AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION AND THE KOFI ANNAN INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING TRAINING CENTRE CONCLUDED THE TRAINING PROGRAMME OF THE AU HUMAN RIGHTS OBSERVERS

Accra, Ghana, 20 May 2016: The African Union Commission (AUC) and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeepers Training Centre (KAIPTC) have concluded the training programme designed for the human rights observers that are to be deployed to Burundi. The training programme was held at the KAIPTC in Accra, Ghana and was financially supported by GIZ-Ghana.

The KAIPTC is a regional Centre of Excellence for the delivery of training and research in the areas of conflict prevention, management and peace building. The KAIPTC has to date offered over 230 courses in diverse aspects of peace support operations for over 11,000 military, police and civilian personnel. This course was designed by Experts aiming at building and enhancing the capacities of the Human Rights Observers involved in multi-dimensional peace operations to ensure human rights compliance, address human rights violations and mainstream human rights principles and practices.

The special objectives of the course were to enhance participants’ ability to understand, identify and apply international legal, policy and institutional frameworks for the promotion and protection of human rights; provide participants with practical skills and strategies to advocate and support the implementation of human rights mandates; and expose participants to the challenges of human rights promotion and protection and equip them with the knowledge and skills required to overcome them.

Amb. Salah S. Hammad, Senior Human Rights Expert, representing H.E. Dr. Aisha L. Abdullahi, Commissioner for Political Affairs, addressed the Closing Ceremony of the Training Programme and thanked the KAIPTC for its efforts to train the African Union Human Rights Observers that are to be deployed to Burundi in conformity with decisions of the AU Peace and Security Council.

The AUC and the KAIPTC discussed ways and means to enhance the existing working relationship and recommended that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be signed between the two institutions as a platform to strengthen this important partnership.

The proposed MoU is expected to avail opportunities for cooperation and non-exclusive partnership in the following areas:

• Training programmes for the human rights observers for deployment by the AU;
• The development of a well-designed roster of personnel trained in areas needed by the KAIPTC;
• Assist the AU in policy development and the provision of  resource persons for common programmes in the area of Human rights, rule of law and other peace support operation courses that may be needed by the AU;
• KAIPTC will develop other training support AU might require.

For further information please contact:

Amb. Salah S. Hammad

Department of Political Affairs

HammadS@africa-union.org

Tel: +251-11-551 77 00