NewzThe United Nations has urged newly trained military observer instructors to take their specialised peacekeeping knowledge back to their countries and strengthen national training systems. Course Director of the United Nations Integrated Training Service (UN ITS), Colonel Samson Adeola Salawu, made the call on Friday, August 28, at the closing ceremony of the 2026 United Nations Military Observers Training of Trainers (UNMO ToT) Course at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra. The two-week programme, held from 17 to 28 August, brought together 24 participants, including four officers from the Ghana Armed Forces and 20 international participants.
It was organised in collaboration with UN ITS and fully funded by Canada’s Ministry of National Defence. The training sought to equip participants with the skills to deliver the United Nations Military Observers Specialised Training Materials (UNMO STM) 2025 in national, regional and international peacekeeping institutions. Colonel Salawu said the programme was designed not only to transfer knowledge but also to develop participants into confident and capable instructors.
The course combined practical lesson delivery, peer feedback and mentoring with exposure to the full UNMO curriculum. Participants also took part in a tabletop exercise, assuming facilitation roles to simulate the organisation and delivery of similar training in their home institutions. According to Colonel Salawu, the approach ensured that participants graduated as “confident, practised, and capable trainers”.
He, however, stressed that completing the course was only the beginning of their responsibility. “The true measure of your success as trainers will not be determined solely by what you have learned within these walls; it will be defined by what you go on to do with this knowledge,” he said. He urged the graduates to cascade the training to future military observers and strengthen peacekeeping preparation in their respective countries.
“The United Nations is counting on each of you to serve as force multipliers, to deliver this training, to strengthen your national peacekeeping training systems, and to contribute to the broader goal of deploying better-prepared, more effective military observers to United Nations missions around the world,” he said. Colonel Salawu also encouraged participants to maintain t… The Deputy Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Brigadier General Lawrence Deku, has urged participants of the 2026 United Nations Military Observers Training of Trainers (UNMO ToT) Course to become ambassadors of United Nations training standards and ensure that the knowledge acquired is transferred to future peacekeepers.
He said effective peacekeeping begins long before deployment, stressing the critical role of training institutions in preparing military personnel for the increasingly complex demands of modern peace operations. Brigadier General Deku made the remarks at the close of the UNMO ToT Course held at KAIPTC, Ghana, from 17 to 28 August 2026, in collaboration with the United Nations Integrated Training Service (UN ITS). The course was fully funded by the Canadian Ministry of Defence and brought together 24 participants, including four officers from the Ghana Armed Forces and 20 international participants.
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