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    US delegation visits Mali

    United States delegation visits Mali

    Photo By Sgt. Danielle Rodrigues | United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was...... read more read more

    BAMAKO , MALI

    11.19.2015

    Courtesy Story

    U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

    BAMAKO, Mali – A delegation from the U.S. paid a visit to Mali to discuss tactical challenges in the region.
    During their visit the delegation joined the Military Police Advisors Community for a series of briefings at the MINUSMA headquarters.

    The delegation was led by Lt. Col. Stephanie Walker from the United Nations Military Staff Committee. The MSC represents the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the United Nations Military Staff Committee and advises the U.S. Permanent Representative and the staff of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations on military and security aspects of United Nations peacekeeping operations.

    Walker was accompanied by Dwight Raymonds from the Peacekeeping Stability Operations Institute, Maj. Christian Kelly from U.S. AFRICOM and Capt. Scott Saunders from United States Army Africa.

    PKSOI promotes the collaborative development and integration of Peace and Stability capabilities across the U.S. government and the international community in order to enable the success of future Peace and Stability activities and missions.

    “A major project that PKSOI is currently undertaking is an update the joint publication on peacekeeping operations, JP 3-07.3,” said Raymonds. “The current version is as of August 2012 and this update will be published in next 18-24 months. This trip to MINUSMA was very valuable because there will be some insights from this visit that will help support the rewrite effort and will be reflected in U.S. peacekeeping doctrine in the near future.”

    AFRICOM is one of six of the U.S. Defense Department's geographic combatant commands and is responsible to the Secretary of Defense for military relations with African nations, the African Union, and African regional security organizations. A full-spectrum combatant command, U.S. AFRICOM is responsible for all U.S. Department of Defense operations, exercises, and security cooperation on the African continent, its island nations, and surrounding waters.

    “AFRICOM has five accord series exercises,” said Kelly. “All of these exercises are peacekeeping exercises that are regionally aligned. We try to align these exercises with the UN mission that is in that area. With Western accord, we have aligned it with MINUSMA. So now our focus is on how we can best prepare a country that is about to send troops to that mission.”

    MINUSMA was established by Security Council resolution 2100 in 2013 to support political processes in Mali and carry out a number of security-related tasks. The Mission was asked to support the transitional authorities of Mali in the stabilization of the country and implementation of the transitional road map.

    After the adoption of resolution 2164 in 2014, the Mission shifted focus to duties such as ensuring security, stabilization and protection of civilians; supporting national political dialogue and reconciliation; and assisting the reestablishment of State authority, the rebuilding of the security sector, and the promotion and protection of human rights in that country.

    There are currently 10 U.S. service members assigned to MINUSMA as military staff officers. They serve in Bamako, Gao and Timbuktu. However, that number is expected to increase significantly in the near future.
    During the United Nations General Assembly in September, U.S. President Barack Obama convened a session on UN peacekeeping where he reaffirmed U.S. commitment to UN peacekeeping operations and announced a plan to expand U.S. support to peacekeeping operations.

    “As the largest financial contributor to the U.N. peacekeeping operations, the United States intends to continue to do its part,” said Obama. “And today, I’m issuing new presidential guidance - the first in more than 20 years - to expand our support for U.N. peace operations. Like the nations participating today, we’ll pledge additional resources. We’ll work to double the number of U.S. military officers serving in peacekeeping operations. We will offer logistical support, including our unrivaled network of air- and sea-lift. When there's an urgent need and we’re uniquely positioned to help, we’ll undertake engineering projects like building airfields and base camps for new missions. And we’ll step up our efforts to help build the U.N.’s capacity, from identifying state-of-the-art technology to offering training to protection against IEDs.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 11.19.2015
    Date Posted: 11.20.2015 03:34
    Story ID: 182316
    Location: BAMAKO , ML

    Web Views: 242
    Downloads: 0

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