United Nations Military Units Manuals (UNMUM) Regional Seminar in Africa and the Arab World

In partnership with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and financed by the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Challenges Forum Partner the Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution (CCCPA) organized the first Arab and African UNMUM Seminar in Cairo on 28-29 November 2016.

The Seminar was hosted in Cairo, Egypt, as part of the UNMUM project initiated in 2013. The objective of the meeting was to further support Member States to improve troops’ operational readiness for peacekeeping. It aimed to promote a greater understanding amongst Member States and planners at Joint Staff and Peacekeeping Centers of the various standards and guidelines recently developed by DPKO/DFS including UNMUM. But also to help institutionalize these standards and guidelines, ensuring that Member States use them appropriately while planning, shaping, preparing, equipping and deploying military contributions to peace operations.

Some of the issues addressed during the Seminar panels were Egypt’s contributions to UN peacekeeping; challenges facing peacekeeping in Africa and the Arab world; protection of civilians; leadership in UN peacekeeping; the use of force; the peacekeeping capabilities readiness system (PCRS); and the development of standardized training materials (STM) for UNMUM.

Introductory remarks were given by Challenges Forum Partner Counselor Ashraf Swelam, Director CCCPA, followed by opening remarks delivered by: Ambassador Hesham Badr, Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security, on behalf of the Government of Egypt and by Captain (Navy) Hervé Auffret, Officer in Charge Chief of Staff, Office of Military Affairs (OMA) on behalf of the UN. Moreover, Delegate Minister Kenichirou Mukai delivered a speech on behalf of the Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, as did Major General Osama Abdelaziz, Chief of Liaison Agency with International Organizations, Egyptian Ministry of Defense.

The Seminar brought together participants from 28 countries representing Arab-African Joint Staff, Peacekeeping Centers Staff, Training and Force Generation related staff, International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centers (IAPTC) and African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA) Member Institutions. The Challenges Forum’s Director Annika Hilding Norberg spoke on Leadership in UN Peace Operations: The Next Level.

UNMUM was initiated in 2013 by the DPKO OMA and encompasses 11 manuals for the military components, deployed to promote stability and security alongside police and civil entities in peace operations. Challenges Forum Partner, the National Defence University of Pakistan, hosted one of the four previous UNMUM Seminars that were organized as part of the implementation process. See here.

For more information about the seminar, please visit the Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution web page.