{Rwanda Peace Academy concluded on 11 December 2015 a two weeks course for Stabilisation and Civil-Military Cooperation Practitioners. The course was attended by 23 military, police and civilians from Eastern Africa region namely Republic of Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Rwanda. It is a result of collaborative efforts between the British Peace Support Team, Eastern Africa and the Rwanda Peace Academy. }
The Air Force Chief of Staff, Brig Gen Charles Karamba together with the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, H.E William Gelling presided over the course’s closing ceremony held at RPA Headquarters at Nyakinama, in Musanze District.
In his remarks the UK High Commissioner said that the course goes to show what is possible when practitioners from across the region work together. He said that “The UK believes very firmly in the necessity and importance of peacekeeping and peace support, to prevent the World’s most difficult or intractable conflicts from worsening, and to ensure that fragile situations do not become disastrous situations”.
HE William Gelling lauded regional cooperation in Peace Support initiatives and pledged continued support to Rwanda’s efforts in peacekeeping. “I pay tribute to all those whose efforts are leading to greater co-operation in the East African region, and between the UK and the region. For me, it has been a long-term aim to expand the quantity of assistance we are able to offer on peacekeeping here in Rwanda, and to expand our contacts with the RDF and the Peace Academy”.
The Air Force Chief of Staff, Brig Gen Charles Karamba said that the course is very important because it meets the specific operating context of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) member states and beyond. “The composition of the course truly reflects the desire of our region to move forward, not only with the current doctrine of the Integrated Approach, but also recognizing that we are most likely to operate in a Joint Multinational Environment” he said.
He underlined that there is a need of combined efforts in resolving conflicts. “We strongly recognize that military action alone will not resolve conflict, and that the Stabilisation Approach to conflict resolution is perhaps better suited to solving the myriad of problems we encounter in modern conflicts” he said.
According to the Director of Rwanda Peace Academy, Col Jill Rutaremara the purpose of the course was to strengthen the understanding and capability of regional defence and security forces for conducting stabilization and CIMIC activity as part of Peace Support Operations.
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