An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 18 | REPORt & PhOtOS BY SGT RENA KENNEDy, DF PRESS OFFICE GROUP PhOtO: ARMN BILLY DOYLE, 105 SQN T he 9th international train-the-trainers course in human rights for military person- nel on peace-support operations took place in the United Nations training School Ireland (UNtSI) from 8th – 17th September. the course was delivered through a series of lectures, workshops and syndicate presentations, with involvement from the Irish human Rights Commission, Defence Forces Legal Service and subject-matter experts Comdt Rory Finnegan and Capt Deirdre Carbery. The Defence Forces demands the highest standards of conduct from its personnel at all times, whether serving at home or overseas. Consequently, a comprehensive approach to human rights training has been adopted, incorporating a founda- tion course for inclusion on all junior command courses; an induction course for all personnel prior to deploying overseas; a pre-deployment (refresher) course for subsequent overseas trips; and a train-the-trainers course to maintain the standards of those involved in imparting human rights training. All training is based on the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) model for training national and international human rights training staff. This training is underpinned by the Defence Forces' Human Rights Handbook for Peace Operations and includes the Peace Support Operations – Human Rights Card for soldiers, and a copy of the UN secretary general's bulletin Special Measures for Protection of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Prior to all overseas deployments, Defence Forces personnel also receive training in cultural awareness, gender-based violence and a code of conduct based on the UN's standard generic training module. Each Soldier is also issued with the UN peacekeeper's card, which details the standards of behaviour required of all peacekeeping personnel. One of the principal instructors on the course was Maj Janie des Jardins from the Canadian Armed Forces, who has extensive overseas experience working in human rights and served in SFOR, ISAF, UNMIS (Sudan) and MINUSTAH (Haiti) missions. Her human rights experience stems from Afghanistan in 2007 where she worked with the Ministry of Women Affairs, trying to help them to set up regional offices. With UNMIS in South Sudan she was deployed with the child protection office, where she says she learned a lot from civilian UN workers about the cultural aspects of human rights and how to interact and intervene with street children or how to empower women groups without compromising their security or their acceptance within the community. In her last two deployments, in Haiti, Maj des Jardins learned about human rights issues affecting military personnel during natural-disaster response. She is currently working with the Field Support Group of the Influence Activities Task Force and is completing a master's degree in international humanitarian assis- tance at York University, UK. She is particularly inter- ested in the use of information technology to facilitate co-ordination of humanitarian efforts to prepare for, and respond to, natural disasters. Major Janie Des Jardins, Canadian Armed Forces Instructors from the Irish Human Rights Commission

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