2nd General Assembly of ALCOPAZ
The second General Assembly of the Latin American Association of Peacekeeping Operations Training Centers (ALCOPAZ) was held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, from August 09-13, 2010.
ALCOPAZ is an organization whose members are peacekeeping centers from Latin America and the Caribbean. The member states are: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. The observers are: Canada, the USA, France and Russia. The Association is fundamentally oriented to the training of members of the Armed Forces, Security Forces and Civilian Personnel who take part in Peacekeeping Operations under the aegis of the United Nations.
The Brazilian Peacekeeping Operations Joint Center had the collaboration of other military organizations in order to carry out the General Assembly. Fort Copacabana, the Center of Personnel Studies, the Army Advanced School and the War College illustrate that support, which very much contributed to the success of the event.
During the Assembly, there were presentations of representatives of the member states of ALCOPAZ, of the UN staff, of Pearson Institute (Canada), and of other actors of the multidimensional environment which characterize the complex nature of peacekeeping operations. In this context, the program facilitated the subject matter exchange, contributing to a greater regional integration when it comes to preparation and training for UN PKOs.
At the end of the week, the minute of the Assembly was signed, highlighting topics for the improvement of trainings focusing PKOs, and also registering the handover of the presidency and secretariat pro tempore from the Federative Republic of Brazil to the Republic of Chile.
Therefore, this event turned out to be significant since it strengthened the Association and contributed to the dissemination of lessons learned in Peacekeeping Operations under the aegis of the United Nations.
