace operations. The manuals were developed in order to standardize the deployment procedures of military contributions to peace missions. As part of the implementation process and roll out of the manuals, the UNDPKO and the Institute for Strategic Studies Research and Analysis (ISSRA) of National Defence University (NDU) of Pakistan arranged a seminar to promote enhanced understanding of the manuals.

The seminar panels addressed UN Peacekeeping Doctrine and Guidance through the prisms of Strategic Appraisal of Peacekeeping, Protection of Civilians, and Peacekeeping Training. A spectra of sub-topics were addressed in plenary as well as in working groups. The seminar in Islamabad brought together some 300 international Pakistani officers, diplomats, and academics, and a broad range of international participants. The UN DPKO Military Adviser, Lt Gen Ahmed Maqsood, led the delegation from the UN Headquarters.

A seminar report is currently being prepared by the National Defence University of Pakistan and will be available here for download when available. The Challenges Forum’s Director Annika Hilding Norberg appreciated the invitation to speak as part of the panel dedicated to the Protection of Civilians.

Visit NDU’s website for updates about the seminar.