Roster Recruitment, Verification and Validation Exercise Launched

An EASF Civilian Roster Recruitment, Verification and Validation exercise was rolled out in Kampala, Uganda on 7th May 2019. The exercise, which is in line with EASF Calendar of Activities for 2019, was officially opened by Hon. Rt. Col. Charles Okello Engola, Minister of State for Defence of the Republic of Uganda.

Crisis situations can deteriorate to an extent that requires entities such as the African Union and Regional Mechanisms (RMs), such as EASF to intervene to maintain peace and stability in the region. The Eastern Africa Standby Force is a multidimensional organization, comprised of Police, Military and Civilian capabilities, on standby for such eventualities.

Recognizing that civilian expertise, which is often cross-cutting, is required for an array of peace and security operations, the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and RMs have established the African Standby Capacity.

One of the primary objectives of this mission is to recruit, verify, validate and roster experts who could be deployed into Peace Operations in the Eastern Africa Region and on the African continent. Rostering process involves recruitment, verification and validation of civilian capabilities in the ten EASF member states, whereby Uganda is one of them, for the purpose of generating a pool of civilian experts, ready to deploy, in the event of an unfolding crisis.

The Civilian Component of EASF, based in Nairobi, Kenya provides planning, training and deployment of civilian experts for peace support operations. Within a mission, the Civilian Component comprises of various key functions and interventions.

Some of the key substantive areas of the civilian dimension are areas to do with political affairs, rule of law, legal affairs, public information, economics, public administration, elections, humanitarian affairs, human rights, DDR, SSR, civil affairs, child protection, protection of civilians etc. Other areas have to do with Mission Support, which includes mission administration, logistics etc.

A 5-member team from EASF Secretariat in Kenya, led by the Head of Civilian Component Mr. Steve Lalande and assisted by the Ugandan Civilian National Focal Point Mr. Elias Mparana based in Kampala, will perform the exercise from 7th to 9th May 2019 in the Republic of Uganda.

Photo Gallery: Roster Recruitment, Verification and Validation Exercise Launched