UNITED NATIONS STAFF OFFICERS COURSE – 21
Gen. United Nations Staff officers Course – 21 (UNSOC -21) was conducted at Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS), NUST Islamabad from 08 April 2019 to 19 April 2019 with a purpose to educate / sensitize the participants about UN, roles and responsibilities of the Peacekeepers as Staff Officer with the ultimate objective of educating participants of working with peacekeeping operation to develop a conceptual framework for performing duties as Staff Officer in a Multidimensional Mission Environment
Participation. 36 students from Army, Air Force and friendly countries attended the course. Thirteen officers from friendly countries which attended the course were from Bahrain, Belarus, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom and Ukraine.
Conduct Methodology. The course mainly focused around UN Integrated Training Service (ITS) modules which included Core Pre-deployment Training Modules (CPTM 1, 2 and 3) and Specialized Training Material (STM) for Staff Officers. Subject Matters Experts (SMEs) also delivered lectures. Reps of relevant UN Organizations like UNWOMEN, UNOCHA, UNHCR, UNAIDS also delivered lectures. The course culminated after the conduct of three days CARANA EX.
Classroom Activities. This included presentation/ discussions, interactive sessions wherein students took part in various activities. Situations which the peacekeepers may confront in the mission areas were painted for generating response.
CARANA Ex. Situation Oriented Scenario Based CARANA Ex was conducted during the last phase of the course as per the UN ITS module. The entire course was distributed into three sub syndicates. It was aimed to practice function / response of UN peacekeepers 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 and Army School of Logistic. Lunch was arranged at Chinar Golf Club, Bhurban/ Muree and a farewell dinner was hosted at Serena Hotal, Islamabad. They were also taken to different markets around Islamabad for sightseeing / shopping as per the schedule/ students request.
Closing Ceremony The closing ceremony of the course was held on 19 April 2019. After the welcome address by Principal NIPCOS, HoD PKT gave a comprehensive briefing which was followed by Certificate Award Ceremony. Lieutenant General Maqsood Ahmed (Retd) ex UN Military Advisor (MILAD) at Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO) New York was the Chief Guest. DA’s of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Korea, Libya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Ukrain also attened the closing Ceremony. Lieutenant General Maqsood Ahmad (Retd) distributed certificates to the successful participants
Closing Remarks by Chief Guest. Lieutenant General Maqsood Ahmad (Retd) highly appreciated the contributions made by Pakistan Army in peacekeeping and commended CIPS on its achievement in a short span of time. He spoke in detail the challenges which the peacekeepers are facing specially in Missions like Mali, DR Gongo and CAR.
Presentation of Souvenirs. At the end of ceremony, Maj General Furrukh Bashir (Retd), Principal NIPCONS presented CIPS shields to the Chief Guest.
(Click on the photograph to see more pictures of the course)