From 20 to 25 March, UNOAU attended a workshop organized by AU PSO Department (PSOD). The purpose of the workshop was to develop an African Standby Force (ASF) Generic Formed Police Unit Pre-deployment training (FPU-PDT) package. The FPU-PDT package is aimed to ensure standardized training by Member States who pledged FPU as part of the ASF Police Pledged Standby Capabilities. The workshop was attended by representatives of PSOD, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the British Peace Support Team (BPST), as well as members of the Police Strategic Support Group (PSSG) and FPU Technical Experts. UNOAU participated in the workshop as part of the core group that will be responsible for the development of the training package. UNOAU was also tasked with the facilitation of the workshop.

During the workshop, participants finalized the course design, developed a roadmap and identified individuals to develop different parts of the training material. UNOAU will lead the development of two modules and co-lead the development of the field training exercise (FTX), while also forming part of the editing team for the complete package. The training material will include a Reader, Facilitator’s Guide and Participant’s Journal. The development of the material will take place over the next 14 months and will see the holding of virtual meetings and workshops, including a validation workshop. UNOAU will continue to support the AUC PSOD in the process.