Virtual Conference on the Occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2021 Organised within the Framework of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres (IAPTC) Annual Conference (TBC)

1 June 2021, 10h00 – 19h00 CEST, online

Registration through this link.

Background

Trust is one of the most potent tools that has an incredible power to connect, inspire, motivate and encourage action at any level and scale; yet trust is one of the most fragile ones, easy to undermine but difficult to restore. In September 2019, just on the brink of the global health crisis, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2021 the International Year of Peace and Trust (GA Resolution 73/338), recognising the indispensable role that global peace and trust play in the achievement of sustainable development, and encouraging the international community to conduct educational and public awareness-raising activities in order to disseminate the advantages of both. At that time, it was hard to imagine how timely and necessary this call would be for all of us today.

2020 presented a serious challenge to leaders and institutions globally who faced a sudden need to navigate through the unprecedented and unpredictable conditions. The failure to adequately protect the different parts of population against COVID-19 as well as to reconcile their at times opposing needs created new and activated existing triggers of distrust and, in worse cases, unrest. Against this backdrop, restoring the weakened bonds and connections should be the primary focus of our common strategy to build back better after the crisis.

Maintaining trust in the face of rapidly and reversely changing circumstances is a very familiar challenge for those continuously working in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. This becomes even more important and even more difficult when the context is foreign – like in the case of UN peacekeeping. The current and future position of the UN in preventing and resolving conflicts in this climate of persistently decreasing trust has been specifically addressed by Alan Doss, a special advisor to and the former President of the Kofi Annan Foundation, in his recent book “Peacekeeper in Africa: Learning from UN Interventions in Other People's Wars” (2020). Analysing past successes and failures of UN peace operations, the author further stresses the role of leadership in peacekeeping missions to successfully guide peacebuilding efforts in conflict-torn communities.

Today, as the world is slowly emerging out of the biggest shocks of the 21st century, how do we cure the remaining “trust deficit disorder”? In a climate where multilateralism and its core institutions are simultaneously indispensable and put under question, how do we restore and protect our “most previous value” – the one of peace?

Building on the important connections between competent leadership and populations’ trust in multilateralism, highlighted by Alan Doss, UNITAR would like to use the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2021 to initiate a deep and inclusive conversation about the various aspects of mission leadership and the ways it should be approached to effectively align with the most recent trends and demands of the ever-evolving environment. In line with the cornerstone document of UN peacekeeping – Action for Peacekeeping that highlights the importance of training as well as high leadership performance for the success of missions, and the UN75 Final Report that stresses the persistent need to improve the selection and training of peacekeepers for the promotion of peace, UNITAR and its main event partner – European Security and Defence College (ESDC) –  will come together with the major peacekeeping training institutions as well as other stakeholders to conduct a multisectoral, multidimensional, retrospective and forward-looking analysis of the status quo, the needs and the ways to address them in order to create lasting, relevant and resilient peace.

The conference is organised within the framework of the 26th Annual Conference of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres (IAPTC) that is taking the form of a series of targeted web-based events under the responsibility of the IAPTC network members. UNITAR bears the full responsibility for the conduction of this event. The event directly supports Sustainable Development Goals 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), 5 (Gender Equality) and 17 (Partnerships for Development).

Event Themes and Objectives

Main theme: Leadership in peace operations as an essential element for restoring peace and trust

Sub-themes:

• Pre-deployment training: A basis for effective leadership & impact of COVID-19
• UN and EU: Learning from each other’s experience for stronger peacekeeping
• Women’s leadership for peace
• COVID-19: Crisis leadership and restoring trust to build back better

Objectives:

• Highlight the importance of expert mission leadership for the effectiveness of and trust in peace operations;
• Showcase new innovative and inclusive approaches to leadership training, including COVID-19 adaptations;
• Bring together key peacekeeping actors for pooling of expertise and resources as well as forging new partnerships;
• Explore and integrate different perspectives on peacekeeping leadership and training with a view of strengthening international and regional cooperation in this area.

Target audience: Training institutions in peacekeeping and security sector at all levels, related UN institutions and officials, policymakers (specifically from the EU countries), researchers, broader public.

Format

At UNITAR, we believe that important discussions like this one should seize the whole range of opportunities presented to us by the digital format. Therefore, we offer our speakers and attendees a comprehensive virtual experience with a possibility to freely move across multiple venues to attend panel discussions, network and access resources. The event platform will be mobile responsive with the possibility to download content during or after the event. The online space will include:

• Lobby;
• Auditorium with Zoom integration for the main panel and thematic panels;
• Exhibition hall with booths for the main event partners and presenters;
• Networking space (text, audio and video chats);
• Helpdesk with live support.

Partners

• International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres (IAPTC)
• European Security and Defence College (ESDC) – co-organiser

Line-Up

Main panel:

• Mr Alan Doss, Special Advisor and Former President of the Kofi Annan Foundation, Former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNITAR Division for Peace Advisory Board Member
• Mr Dirk Dubois, Head, European Security and Defence College
• Ms. Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations, Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(MONUSCO) (TBC)
• Ms. Unaisi Bolatolu-Vuniwaqa, Police Commissioner, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) (TBC)

Special opening of the keynote session by:

• Mr Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Director, UNITAR
• Mr Charles Fries, Deputy Secretary-General, EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and Crisis Response

Programme

Registration through this link.

1 June 2021, 10h00 – 19h00 CEST, online

11h00 – 11h15

Opening and welcome from UNITAR and ESDC

11h15 – 12h15

Thematic session 1: The impact of COVID-19 on training as a basis for effective mission preparedness and leadership

Moderation: ESDC

12h30 – 13h30

Thematic session 2: UN and EU: Learning from each other’s experience for stronger peacekeeping

Moderation: UNITAR

14h00 – 15h45

Main panel discussion: Leadership in peace operations as an essential element for restoring peace and trust

16h00 – 17h00

Thematic session 3: Women’s leadership for peace

Moderation: UNITAR

17h15 – 18h15

Thematic session 4: COVID-19: Crisis leadership and restoring trust to build back better

Moderation: ESDC

18h15 – 18h30

Closing

10h00 – 19h00

Total virtual space running time: booths and networking

The event will be conducted in English. Live stream of the main session on UNITAR Facebook page.