NEW YORK, DECEMBER 14 – The experience of the Carabinieri and the Italian Army at NATO Centers of Excellence serving the cause of UN peace operations was on the agenda of a meeting hosted today by the Permanent Mission of Italy at the UN in New York with the Directors of NATO Centers of Excellence for Assistance to the Security Forces (SFA COE) and the Stability Police (SP COE), Colonel Massimo Di Pietro and Colonel Giuseppe De Magistris, representatives of the United Nations Department for Peace Operations (DPO) and the Defence Attachés and Military Advisers of the Permanent Representations of Italy (General Fabrizio Parrulli), Austria, Finland, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
During the meeting – opened by the Italian Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador Stefano Stefanile, and the Head of the NATO Liaison Office at the UN, Ambassador Michal Miarka – the main activities of the two Centres in the field of training and the potential for cooperation with the relevant United Nations structures have been outlined.
The Security Forces Assistance Centre, based in Cesano di Roma, is an essential NATO reference hub to coordinate activities and to offer operational support to the Alliance’s efforts for stabilisation and reconstruction in crisis scenarios. Inaugurated in 2019, it is mainly sposored by Italy, Albania and Slovenia and operates under the coordination of the Italian Army. In order to broaden the scope of its activities and to ensure that they are as inclusive as possible, the Centre also cooperates with universities and civil society organisations, conducting training activities for instructors and technical personnel of other nations employed in peacekeeping operations.
The Stability Policing Centre of Excellence is a multinational military facility led by the Carabinieri Corps. Eight other countries (the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Poland, Romania, Spain, the Netherlands and Turkey) are participating. The Stability Policing is one of the key functions of Atlantic Alliance operations, aimed at strengthening or replacing the security forces of the host country that are not able to carry out police and public security tasks, ensuring compliance with the law and the proper functioning of local institutions.
The meeting included a discussion session with the delegation of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO), led by Colonel Stephanie Tutton, Head of the NATO Liaison Office at the UN, and the military expert at the EU Delegation to the UN, Colonel Antonio Coppola.
The central role played by Italy in the context of the two Centres of Excellence is yet another example the major contribution of the Country to peacekeeping and security: Italy is the first supplier of blue helmets among Western countries, seventh contributor to the budget of peacekeeping and proactive partners in the training activities of UN personnel employed in peacekeeping missions. (@OnuItalia)