Washington, DC - The Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and the Department of Defense’s Office of the Secretary of Defense are co-hosting annual Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) Worldwide Consultations at the State Department on June 11–15, 2018. Participants from the Department of State, Department of Defense, other key U.S. government organizations, and the United Nations are discussing the evolving nature of peacekeeping; ways to strengthen performance and operational readiness of peacekeeping units; and efforts to address sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers. Participants will also review ongoing GPOI activities, share implementers’ best practices, and discuss program priorities for the years ahead.
As the U.S. Government’s primary global investment for strengthening international peacekeeping capacity and capabilities, GPOI’s positive impact can be seen in virtually every UN or regional organizations’ peace operation around the world today. The GPOI program accomplishes this goal by enhancing partner country capabilities to effectively train, deploy, and sustain peacekeepers and by building the capacity of the UN and regional organizations to conduct peacekeeping missions.
GPOI has created a tangible return on investment by helping to expand the base of capable peacekeepers. For example, GPOI partners have increased their military deployment rates to UN and African Union (AU) peace operations by 165 percent since becoming GPOI partners. Additionally, GPOI is helping the majority of its partner countries develop critical enabling capabilities that are in short supply in UN and regional peace operations, such as aviation, engineering, logistics, and medical support. GPOI is also helping partner countries recognize the important role women play in peace operations. For example, since 2010, active GPOI partners have increased the number of female military peacekeepers deployed by 66 percent.
