Forty-four military, police and defence ministry officials, who have responsibility for or involvement in peacekeeping issues, from 16 countries, gathered in Bogor, Indonesia, to discuss various themes related to peacekeeping. Co-organized by the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus Experts’ Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations (ADMM Plus EWG on PKO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the workshop took place from 6 to 8 November 2012. [caption id="attachment_221976" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Participants and speakers posed for a group photo"][/caption]
"The Workshop was to assist the ADMM Plus Peacekeeping Operations EWG to identify, develop and strengthen core competencies of ADMM Plus countries in peacekeeping operations. It will contribute to enhancing PKO pre-deployment preparations by ADMM Plus countries," said Mr. Paul Sinclair, Head of International Defence Relations at the New Zealand Ministry of Defence. Raymund Quilop, Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessment at the Philippines Department of National Defence added that the Workshop, by highlighting the issues of civil-military interaction and protection of civilians, has further enhanced the competence of ADMM Plus countries to effectively contribute in peacekeeping operations.
Presentations were provided by highly reputed experts from ADMM Plus countries, United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO), as well as former Force Commanders of UN Peacekeeping missions and representatives from ICRC delegations in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, the participants are representatives of sixteen countries – Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Viet Nam.
"In many parts of the world where the peacekeepers are deployed, we also carry out our humanitarian work as mandated by the international community. It is a very interesting progress, then, that we do not only have a dialogue with the peacekeepers in the field, but also with the decision makers on peacekeeping activities in such a forum," said Frederic Fournier, Head of the ICRC Regional Delegation for Indonesia in Jakarta. "Meanwhile, the ICRC continues to collaborate with the Peacekeeping Centres in five ASEAN Member States, contributing to the promotion of IHL and the role of peacekeepers in its implementation."
The ICRC frequently offers pre-deployment briefings on the prevailing humanitarian and security environment to key troop contributing nations. These briefings allow our delegates to outline the role of the organisation and its presence in the country to which a peacekeeping contingent is about to deploy. They also share some of the ICRC's experiences and concerns with regard to a specific context or situation.