At the beginning of a United Nations training of army officers in Musanze District on Monday, August 15, officials underlined protection of civilians as a major pillar of peacekeeping missions.
Attended by 23 military officers from across Africa, the two-week training is expected to equip participants with knowledge and skills they need to be able to train soldiers who will be deployed in peacekeeping missions, the Rwanda Peace Academy (RPA), the training host, said in a statement.
The course, titled the UN Comprehensive Protection of Civilians Training of Trainers, is organised by the RPA in collaboration with the United States government and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who provided funding.
The military officers come from ten countries, namely Benin, Ghana, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. The trainers come from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.
"The whole concept of protection of civilians is a precondition for successful peacekeeping operations," said Martin Koper, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Dutch embassy in Kigali.
"The positive interaction between peacekeepers and the civilian population is a make-or-break [factor] for operations that can help in addressing issues for which peacekeeping operations are made."
Col (Rtd) Jill Rutaremara, the Director of the Rwanda Peace Academy, said the training would provide the officers with necessary tools peacekeepers need to protect human rights during their military operations.
"Peacekeepers should understand that failure to protect civilians, violation of human rights and human rights abuses undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the entire mission and that of troop-contributing countries," Rutaremara said.
"Violations of rights sometimes go unnoticed. It is the duty of every peacekeeper to monitor and report any violations of human rights as well as violations of rights of the parties to the armed conflict."
He added that training was organised with a vision of enabling the African continent to train its professional peacekeepers, instead of depending on external support.
