| See also... |
 Alumni platform Activities in 2008 Activities in 2007 |
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Following the significant increase in global insecurity over the past years and its impact on the staff and property of the United Nations, the UN Secretary General submitted in 2004 a number of recommendations to the UN General Assembly aimed at strengthening the security management system within the Organization. The Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) led by an Under Secretary General was established to enhance the security of all UN civilian personnel, including those serving in UN led peacekeeping operations. The proposed measures included a significant increase in the number of security officers both at HQs and the field, increased capabilities in threat and risk assessment, operational support, as well as more systematic training on safety and security for UN staff.
UNDSS has made significant progress in strengthening the security of UN personnel in all duty stations, including by developing a basic and an advanced Security in the field CD Rom/on-line training program that was made mandatory for all UN staff. In addition, the country level capacity has been strengthened by fielding additional security advisors and enhancing security structures in support of UN operations in the field. In spite of these efforts, UN personnel serving in countries with major security concerns (including countries with an ongoing UN peacekeeping operation) still lack comprehensive training on how to prevent security hazards or respond to a crisis situation. Approximately 30,000 UN civilian personnel are currently serving in peacekeeping missions around the globe, in addition to several thousand staff serving with UN Funds, Programs and Specialized Agencies in high risk volatile environments. In January 2007, in a joint effort aiming at filling this gap, the UN Department for Safety and Security and the UN System Staff College started their collaboration which resulted in the: a) Design and Development of a core Safety and Security learning curriculum for a 3-day training equally divided into theory and field practice, addressing such core modules as Radio Communications, Personal Security, Mines/Uxos /IED awareness, Travel, Convoy and Vehicle Security, UN Security Management System, Local security Update, Cultural awareness, Incidents management, Stress management, Security clearance procedures, Hostage survival, Basic First Aid and others. b) Design and implementation of a “Train the Trainers” Curriculum (ToT) for Security Officers, in order to create a pool of UN trainers who will be used for conducting training workshops in the field. Through this, UNDSS is therefore able to ensure rapid deployment of required training capacity in the case of a sudden security crisis, natural disaster or humanitarian emergency. This allows critical training of existing staff as well as ensures that all UN personnel entering the country or area receive appropriate security training. c) Customisation of the SSAFE curriculum in order to address the specificity of every duty station. To this purpose, UNDSS and UNSSC conduct joint missions in selected countries to help the respective training units customize the core safety and security learning curriculum. |