The UNOAU participated and provided lead facilitator for a five-day workshop organized by the African Union Peace Support Operations Department (AUPSOD) to develop the Africa Standby Force (ASF) Generic Pre-Deployment Training package for Formed Police Units Focal Police Units (FPUs). The workshop which is the third of its kind, was held in Debre-Zeit, Ethiopia, from 27 November to 1 December. Other participants in the workshop included representatives from the Police Strategic Support Group (PSSG), Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Training for Peace Program (TfP), The British Peace Support Team Africa (BPST-A), German Development Cooperation (GIZ)-AU Office and FPU experts from Uganda, Senegal as well as Egypt. 

The Formed Police Units-Pre-Deployment Training (FPU-PDT) package development process was initiated to generate a standardized training package for preparation of all FPUs pledged as part of the standby capabilities for the ASF. The training package is expected to equip FPU personnel with the necessary knowledge, aptitudes, and skills to discharge their mandated duties and responsibilities in African Union Peace Support Operations (AUPSO). 

During the workshop, participants continued to develop modules for the reader whose final product will be a 17-module training package and a field training exercise (FTX).  At the end of the workshop, progress was discussed and tasks for further development of the readers were distributed among participants. The next steps will be to develop a Facilitators’ guide, participants’ journal and the training toolkit.

This development of the FPU-PDT marks a significant milestone in alignment with the UN-AU Joint Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security between the African Union Commission and the United Nations Secretariat. Accordingly, the UNOAU will continue to support the AU in this regard in order to standardize training for effective strengthening of the ASF for future deployment to AU peace support operations.