Update on the Core Pre-Deployment Training Materials 2024

In late May 2024, ITS completed a two-week validation seminar of the Core Pre-Deployment Training Materials (CPTM) 2024 at the UN Global Service Centre in Brindisi, Italy. The CPTM is required for pre-deployment training of all UN personnel. As such, it is foundational knowledge required by all peacekeepers: military, police and civilians. The validation seminar included trainers from troop- and police-contributing countries and the aim was to test the material and to ensure that it is deliverable under the range of conditions experienced by their training institutions. The CPTM 2024 includes 34 lessons with supporting materials and the roll-out will begin by late 2024. More information on the roll-out will be included in future editions of this newsletter.

Review of the UN Police Command Course

ITS with the Police Division (PD) will conduct a review of the UN Police Command Course between 9 to 13 September 202 in Sweden. The workshop will gather experts from ITS, PD, the Standing Police Capacity, and UNITAR with the aim to reshape the curriculum and training activities to consolidate doctrine of the course to reflect current operational needs to build a sustainable handy training package for future trainings. The Government of Sweden is hosting and funding this workshop. More updates to come in future editions of this newsletter.

Review of the UN Infantry Battalions Specialized Training Materials

ITS is currently updating the UN Infantry Battalions (UNIBAT) specialized training material (STM) in cooperation with the Office of Military Affairs (OMA) current update of the UNIBAM (further info included later in this newsletter). The UNIBAT STMs aim to provide TCCs with a comprehensive training package for infantry battalions and companies, and other UN military units with infantry capabilities. The updated UNIBAT STMs content is expected to be validated in November 2024 prior to roll-out.

Review of the UN Staff Officers Specialized Training Materials

ITS is reviewing the UN Staff Officers (UNSO) specialized training materials (STM) and has completed two review workshops and one pilot workshop with Member State and UN experts. The UNSO STM review will update the knowledge and skills required by military staff officers to function effectively in a Force HQ and Sector HQ. The review is moving into its final stage, and the new material is expected to be published in October 2024.

UN Senior National Planner Course in Mongolia

ITS will conduct the TOT in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia between 16 August to 2 September 2024 for Member State national trainers from the Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, and Europe regions. The course will provide a comprehensive training course on deploying national contingents to UN peacekeeping operations. The course covers negotiation, planning, preparation, deployment, support, sustainment, rotation, and the reimbursement process. The call for nominations will be sent out on 1 July 2024, and close on 1 August 2024.

Training of Trainer course on Force Protection for Military and Police in Hungary

ITS will conduct the TOT in Hungary between 7 to 18 October 2024 for Member State national trainers from the Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, and Europe regions. The course aims to enhance the capabilities of Member States in delivering reinforcement training on Force Protection for UN Military and Formed Police Units deploying to UN peacekeeping operations. The call for nominations will be sent out on 1 August 2024, and close on 1 September 2024.

Women’s Military Peace Operations Course in Thailand

ITS and UN Women will conduct a Women’s Military Peace Operations Course (WMPOC) in Thailand between 28 October and 15 November 2024 for Member State officers from the Asia and Pacific region. The aim of the WMPOC is to prepare women military officers for deployment to UN peacekeeping operations and empower them for meaningful engagement in current and future peace and security challenges. The call for nominations is currently open, and will close on 31 July 2024.

Training Courses on Child Protection for UN Military

The Policy and Best Practices Service (PBPS) of the Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training (DPET), with support from ITS, will conduct one course in Germany between 23 to 27 September 2024 and an online iteration for UN military officers between 4 to 14 November 2024. The course aims to increase awareness of the UN child protection policy in peacekeeping operations and support the implementation of child protection mandates by enhancing UN military personnel skills and knowledge. The call for nominations will be sent out by PBPS.

Senior Mission Leader Course Update

ITS, with the Government of France, the Government of Morocco, and the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie has completed a Francophone Senior Mission Leader (SML) course in Agadir, Morocco between 3 and 14 June 2024. The SML aims to prepare participants to assume the roles and responsibilities of mission leadership, including SRSG, Deputy SRSG, Head of Military Component, Police Commissioner, Director of Mission Support, and Mission Chief of Staff. The next iteration of the SML is being planned for February 2025 in Kenya and the call for nominations will be sent in the fall of 2024.

New Case Study Handbook on Gender, Peace and Security for UN Infantry Battalions in Peace Operations

The case study handbook is a training resource produced by the Office of Military Affairs (OMA) and the Integrated Training Service (ITS) to answer the growing need for practical, hands-on training on gender-responsive military operations in UN peacekeeping operations. This handbook will assist troop contributing countries (TCCs) to train military peacekeepers in gender-responsive military operations as part of their pre-deployment training. It also provides resources for Military Gender Advisers in their in-mission training efforts. To download the handbook, click here.

New policy on Operational Readiness Preparation

The new policy aims to support the national generation process of military units and individuals and their preparation for deployment to UN peacekeeping operations by providing national senior leadership, decision-makers, planners, trainers, and evaluations with clarity on UN headquarter and mission expectations on deployment preparation. The policy sets standards, clarifies roles and responsibilities, and provides troop contributing countries with a description of the actions, at the national level, required to generate, prepare, deploy and rotate military individuals and formed military units to UN peacekeeping operations. The policy also incorporates a pre-deployment training framework.  It notes that the Force Generation Service is the single point of reference for requesting guidance materials required for the preparation of deploying contingents. You can download the new policy here.

The UN Infantry Battalion Manual (UNIBAM) is under revision

The UNIBAM is currently under revision to introduce a search and detect function into the required capabilities for infantry battalion units. It will also recommend equipping infantry units with hand-held unmanned aerial vehicles to enhance the safety and security of peacekeepers. The revised UNIBAM is expected to be available in late 2024.

The UN Military Experts on Mission (UNMEM) guidance is under revision

The UNMEM is currently under revision to improve the effectiveness and operational utility of UNMEMs in peacekeeping operations. The revision will also update the command-and-control arrangement of UNMEMs and expand the operational framework of UN Military Officers (UNMO).  The revision also will establish required skills and training standards to enhance the operation of UNMOs. The revised UNMEM is expected to be available in early 2025.

Planned review of the Weapons and Ammunition Guidance Materials

OMA plans to conduct a review of the policy, SOP and manuals on weapons and ammunition. The combined review will ensure a coherent set of guidance on weapons and ammunition management in compliance with recent recommendations by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping (C-34). OMA will contact TCCs for assistance in identifying gaps and establish appropriate scope and frameworks for the guidance materials. It is expected the review will be completed in mid-2025.

Planned Military Guidance Development

OMA is planning to further develop more guidance materials for the military: a performance management policy; military peacekeeping-intelligence handbook; UN military commanders’ guidelines on measures to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse; peacekeeping-intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance staff handbook; improvised explosive devise threat mitigation handbook; and explosive ordinance unit manual. More updates on the development of these guidance materials will be included in future editions of the ITS newsletter.

The LCM Online System (LCMOS)

Forty Member States have registered their users on the LCM Online System (LCMOS), which was launched in January 2024. The LCMOS gives Member States a secure space to share their military and police peacekeeping training and capacity-building activities. It helps the Light Coordination Mechanism (LCM) track training capacities and partnerships, identify cooperation opportunities and alert uses to activity conflicts and new UN training standards. Registered users are invited to start uploading their national police and military training calendars. Registration of Member States is ongoing. Please contact the LCM at dpo-lcm@un.org for more information.

The UN Buddy First Aid App

The UN Buddy First Aid mobile application is now available in English, French and Spanish. The app outlines the UN standards for essential first aid skills required by all UN peacekeepers. Troop- and police-contributing countries (T/PCCs) are encouraged to have their military and police personnel install this application on their mobile device or tablets before deployment. Member States who wish to translate the app into other languages can contact the LCM at dpo-lcm@un.org for more information.

The Buddy First Aid app can be downloaded to your mobile devices by scanning the QR codes below with your device camera.

Apple Store                                             Google Play

The ITS training calendar is available by clicking here. The calendar provides information on upcoming training courses for Member States, including course requirements, language skills, and the intended audience. Calls for nominations will continue to be made through respective Permanent Missions, which will in turn send their T/PCC nominations to ITS.

The Deployment Review Digital Toolkit is a mobile application to enhance the impact of UN peacekeeping operations through the collection and sharing of best practices related to uniformed capabilities. The app includes lessons-learned methodology and platform to assist troop- and police-contributing countries (T/PCCs) establish and develop their own lessons-learning processes, facilitating knowledge-sharing among deployed personnel. Member States can capture, analyze, review the successes, innovations, and challenges from their operational experiences to improve the training preparation and support phases of deployment, improve performance and mandate delivery, and increase the safety and security of their personnel.  The app does not collect user data, making it a safe and user-friendly digital toolkit to complement existing information-sharing systems and can serve as a blueprint for systems that are yet to be developed. To download, scan the QR code with your mobile device. For more information, please contact the Light Coordination Mechanism (LCM) at dpo-lcm@un.org.

The Information Management Unit (IMU) of the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and the Department of Peacebuilding and Political Affairs (DPPA) will conduct a training course on mastering the UN Peace and Security Data Hub for analysis on 3 September 2024 for T/PCCs, MILADs and POLADs. The course is 1.5 hours in total and will be conducted online, covering data set types, how to navigate the UN Peace and Security Data Hub, and how to retrieve information for analysis and operations. The course will also cover practical applications of data analysis through real examples of enhancing effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and acquiring methodologies for data-driven analysis.

Please register by 31 August 2024 by clicking on your preferred session time below:

• Session 1: 9.00am to 10.30am (NY Time)
• Session 2: 9.00pm to 10.30pm (NY Time)

For more information, please email almaleh@un.org and psdata@un.org. 

The Office of Military Affairs manages the contact information of Military and Police Advisers. In order to ensure we have the most up-to-date information we request that you email us at omahub@un.org.

Please include the full name, title, email and phone numbers for all contacts you are updating.

UN Core Pre-Deployment Training Materials (CPTM) - English | French | Spanish

Reinforcement Training Packages (RTPs)

Comprehensive Protection of Civilians (CPOC) Package for UN Military - English | French | Spanish

Comprehensive Protection of Civilians (CPOC) Package for UN Police - English

Child Protection for UN Police - Arabic | English | French

Child Protection for UN Military - English | French

RTP for UN Military Peacekeeping-Intelligence Officers – English | French | Spanish

RTP for UN Operational Logistics (OPLOG) – English

RTP for UN Peacekeeping-Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (PKISR) – English

RTP for UN Engagement Platoon (UNEP) – English | French

RTP for UN Military Gender Advisors (UNMGA) – English | French

RTP for UN Force Protection for Military and Police Units – English

RTP for UN Field Medical Assistant Course - English | French

RTP for the UN Military and Police Units on Addressing Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation, and Hate Speech Threats in the UN Peace Operations - English 

Specialised Training Materials (STMs)

STM for National Investigation Officers - English

STM for UN Infantry Battalions - English

STM for UN Military Observers - English | French

STM for UN Military Staff Officers - English 

STMs for UN Military Units - English

(Force HQ; Maritime; Aviation; Engineers; Logistics; Police; Riverine; Signals; Transport; Special Forces; and Explosive Ordnance Disposal)

STM on Mission-Specific Infantry Battalions - English

STM for UN Police Officers - English | Arabic | French

STM for Formed Police Units - English

STM on UN Civil-Military Coordination - Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | Spanish

STM for Child Protection Staff in United Nations Peace Operations – English | French

STM on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence - English

STM on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Personnel - English | French

STM on Training of Trainers - English | French

STM on UN Weapons and Ammunition Management in Peace Operations - English

COVID-19 UN Pre-deployment Training Materials - English | French