ISAC Fund is organizing the second Comprehensive Generic Training on Peace Operations (CGTPO) course at the Peacekeeping Operations Centre (PKOC) and Multinational Operations Training Centre of the Serbian Armed Forces from May 13 to May 24, 2019. The course is organised as the continuation of activities on the project “Development of Serbia’s National Capabilities for Civilian Contributions to Peace Support Operations”, in cooperation with the Ministry of European Integration, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.
This is the second CGTPO that has been organised within a six months period. The first pilot course was held in November of last year and it trained the first twenty civilian experts who will enter the roster for sending to multinational operations. The opening ceremony was attended by: General Ilija Todorov, Ministry of Defence State Secretary Bojan Jocic, and Branislav Filipovic, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the course is to prepare civilian experts for participation in multinational operations. Joining those countries that strive to build global peace by civilian expertise represents another obligation stemming from Chapter 31. The reasons for Serbia’s participation in international military and civilian missions lie in the values that Serbia as a state rests on. This type of engagement, in addition to meeting the obligations in the negotiation process, is a good way for Serbia to strengthen its international standing and reputation, with its contribution to the preservation of international security and peace.
Preceding the course was the “Action Plan for Developing Civil Contributions of the Republic of Serbia in Multinational Operations led by the EU, OSCE and UN”, which was adopted on June 28, 2018. The Action Plan is the result of the work of the subgroup of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, which is in charge of ensuring the legal framework and strengthening of institutional capacities for Serbia’s participation in EU civilian missions, with the support of the ISAC Fund. As it was mentioned before, the first pilot course was realised from November 26 to December 7, 2018 and it represented not only a step in the implementation of the Action Plan, but also a concrete result of joint cooperation between the Government and civil society.