Army war college hosts workshop on protection of civilians during conflicts
The Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) in collaboration with the Centre for Civilians in Conflict has organized a 2-day workshop on the protection of civilians in conflict.
The workshop which held at Army War College Nigeria premises was facilitated by resource persons from the Centre for Civilians in Conflict, including Col Tom Shepherd (rtd) from Washington DC, Mr Tunde Ojei-Country Director of CIVIC, Wg Cdr Salmanu Musa (rtd) and Dr Sarem Ugoh.
The aim of the workshop was to build the capacity of members of faculty on protection of civilians in conflict and improve their capacity to impart the knowledge and understanding on participants of Army War Course.
The workshop was attended by all members of faculty, AWCN and 3 faculty members from the Air Force War College. The workshop was declared open by the Commandant Army War College Nigeria, Maj Gen C Ofoche who was represented by the Director of Studies (DOS) Brig Gen WM Dangana. In his welcome address, he admonished participants to take advantage of the workshop to improve their capacity and bridge the existing knowledge gaps on the subject of protecting civilians in conflict.
The workshop featured lectures, group discussions and exercises. The topics covered include the Strategic Value of Protecting Civilians, Understanding and Tracking Civilian Harm, Managing the Consequences of Civilian Harm: Amends, and Tactical and Operational Planning for Civilian Harm Mitigation during Operations. The facilitators emphasized on the relevance of planning with key considerations on the protection of civilians in all operations. The making of amends to correct a wrong act or harm was stressed by the facilitators which is believed would go a long way to build confidence and restore fruitful civil-military relationship in area of operations.
The Commandant AWCN, Maj Gen C Ofoche gave the closing remarks during the closing ceremony. In his remarks, he discussed the premium placed on the value of human lives, which he noted has virtually disappeared from the thinking of most persons. He urged participants to reflect on the need to place high preview on human lives and work towards restoring that value in the society. After 2-days of intensive training and knowledge sharing, participants were presented with certificate by the team leader, Col Tom Shepherd (rtd).
Source: Security Monitor Nigeria
