UN Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support closes trial

training for peacekeeping military engineering units, in

Nairobi
Nairobi, 16 October 2015 - The trial training for the Triangular
Partnership Project, aimed at enhancing African rapid deployment of
engineering capability in peacekeeping, closed in Nairobi on Friday
16 October 2015, after a six-week programme.
Ten military personnel from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda
successfully completed the training and were presented with
certificates at the closing ceremony held at the Humanitarian Peace
Support School (HPSS) in Embakasi-Nairobi. The Guest of Honour for
the event was Mr. Anthony Banbury, the United Nations Assistant
Secretary-General for Field Support.
The Guest of Honour said the training would fast track deployment
of troops. The rapid deployment of engineering capabilities to
peacekeeping missions in Africa remains an urgent requirement. All
professional soldiers know that military operations cannot be
successful without logistics and without engineering. All too often in
our peacekeeping missions, we have good infantry units but we do
not have logistics and engineering capabilities to support them. And
this triangular partnership is designed to address that critical
shortfall, noted the Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support.
He added that delays in the deployment of UN troops due to lack of
infrastructure could reduce chances for peace and erode trust in the
international community, by populations living in stressed and
conflict environments. He emphasized, Rapid deployment of troops
into well situated and defended camps can greatly improve
conditions on the ground, build confidence, provide stability and
ensure that the United Nations is able to create and maintain peace.
This is a fundamental need that this project is designed to help
meet. Mr Banbury lauded the contributions of the Governments of
Japan and Kenya, the other partners for the training. He further said,
there will be now serious lessons learned study, we can draw the
benefits of the pilot project and build on that for the future and we
expect much bigger, more expansive effort.
The just concluded training is a prelude to several full-fledged
trainings, that will take place starting 2016, and which will equip
and deploy African military engineering units to UN peacekeeping
missions.
Speaking on behalf of the Japanese government, the Director of
Operations Support Division in the Ministry of Defence in Japan
Colonel Kazuo Sakai said the contribution by the Government of
Japan was in line with the governments policy on proactive

contribution to international peace and stability. Eleven Japanese

instructors trained the soldiers for the entire six weeks.
I am convinced that you have all been able to master advanced
skills and techniques, Col. Sakai told the trainees during the
passing out ceremony.
Brigadier Jonah Mwangi who represented the Kenya Defence Force
at the ceremony, described the event as an important milestone
towards the implementation of the rapid deployment concept. The
rapid deployment of engineering capability to United Nations and
African Union peacekeeping missions, particularly in Africa requires
timely response, he stated.
The military personnel received instructional lessons on the
operation and maintenance of heavy engineering equipment as well
as best practices on equipment handling and procurement
processes.
The trial training was conducted with additional support from the
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United
Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA), which, was
represented at the event by its Director of Mission Support, Amadu
Kamara.
END