Support for Training of United Nations Peacekeepers on the Responsibility to Protect

This project aims to facilitate the mainstreaming of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and mass atrocity prevention in United Nations (UN) peace support operations through the delivery of train-the-trainer pre-deployment courses and materials for UN peacekeepers. Project activities include: (1) working with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations to institutionalize mass atrocity prevention modules in the UN’s trainings; and (2) partnering with at least five countries providing troops and police to UN peacekeeping missions and fifteen peacekeeping training centers around the world to institutionalize R2P and mass atrocity prevention in their peacekeeper pre-deployment courses. The majority of peacekeepers trained as a result of this project are expected to be deployed with various UN peacekeeping missions in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of this project they develop a better knowledge of R2P and protection of civilian principles as they apply in peacekeeping operations; an improved ability to recognize early risk factors for mass atrocity crimes including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); and an enhanced awareness of tactical and operational strategies to better protect civilians during peacekeeping operations.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) UN peacekeeper performance on the protection of civilians improves with training on R2P and the prevention of mass atrocity crimes including SGBV; and (2) the UN incorporates R2P and mass atrocity prevention concepts into its pre-deployment training for UN peacekeepers ultimately enhancing their knowledge and understanding of these concepts.