From 16 to 20 March, the United Nations Office to the African Union participated in an African Union workshop to finalize the Facilitators’ Guide for the Formed Police Unit pre deployment training package.
The workshop brought together representatives from the AU Peace Support Operations Division, the Police Strategic Support Group and the Institute for Security Studies. Participants reviewed and consolidated facilitator guidance for sixteen training modules that had been developed by different working groups into a unified package.
The modules covered a range of topics relevant to peace support operations, including conflict in Africa, mandate implementation, legal frameworks, communication, command and control, and high risk operations. The Formed Police Unit Reader was also updated to reflect current African Union priorities and evolving operational contexts.
Participants discussed the need for a structured and sequenced approach to training delivery and underscored the importance of establishing a standardized training of trainers framework to support consistent implementation. Plans for a pilot phase were also considered to test the relevance, sequencing and practical application of the package and to inform final refinements.
UNOAU’s participation supported African Union efforts to strengthen preparedness, coherence and operational effectiveness in police components of peace support operations.
