Swiss scale up training for international peacekeepers
The government has decided to boost Switzerland’s commitment to international peacekeeping missions.
It agreed to extend an accord to support the International Peace Support Training CentreExternal link in Kenya.
As part of the agreement, the agreement aims to facilitate cooperation between the centre in Nairobi, Kenya, and three international peace institutions in the Swiss city of Geneva, notably the Centre for Security PolicyExternal link, the International Centre for Humanitarian DeminingExternal link and the Centre for Security Sector GovernanceExternal link as well as the training centre Swissint.
International training standards to help peacekeepers accomplish their United Nations mandate are crucial for Switzerland, the government said on Wednesday.
In a separate decision, the government has given the green light to increase the number of army officers stationed at the UN headquarters in New York from five to a maximum of nine experts.
Switzerland has dispatched unarmed military staff to the UN since 2014 to help develop the management of international peacekeeping missions.
The government said the demand for military expertise from UN members had increased over past few years and peace missions had become more complex, the government said.
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