Peace First: Canada's Role in Peace Operations
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! ' , ,, ! : ,: :: ! ! ! ! “We! can’t! address! today’s! challenges! with! yesterday’s! mindset,”! emphasized! the! United! Nations! Secretary<General! Ban! Ki<moon! calling! for! greater! member! state! support! for! peace! operations.! Canada! is! still! internationally! recognized! for! past! achievements! in! key! areas! pertaining! to! peace! operations,! especially! peacekeeping.! Since! the! call! by! Canada's! then< Minister!of!External!Affairs,!Lester!B.!Pearson!for!the!creation!of!a!multinational!armed!force!to! go!into!Egypt!to!help!restore!peace!and!prevent!a!major!international!confrontation,!Canada! has!been!associated!with!the!fundamentals!of!peacekeeping.!Canada!has!been!a!key!player!in! securing!major!achievements,!which!are!relevant!for!peace!operations:!! • The!establishment!of!the!Blue!Helmets!(1956<!the!UN!Peacekeepers);! • The! Ottawa! Convention! or! the!Mine!Ban! Treaty! (1999<! the! Convention! on! the! Prohibition!of!the!Use,!Stockpiling,!Production!and!Transfer!of!Anti<Personnel!Mines!and! on!their!Destruction);! • The! Kimberley! Process! (2003<! preventing! "conflict! diamonds"! from! entering! the! mainstream! rough!diamond!market! following! recommendations! by! the! Canadian! Ambassador!to!the!United!Nations,!Robert!Fowler);! • The!Responsibility!to!Protect!(2005<!emphasizing!the!state's!responsibility!to!protect!its! people! from! major! violations! of! human! rights,! which! followed! the! report! by! the!International!Commission!on!Intervention!and!State!Sovereignty!(ICISS),!an!effort!led! by!the!Canadian!government).!! After!a!decade!of!focus!on!NATO!or!coalition!operations!in!Afghanistan,!Libya,!Iraq!and!Syria,! Canada’s!deployment!in!peacekeeping!mission!has!been!at!an!“all<time!low”.!With!29!military! personnel!and!85!police!officers!in!UN!missions!in!2015,!Canada!was!ranking!66th!of!121!UN! member!states!contributing!uniformed!personnel.!Yet!following!up!on!its!electoral!promises,! the!new!Canadian!government!has!pledged!for!a!renewed!role!at!United!Nations!notably!by!re< engaging!in!peacekeeping!activities.!! ! ! ! What%does%this%mean%in%practice?! ! ! ! ! On!April!24th,!a!report!by!Canadem!suggested!that:!“the$capacity$of$Canada’s$military$to$ conduct$ peacekeeping$ operations$ has$ largely$ disappeared$ after$ a$ decade$ of$ war8fighting$ in$ Afghanistan”.!As!a!premise!to!the!workshop,!we!question!the!assertion!that!the!CAF!have!lost! their!capacity!to!conduct!peace!operations.!While!the!focus!on!Canadian!military!engagements! abroad! since! 9/11! has! been! on! Afghanistan! (and! now! Iraq)! and! that! those! operations! were! conducted! in! threat! environments! that! could! be! euphemistically! called! non<permissive,! the! general! objective! of! setting! conditions! for! a! safe! and! secure! environment! were! largely! unchanged!from!missions!that!were!conducted!in!the!Caribbean,!the!Balkans,!and!Africa!both! before!and!during!this!same!period!of!time:!missions!that!have!been!traditionally!considered! ‘peace! operations.’! What! separated! missions! like! Operation! HALO! (Canada’s! contribution! to! stability!operations!in!Haiti!in!2004)!and!Operation!ATHENA!(Canada’s!contribution!to!ISAF!in! Afghanistan! from! 2003<2011)! was! the! threat! environment,! not! the! training! or! the! degree! of! professional!military!education!held!by!the!soldiers.!Indeed,!the!interpersonal!skills,!the!posture! and! attitudes! of! individual! soldiers! and! commanders! in! the! field,! and! the! emphasis! on! small! unit,! dismounted! patrolling! as! ways! in! which! to! connect! with! local! populations! and! local! security! forces! were! the! same.! Soldiers! in! Afghanistan! were! employing! the! same! skills! as! soldiers!deployed!to!Haiti.!!! Yes,! changes! in! the! threat! environment! do! necessitate! some! changes! in! training,! but! these!are!primarily!at!the!tactical!level!and!are!accounted!for!through!the!on<going!process!of! mission<specific! training:! the! training! that! units! undergo! as! part! of! their! pre<deployment! training.! Moreover,! as! the! changes! in! the! threat! environment! are! most! acute! at! the! tactical! level,!such!changes!are!rapid!and!hard!to!forecast.!In!short,!the!situation!is!dynamic.!History!is! replete!with!examples!of!threat!environments!changing!rapidly!from!semi<permissive!to!non< permissive! (and! back! again)! with! little! warning.! Prudent! training! would! then! include! contingencies!for!all!threat!environments!–!something!that!units!within!the!Canadian!Armed! Forces! do! on! a! daily! basis! already.! A! wholesale! focus! on! operations! in! a! semi<permissive! environment!would!not!be!doing!our!soldiers!any!favours,!indeed!it!would!be!an!assumption!of! greater!risk.!!! To!revitalize!the!debate!on!peace!operations!and!to!analyze!Canadian!capacities!in!this! area,! we’ve! designed! a! program! that! engages! directly! with! CAF! stakeholders! at! the! Peace! Support!Training!Centre,!as!well!as!UN!and!academic!experts.!Rather!than!enter!the!debate!on! whether! or! not! Canada! should! reengage! with! peacekeeping,! we# are# focusing# on# evolving# training#requirements,#including#topics#such#as#emerging#technologies,#regional#variation#in# conflict,#human#rights,#gender#awareness#etc.#Moreover,#we#will#examine#how#to#tighten#the# link# between# government# policy# and# operational# requirements# and# tease# out# the# training# implications#for#the#CAF#and#other#government#departments#(OGDs).#Finally,#we#will#tackle# the# question# of# how# Canada# can# add# value# to# peace# operations.! This! workshop! gathers! scholars,!practitioners!and!policy!experts!from!multidisciplinary!fields!to!assess!the!merits!and! implications!of!various!policy!options!on!Canada’s!role!in!training!peacekeepers!and!engaging!in! peace!operations.!Scholarly!articles!and!a!policy!report!will!summarize!the!group’s!findings.!! ! ,201 ! Location:!Vimy!Mess!! 9:0049:30% Conference%Registration%and%Coffee% % % 9:30410:00% Welcoming%Remarks% % Lieutenant4Colonel%Brian%Healy,!Commandant,!Peace!Support!Training!Centre! ! Sarah4Myriam%Martin4Brûlé,!Associate!Professor,!Politics!and!International!Studies,!Bishop’s! University!!! ! Stéfanie%von%Hlatky,%Assistant!Professor!and!Director,!Centre!for!International!and!Defence!Policy! % 10:00412:00% Presentations%Theme%1% % Presenter%and%Moderator:%% Marie4Joëlle%Zahar,%Professor,!Université!de!Montreal!and!Senior!Expert!on!Power!Sharing,!2013! Standby!Team!of!Mediation!Experts!Department!of!Political!Affairs,!United!Nations! ! How%can%peace%operations%adapt?% Alexandra%Novosseloff,!Senior!Visiting!Fellow,!Center!on!International!Cooperation,!New!York! University:!What$are$some$gaps$and$traps$in$UN$peace$operations?!! ! Arnaud%Laloum,!Chief!Joint!Mission!Analysis!Center!in!MINUSCA,!Central!African!Republic:!How$do$ missions$adapt$to$changing$security$conditions?$ $ Nadia%Assouli,!Research!and!Liaison!Unit,!UN!Operations!and!Crisis!Center:!How$does$the$UN$ determine$the$most$pressing$crises$in$need$of$intervention?$ % 12:00413:00% Lunchtime%Roundtable%History#of#Peacekeeping#Training% % Speakers%from%the%History%Department%at%the%Royal%Military%College%of%Canada:%% Magali%Deleuze,!Associate!Professor,!Historical$background$of$first$ad$hoc$peacekeeping$missions$ (195081970)$ ! Robert%Martyn,!Adjunct!Professor,!Peacekeeping$in$the$Cold$War’s$Shadow$ $ Howard%Coombs,!Assistant!Professor,$Peacekeeping$training$after$1990`$ ! Bus!transportation!will!be!provided!for!anyone!attending!the!conference!in!the!morning!and!evening!on!both! October!20th!and!October!21st.!The!bus!will!be!departing!at:! • 8:30!am!at!Robert!Sutherland!Hall!on!Queen’s!University!campus!located!at!138!Union!St.! • 8:45!am!at!Four!Points!by!Sheraton!located!at!258!King!St.!East.! Please!arrive!prior!to!departure!times.!Transportation!will!also!be!provided!at!the!end!of!day!to!both!locations. ! ! 13:00414:30% Presentations%Theme%2% % Presenter%and%Moderator:%% Walter%Dorn,!Professor,!Royal!Military!College!of!Canada,!Kingston,!Ontario! ! How%can%the%armed%forces%bridge%training%cultures%and%local%contexts?% Kristine%St4Pierre,!Consultant!and!former!Pearson!Centre!trainer,!Ottawa,!Ontario:!Is$diversity$and$ identity$a$force$multiplier$in$peace$support$operations?$ $ Hans%Christian%Breede,!Assistant!Professor,!Royal!Military!College,!Kingston,!Canada:!Canadian$ special$operations$forces$as$peacekeepers?$ $ Kjell%Pedersen,!Lieutenant!Colonel,!Commandant!NODEFIC:!What$are$the$challenges$to$designing$ training$for$peacekeepers?$ % 14:30415:00% Coffee%and%Snacks% % % 15:00417:00% Wrap4Up%Discussion% % % 19:00% Dinner%at%Curry%Original%% % Location:!253!Ontario!St,!Kingston!ON% ! 1 Location:!Vimy!Mess!! 9:00410:30% Presentations%Theme%3% % Presenter%and%Moderator:%% Hans%Christian%Breede,!Assistant!Professor,!Royal!Military!College!of!Canada!and!Deputy!Director,! Centre!for!International!and!Defence!Policy! ! What%do%peacekeepers%need%in%the%field?% Gaëlle%Rivard%Piché,!Security!sector!reform!expert!and!Defence!Scientist!at!DRDC:!Is$interoperability$ possible$across$civilian$and$military$partnerships?$ ! Robert%J.%Cannon,!Chief!of!Mission!Support!(retired),!United!Nations!Operation!in!Cote!d'Ivoire:!How$ can$the$UN$best$support$peacekeeping$missions?$ ! PSTC:!What$is$the$added$value$of$Canada$in$peace$support$operations?$ % 12:00413:00% Lunch% % % 13:00414:00% Weapons%Training%Familiarization%at%the%Peace%Support%Training%Centre% % % 14:00415:30% Wrap4up,%Next%Steps%and%Farewell% ! ! Names% Contact%Information% Assouli,!Nadia! [email protected]! Breede,!H.!Christian! [email protected]! Cannon,!Robert! [email protected]! Coombs,!Howard! [email protected]! Deleuze,!Magali! [email protected]! Dorn,!Walter! [email protected]! Healy,!Brian!(LCol)! [email protected]! von!Hlatky,!Stéfanie! [email protected]! Laloum,!Arnaud! [email protected]! Martin<Brûlé,!Sarah<Myriam! [email protected]! Martyn,!Robert! [email protected]! Novosseloff,!Alexandra! [email protected]! Pedersen,!Kjell! [email protected]! Rivard!Piché,!Gaëlle! [email protected]! St<Pierre,!Kristine! [email protected]! Zahar,!Marie<Joëlle! Marie<[email protected]! ! Defence Engagement Program .