CCOPAB carries out Specific Preparation of Female Military Personnel for Peace Missions

Written by Webmaster on 08 December 2021.

Rio de Janeiro - From November 22 to December 3, 2021, the Brazilian Peace Operations Joint Training Center (CCOPAB, acronym in Portuguese) - Sergio Vieira de Mello Center -, a Brazilian Army Teaching Establishment, subordinate to the Department of Military Technical Education conducted the Course for Specific Preparation of Female Military Personnel for Peace Missions (EPESFMP, acronym in Portuguese).

This training, coordinated and supervised by the Land Operations Command and under the technical-pedagogical guidance of the Army Department of Education and Culture, aims at complying with what is prescribed in Resolution 1325, of October 31, 2000, of the United Nations Security Council; the following ten resolutions that cover the Women, Peace and Security Agenda; and the "Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy (UGPS)" initiative, all from the UN, which determined the increase of female participation in peace missions under the aegis of this International Organization.

Consequently, the EPESFMP had the objective of providing complementary specific knowledge to female soldiers, in order to enable them to participate in peace missions. The Sergio Vieira de Mello Center was responsible for providing them with competencies (mainly practical ones), demanding from them emotional control and resistance to fatigue in adverse situations, among other skills.

In order to increase the trainees' situational awareness, it is worth highlighting the participation of Professor Dr. Eduarda Hamann, General Coordinator of the Brazilian Research Network on Peace Operations (REBRAPAZ, acronym in Portuguese), and, by videoconference, of the following experts:

- Lieutenant General Affonso da Costa, Commander of the Military Component ("Force Commander") in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO);

- Diplomat/Counselor Viviane Rios Balbino, Head of the United Nations Division II, of the Ministry of External Relations; and

- Major Christiane Lima, CCOPAB instructor deployed in MONUSCO.
The EPESFMP had the participation of 22 trainees, 15 from the Brazilian Army and seven Military Policewomen from the following Brazilian states: Rio Grande do Sul, Acre, Bahia, Brazilian Federal District and Goiás.

TRANSLATION: CPT CAMILA PAIVA