The MONUSCO Strategic Planning Cell, in collaboration with the Department of Peace Operations, through the Policy, Evaluation and Training Division based at United Nations Headquarters in New York, organized a training session on Tuesday, April 14 in Beni, in North Kivu Province, for the Mission’s military and police personnel on a new operations planning tool.
The aim of the training is to help peacekeepers improve operational planning, measure impact, and adapt interventions based on concrete and verifiable data, with the ultimate goal of strengthening the protection of civilians.
In total, 16 participants took part in the training session. Among them were 9 officers (3 women and 6 men) from the military staff, from the Force Headquarters, as well as 7 United Nations police officers (3 women and 4 men).
The training was facilitated by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Heer, a military training expert at the Department of Peace Operations at United Nations Headquarters in New York, and Sarah Aver from MONUSCO’s Strategic Planning Cell in Kinshasa.
More operational planning aligned with field realities
According to Sarah Aver, this training responds to a critical need within peacekeeping missions. She believes the planning tool introduced to participants “allows the Mission to better plan its actions, measure their impact, and adjust operations based on concrete and verifiable data.”
“Developed to address the need for Missions to better demonstrate the effectiveness of peace operations, [this tool] is now deployed in all peacekeeping missions, including MONUSCO,” she emphasized.
She also stated that this training, which will also be organized in Bunia, “helps align operational planning with field realities, improve data collection and analysis, and better demonstrate the impact of operations carried out.”
“This approach contributes to strengthening the protection of civilians, improving the effectiveness of the fight against armed groups, and supporting evidence-based decision-making for the direct benefit of populations,” she added.
Identifying operational gaps
For his part, Colonel Asadullah Jamshed from MONUSCO Force Headquarters, who took part in the training, praised its relevance: “The training delivered today has been extremely useful to us. We now hope to use this tool more effectively to improve the operational performance of the Force.”
There was similar satisfaction from the police component. Andrée Lapointe, head of the specialized team on conflict-related sexual violence within UNPOL, said the tools learned during the training will help identify “operational gaps.”
“This training is essential because it allows me to master planning, monitoring, and reporting tools, while also identifying operational gaps. It will help strengthen accountability and support evidence-based decision-making, thereby ensuring that UNPOL’s actions are aligned with the mission’s priorities,” she said.
The training will continue in Bunia, where it will be expanded to other key mission actors, including military observers and community liaison assistants, in addition to military and police officers.
Sébastien KITSA MUSAYI
