{{Twenty Four military, police and civilian officers from Rwanda are undergoing a 5 day course on “Protection of Civilians”. The course was opened at RPA headquarters, Nyakinama, Musanze, on 21 April 2014}}.
Col Jill Rutaremara, RPA Director said that the aim of the course is to familiarize the peacekeeping personnel with specialized training materials on protection of civilians at the tactical level.
While opening the training, Brig Gen Charles Karamba, on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff, said that “there is urgent need for effective intervention to protect men, women and children particularly in countries undergoing armed conflicts”.
Gen Karamba said that protection of civilians require complementary roles by military, police and civilian components.
He said that the UN has adopted strategies to protect civilians but challenges still remain. He referred to what is happening in DRC where “despite the enormous presence and robustness of MONUSCO, the FDLR continues to kill and rape innocent civilians”.
He said that similar conflict areas in Central African Republic, South Sudan and other places will be useful case studies for discussion on this course.
Lt Col Richard Zabot, one of facilitators from UN Integrated Training Service (ITS) said that the training will cover theoretical presentations and practical exercises. He said that any UN Peacekeeping Mission has protection of civilians as its mandate;
therefore the course is useful for Military, Police and Civilians in the field to implement protection of civilians and fulfilment of the mandate.
The course is a result of collaborative efforts between RPA and the Integrated Training Service of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
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