About the Programme
The International Training Programme on Peacebuilding and Good Governance for African Civilian Personnel (hereafter ITPPGG) was established in 2002 by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (hereafter UNDESA), NY, as a response to the increasing need for well-trained, professional and responsible African civilian personnel to be deployed in international field missions. UNDESA remains the executing agency and the Project will continue to be implemented by two partner institutions, i.e. the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA) of the University of Ghana , Legon , Ghana , and the International Training Programme for Conflict Management of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa , Italy .
During its First, Second and Third Phases, the ITPPGG was able to run satisfactorily the following courses: 8 Foundation Courses, 8 Training-of-Trainers Workshops and 7 Specialization Courses on Election Observation; Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants; Course for Correction Officers and Law Enforcement Officers.
In positive acknowledgement of the ITPPGG’s successful training courses and activities, a fruitful collaboration has been established with international, regional and national organizations to support their mechanism for conflict prevention, management and resolution. To this end, the ITPPGG carried out pre-mission trainings for the personnel of peace support operations already assigned to specific field missions in Africa. In particular, staff of the ITPPGG was invited by the Special Representative of the Secretary General in Ethiopia and Eritrea to develop and deliver two customized training workshops - from 8th to 11th July 2003 and from 10th to 14th November 2003 respectively - on “Human Rights, Conflict Resolution and Protection of Vulnerable Groups” for the personnel of the United Nation Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). Moreover, in 2004 and 2005, ITPPGG experts carried out Training Needs Assessment Missions to the ECOWAS Headquarters, Abuja, Nigeria, and to the African Centre for Applied Research and Training in Social Development (ACARTSOD), Tripoli, Libya, respectively.
The ITPPGG also developed a productive relationship with the United Nations Volunteers Office in Bonn (Germany), the African Standby Roster for Humanitarian Assistance (AFDEM), the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana. In March 2006 and September 2007 two courses on “Law Enforcement Officers” were jointly organized and delivered with KAIPTC with the financial contribution of the Italian Embassy in Ghana.
On January 2008 the Fourth Phase of the Programme begun. This is supposed to run until March 2009.
The ITPPGG is a member of the Association of Peace Support Training Agencies (APSTA) and in the near future the ITPPGG hopes that the African Union will formally recognize it as a “Centre of Excellence” responsible for training the civilian component of peace support operations, as per Article 13, Paragraph 14, of the ‘Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.