Finland a host country for the Senior Mission Leaders course training UN peacekeeping mission leaders
Press Release 177/2010
4 June 2010
Finland will host a Senior Mission Leaders (SML) training course for UN integrated peacekeeping missions, to take place in Helsinki on 7–18 June. The opportunity to host this esteemed and sought-after course is recognition for Finland’s long-term commitment and contribution to UN crisis management and the country’s competence in training for military and civilian crisis management.
The aim of the Senior Mission Leaders course is to give attendees the preparedness to serve as leaders of UN peacekeeping missions. The 25 high-ranking military, police and civilian staff representing various countries who will attend the SML course in Helsinki have been screened from among many applicants. Finland, the host country, will send three participants: Brigadier General Kyösti Halonen (Defence Command of the Finnish Defence Forces), Ambassador Terhi Hakala from the Finnish Embassy to India and Commodore Jukka Savolainen (Finnish Border Guard). The UN has organized SML courses since 2005; the course to take place in Finland is the twelfth of its kind.
Demand for UN peacekeeping missions has increased in the past few years and the missions have become more challenging, broader and more multidimensional in scope. The role of police and civilian experts alongside military expertise has become highlighted, and the SML course programme focuses on joint action and coordination among varying mission components (military, police and civilian staff). The teaching is led by experienced individuals who have earned their spurs on UN assignments. During the two-week course, preparedness for posts of mission leadership is gained for instance by means of simulation. The Finnish speakers at the course will include President Martti Ahtisaari, Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, Minister Elisabeth Rehn and Member of Parliament Pekka Haavisto.
The UN Secretariat’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations is responsible for the course content. Finland is responsible for the practical arrangements of the course, which are coordinated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with the support of the Defence administration and the Ministry of the Interior. The venue will be the Maneesi premises of the Finnish National Defence University.
Additional information: Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Charles Murto, course coordinator, mobile tel. +358 40 742 5670, and First Secretary Anna Salovaara, mobile tel. +358 40 743 2635