UNITED NATIONS STAFF OFFICERS COURSE -19

Gen. United Nations Staff Officers Course- 19 (UNSOC-19) was conducted at Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS), NUST Islamabad from 17 Sep to 28 Sep 2018 with a purpose to educate / sensitize the participants about functioning of UN and duties / role of Staff Officers (SOs).

Participation. 26 Officers participated in the course. Ten officers from Pakistan Armed Forces and Sixteen officers from friendly countries attended the UNSOC-19. The foreign participants were from China, Egypt, Jordon, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Sweden and Ukraine. Participation of students from Nepal and Sweden was for the first time at CIPS, Pakistan.

Conduct Methodology. The course focused on latest i.e.2018 Specialized Training Material (STM) for Staff Officers on msn. However, certain lectures from Core Pre-deployment Training Module (CPTM 2107) were also included. Subject Matters Experts (SMEs) also delivered lectures as per training programme. The syllabus was evenly distributed. Many Reps of UN Organizations like UNWOMEN, UNOCHA, UNHCR, UNAIDS also delivered lectures.

Classroom Learning Activity. Besides presentation/ discussions interactive sessions were also held wherein students took part in various healthy activities. Many lessons were learnt during the course of discussion

CARANA Ex. CARANA Ex was conducted during the last phase of the course as per the UN ITS requirement. It was a two tier Ex; aimed to practice function / response of Staff Officers as per changing situations and included major stages of mil planning and decision making process.

Extra-Curricular Activities. The foreign participants during their stay visited Army Museum, Pakistan monument, Lok Versa, Army School of Logistic (ASL), Kuldana and Golf Club Bhurban, Murree . Farewell Dinner was hosted at a Hill resort at Monal near Islamabad. They were also taken to different markets around Islamabad for sightseeing / shopping on different dates and as per the schedule/ request of students.

Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony of the course was held on 28 Sep 2018. After the welcome address by Principal NIPCOS, HoD PKT gave a comprehensive briefing which was followed by Certificate Award Ceremony. His Excellency The Ambassadors of Nigeria Mr. Maj Gen (Retd) Ashimiyu Adebayo Olaniyi OON, mni was invited as the chief Guest. DA’s of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Philippines, Egypt, Jordan and Uzbekistan also attended the ceremony. He The Ambassador of Nigeria distributed certificates to the successful participants.

Closing Remarks by Nigerian Ambassador. He the Ambassador Maj Gen (Retd) Ashimiyu Adebayo Olaniyi OON, mni highly appreciated the contributions made by Pakistan Army in peacekeeping and commended CIPS on its achievement in a short span of few years. He mentioned that bond between both the countries is strengthening. He desired that the association between Pakistan and Nigeria in peacekeeping domain should continue to grow with exchange of students, faculty’s members and correspondence.

Presentation of Souvenirs. At the end of ceremony, Principal NIPCONS presented CIPS shields to the Cheif Guest along with CIPS Journal.