U.S. Department of State

Diplomacy in Action

Stay Connected with State.gov

Home » Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security » Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM) » Office of Plans, Policy and Analysis (PM/PPA) » Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) » GPOI "Phase II"

	UN peacekeepers in a ceremony in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher. A partner country instructor teaches trainees methods for conducting a search. A partner country instructor teaches trainees during a command post exercise. A peacekeeping contingent from Sierra Leone is welcomed back from deployment to UNAMID (United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur).

GPOI’s Phase II mission is to enhance international capacity to effectively conduct United Nations and regional peace operations by building partner country capabilities to train and sustain peacekeeping proficiencies; increasing the number of capable military troops and formed police units (FPUs) available for deployment; and facilitating the preparation, logistical support, and deployment of military units and FPUs to peace operations.

As noted in the Phase I discussion, the program’s first five years (fiscal years 2005-2009) focused on significantly increasing the number of trained and equipped peacekeepers available for deployment. Current activities under Phase II continue to ensure sufficient numbers of capable peacekeepers are available for peace operations. However, program emphasis has shifted from the direct training of peacekeepers by U.S. personnel to building sustainable, self-sufficient, national peace operations training capabilities in targeted partner countries. GPOI-funded activities particularly emphasize the establishment and strengthening of partner countries’ training infrastructures.

Toward these ends, Phase II program objectives are as follows:

1. In coordination with other U.S. Government, international community, and national efforts, assist partner countries to establish and strengthen the institutional infrastructure required to achieve and sustain self-sufficient capability to conduct peace operations training;
2. Through GPOI-facilitated activities, continue to train peacekeepers worldwide with an emphasis on train-the-trainer instruction;
3. In coordination with other U.S. Government and international community efforts, provide support to deploying units to address partner countries’ capacity shortfalls;
4. Enhance the capacity of regional/sub-regional organizations and institutions to train for, plan, deploy, manage, sustain, and obtain and integrate lessons learned from peace operations;
5. Enhance efforts to establish and strengthen the institutional infrastructure and doctrinal framework required to train, equip, and deploy FPUs*; and
6. Support the continuation and enhancement of multilateral approaches and partnerships to coordinate peace operations capacity building efforts.

In addition to these key program objectives, GPOI is contributing to a number of important strategic-level initiatives, to include:

1. Reinforcing protection of civilians (POC) principles and strengthening the capacity of United Nations and regional peace operations to implement POC mandates, with a particular focus on child protection and the prevention/remediation of sexual and gender based violence. The protection of civilians in conflict environments is identified as a national security objective in the White House’s National Security Strategy and the Department of State’s First Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review;
2. Supporting the implementation of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security; and
3. Supporting U.S. Government objectives stemming from the Presidential Study Directive on Mass Atrocities (PSD-10)

________________

* The GPOI program plays a supporting role in FPU capacity building efforts. GPOI efforts in this area seek to complement FPU train and equip activities managed by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). GPOI’s primary engagement in this area continues to be funding and managing the U.S. Government’s contributions to the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (COESPU) in Vicenza, Italy.