JRR pilot training course

9-15 May 2009

The JRR Pilot Training Course was jointly organised on 9-15 May 2009 by JRR Coordinating Group members the Center for International Peace Operations (Zentrum für Internationale Friedenseinsätze, ZIF), the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) and No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ -Interim JRR Secretariat), with the financial support of the European Commission and the Governments of Canada, Estonia and Finland, in co-operation with the European Group on Training (EGT) at the Akademie Berlin Schmöckwitz.

The course had long been foreseen by the JRR Policy Group and Coordinating Group as an essential precondition to the establishment of the JRR roster. The JRR Coordinating Group approved a general outline of the course curriculum at its meeting in September 2008 which was refined in the intervening months by ZIF, IICI, NPWJ and Canada as the JRR Chair. The September Coordinating Group meeting also initiated the process of soliciting nominations of experts for the course from States and at its February 2009 meeting, the Coordinating Group selected the training course participants from a pool of nominees

The JRR Pilot Training Course was designed to meet three main purposes: (1) ensure a baseline of knowledge among potential experts to be deployed on a JRR mission, to fill any gaps that may exist in different kinds of expertise; (2) validate the format and curriculum of the training course, so that it may be refined and replicated elsewhere; and (3) validate the participants, with a view to their inclusion on the JRR roster when it is established.

At the conclusion of the course, all participants were certified as experts on the JRR roster and could now be deployed if a request is received.  The course served to create synergy between the participants, who, as the first members of the JRR roster, may find themselves working together on a JRR team in the future. It also provided an opportunity for participants, trainers and Observers to provide feedback on the course content and format which are summarized in this report and will help to improve future JRR training courses.

The Report: Assessment and Lessons Learnt from the JRR Pilot Training Course held on 9-15 May 2009 (Eng/French to follow) outlines the content of the course and details specific recommendations made by participants, trainers and observers to help improve future JRR training courses.