Background

1.      The Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) was conceptualized and raised in the year 2000 with an aim to impart quality training to Indian Peacekeepers who are representing India in the multitude of United Nations Peacekeeping Missions all over the world. It is the nodal agency for United Nation pre-deployment training in India which conducts tailor made national and international courses for Indian Armed Forces officers, select personnel from all services, Central Armed Police Forces and officers from Friendly Foreign Countries (FFCs).

2.      The Centre is a joint venture of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Service Headquarters and serves as a Centre of Excellence in collaboration with Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) and various other Governmental and Non-Governmental agencies. The Centre offers a plethora of courses as part of pre deployment capsules for contingents, military observers and staff officers. Theme based Table Top Exercises, Field Training Exercises, Seminars and panel discussions on peacekeeping operations at the national and international level are a regular feature in the curriculum of the Centre in its yearly training calendar.

3.      To ensure world class training, the Centre has a pool of approximately 300 serving officers, senior retired officers and subject matter experts with experience of United Nations in military, police and diplomatic sphere. Officials from other agencies like United Nation Women, International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR) also form part of the Expert Panel.

4.      CUNPK is a member of International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centre (IAPTC) and Association of Asia Pacific Peacekeeping Training Centres (AAPTC). CUNPK has had the proud privilege of holding the Secretariat of IAPTC for two consecutive terms from 2006 to 2016.

5.      Vision.       To be India's premier integrated United Nations peace operations training institution incorporating best practices & impart hands on training to prospective United Nations peacekeepers at tactical, operational & strategic level.

6.      Mission.    To be an International Centre of Excellence for United Nations, promoting niche training, multinational collaboration & contemporary research in the field of United Nation peace operations.

Events and Activities

7.      In addition to training of own contingents, CUNPK has trained 1605 officers from 96 countries. At an average, 650 officers are imparted training every year. An overview of courses and other activities undertaken by the Centre is shown below.

8.      Courses.

Nodal Training Institute

9.      Student and Instructor Exchange.  The Institute engages in reciprocal exchange of students and instructors from friendly foreign countries for United Nations pre deployment courses on an annual basis.

10.    Mobile Training Teams.   CUNPK has been regularly deploying mobile training teams for training and capability development of potential troop contributing countries on bilateral basis as also at the behest of United Nations.

11.    Table Top & Field Exercises.   Exercises with friendly foreign countries are a regular feature on the event calendar of CUNPK. Bilateral and multilateral table top and field exercises are undertaken by the Centre in coordination with the concerned formations in India and overseas with an aim to increase cooperation, share best practices and enhance the global footprint of the Centre.

12.    Visits, Conferences and Seminars.  The Centre has a regular schedule of conferences and seminars with institutes like International Commission for Red Cross, United Nation Women, United Services Institute of India and various other organisations. Hosting foreign delegations to witness training is also undertaken from time to time.

Capacity Development Plan

13.    Training Enhancement.    In the short and medium term, the Centre aims at increasing the number of international engagements for training. These shall include courses under the United Nations umbrella, table top exercises, bilateral instructor exchange for capacity development of countries deploying contingents to mission areas and also seminars and webinars with Indian think tanks. CUNPK will be conducting two pilot courses namely the Contingent National Investigation Officers Course and the United Nations Contingent Commanders Course for international peacekeepers in collaboration with Global Peace Operations Initiative, United States of America and Integrated Training Services in 2022. With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Government of India and United Nations Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C⁴ISR) Academy, Entebbe, Uganda, CUNPK has been designated as the nodal Centre for capacity building and training of United Nations peacekeepers in collaboration with the C⁴ISR Academy. This will include conduct of training at New Delhi and Entebbe as well as exchange of instructors from India and other countries for United Nations peacekeepers.

14.    Infrastructure.  The Centre is presently in the process of expansion of its scope and capacity. The new campus is planned over a sprawling 10 acres with an outlay of approximately Rs 52 crores. The campus has been conceptualized as a Centre of Excellence with state of art infrastructure, auditoriums and classrooms and theme-based technology driven training laboratories. In the years to come, CUNPK shall expand its scope to creation of a resource hub and sponsoring research in the field of United Nations Peacekeeping.

Conclusion

15.    CUNPK has a vision and road map crafted for the next few years. The creation of infrastructure and revamp of the training curriculum will provide the required impetus towards achievement of the objective of turning the Centre into a premier research and training institute with world class standards.