Briefing Paper

Cultural Diversity in Peace Operations: Training Challenges

“The aim of this paper is to analyse what kind of mindset, skills and knowledge peacekeepers have to obtain, to become competent in unfamiliar multicultural contexts, and to explore how this competence might possibly be acquired through training. This is done against a brief background on the concept of culture and cultural diversity within peace operations. The relationships between culture and behaviour are then explored with reference to cases of sexual abuse by peacekeepers and the efficacy of the codes of conduct. Finally, existing approaches to cultural and human rights training for peacekeepers are evaluated, before suggesting some methodologies and approaches that may enhance the efficacy of cultural awareness training presented to peacekeepers.”