Training:

USIP’s training employs a mission-oriented, relationship-based approach — where every skill developed fosters trust and cooperation among conflicting parties, while managing the conflict itself — and is designed to meet the specific needs of complex peacekeeping operations. The curriculum focuses on building community trust and combatting misinformation in mission contexts through five core modules:

1. Mission Mandate, Human Rights, and Cultural Contexts
2. Bias, Power Dynamics, and Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
3. Effective Communication in Peacekeeping
4. Conflict Style, Analysis, and Management
5. Mediation in Practice.

The training typically lasts one week and is participant-centered, immersive, practical and scenario-based. USIP’s training is regularly singled out for its effectiveness and impact. 

Goal and Impact:

The CMTP program fills a major gap in pre-deployment training, which frequently excludes in-depth training on troop professionalization. With historically significant — and now growing — tension between peacekeeping mission personnel and communities, the program is a critical resource for mission leadership to more effectively prevent and resolve conflict and reduce threats to both civilians and peacekeepers. USIP’s training reinforces key components of the U.N.’s Core Pre-deployment Training Materials to further prepare peacekeepers to effectively execute their mission. The impact and reach of USIP’s program are significant by shaping troops' transition from delivering a national defense function to adopting an international peacekeeping ethos while strengthening U.S. engagement with partner nations. 

• Nearly 10,000 soldiers have been trained from 22 African militaries, including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
• Hundreds of soldiers from three Indo-Pacific militaries — Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nepal — have received the training.
• The soldiers who have been trained by USIP (through more than 265 trainings to date) have deployed to eight of the most important international peacekeeping missions, including: the U.N. missions in Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Lebanon; the joint African Union/U.N. mission in Darfur; the African Union mission in Somalia; and the ECOWAS mission in Gambia. 
• USIP is training cadre of English- and French-speaking trainers to serve as course facilitators aiming to institutionalize training capacities and ensure sustainability beyond U.S. government engagement. These trainers will continue delivering the course under the auspices of the African Union and regional commissions. 

Examples of feedback/impact include:

“Every single peacekeeper who deploys in this battalion, and others, should receive this training because it saves lives,” Intelligence officer from Malawi battalion, deployed 2022.

“[Mediating an inter-tribal conflict] … highlights the critical importance of strong communication and negotiation skills in peacekeeping operations. By actively listening, building trust and facilitating dialogue, U.N. military soldiers can contribute significantly to conflict resolution, community engagement and the overall success of the mission.” Indonesian soldier in MONUSCO, deployed in 2022.