Oct 17, 2023 | Education, Human Rights
With the diploma presentation ceremony, the course on civil-military cooperation by OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, has come to an end for the second consecutive year in l’Alfàs del Pi. This event was organized by the Helsinki Spain association, the Ministry of Defense, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
Over the course of a week, 24 individuals were trained in organizing civil-humanitarian coordination actions in emergency situations.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is the UN Secretariat’s arm responsible for mobilizing and coordinating the response of humanitarian actors to emergencies.
OCHA’s responsibilities after a disaster, at the request of the affected country, include assessing needs, forwarding requests for humanitarian aid funding to other agencies, organizing donor meetings and monitoring mechanisms, overseeing the status of contributions made in response to requests, and providing reports as events unfold.
From the l’Alfàs del Pi City Hall, the Councilor for Association Relations, Patrick de Meirsman, expressed gratitude to Helsinki Spain for hosting this course in the municipality for the second year, where experts in international humanitarian assistance in emergency situations are trained. De Meirsman attended the closing ceremony, held at a hotel in l’Alfàs del Pi, alongside María Jaén and Ángela Suárez, representatives of the Helsinki Spain association.
Sep 18, 2023 | Human Rights
“Challenges and Threats to International Security: Building Critical Thinking from the University” is an event funded by the General Secretariat for Defense Policy of the Ministry of Defense. Its objective is to enhance knowledge about current challenges and threats to international security, encourage analysis and critical thinking, and engage young people in key issues in today’s international security. The sessions will be led by representatives from the Ministry of Defense, the Higher Center for National Defense Studies, the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies, and security experts.
If you’re interested in delving into the major global threats that jeopardize peace and international security, understanding the impact of disinformation on contemporary democracies through the use of social media, and learning about the risks associated with new hybrid warfare strategies, you shouldn’t miss this activity.
With a duration of approximately 5 hours, there will be three sessions led by experts, followed by one university debate session. The project focuses on fostering critical thinking to enhance the analytical and argumentative abilities of the participants. To achieve this, at the end of the event, different groups will be formed among the attendees to discuss issues previously raised during the event.
The event will take place on Monday, October 9th, from 08:30 AM to 02:00 PM at the Higher Center for National Defense Studies (Paseo de la Castellana, 61, 28046, Madrid).
Register here or via email at helsinkiespana@helsinkiespana.org
Jun 27, 2022 | Human Rights, REACT
Faced with the current conflicts that threaten international peace, in L’Alfàs del Pi people from different corners of the world met with the aim of addressing the XXVI edition of REACT, Rapid Expert Assistance and Co-operation Teams, a training program of five weeks on peace processes and conflict prevention, organized by the Helsinki Spain Association, with the aim of improving the capacities of the participants in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, as well as the protection of civilians in armed conflicts and, strengthen the competence and confidence of the members when dealing with risk and/or critical situations effectively, as would happen when working in peacekeeping missions.
With 26 editions of the course behind us, we have had the pleasure of having experts from international organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union, OSCE and NATO, as well as diplomatic military personnel, members of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other NGOs. humanitarian organizations, as well as independent consultants and staff from different international universities.
Until June 26, the program has been developed at the Social Centre Playa del Albir thanks to the collaboration of the Department of Cooperation and Volunteering of the City Council of L’Alfàs del Pi, where six of the seven modules based on training in conflict prevention were included and peacebuilding, international law, protection of civilians, current conflicts and threats to international peace and security, key actors and their contribution to international peace and security, and tools for sustainable peace.
The seventh and final module called HEAT, Hostile Environment Awareness Training, will take place in Los Ángeles de San Rafael, Segovia, from June 27 to July 1, thanks to which students will participate in simulations to learn how to deal with the risks associated and other critical or emergency situations during mission deployment, covering skills and competencies on how to act in the event of kidnapping, hostage taking and encounters with weapons, mines and explosives; going through the acquisition of knowledge on first aid in hostile environments and orientation and communication in the field; to driving an SUV and defending against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.
In Spain, REACT is the only training course of these characteristics, having trained nearly 500 people throughout its 26 editions. The Helsinki Spain Association has worked under the conviction of the transforming power of education and the need to train people from all kinds of countries and situations in conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict, as the best instrument within our power to contribute to global peacebuilding efforts.
May 31, 2022 | REACT
Yesterday we launched the 26th edition of our REACT program.
The inauguration took place in the locality of El Albir in Alfaz del Pi, Alicante, Spain. The session began with opening remarks by Ms. Martine Mertens, who welcomed all attendees on behalf of the Alfaz del Pi City Council. Subsequently, the President of Helsinki España, Ms. Maria Jaen, took the floor and officially announced the beginning of the program. On behalf of the entire Helsinki España team, she welcomed all guests and expressed special appreciation towards Under-Secretary for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, whose presence, she kindly remarked, made the launch of this year’s edition “my most special opening to date”. Ms Martine Mertens then introduced and gave the floor to USG Lacroix.
“In the face of contemporary challenges, all of us working on conflict prevention, crisis management, peacekeeping and peacebuilding should strive to nurture our skills, share lessons learned, and foster new partnerships. This is why programs like REACT are so important and why all of us in the Department of Peace Operations welcome the opportunity to partner with Helsinki España,” said Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix. At the end of his address, he addressed this year’s participants: “Mindset and motivation – these are critical elements for success in peace missions”, he added. “I hope that many of you will serve in our missions.”
REACT is Helsinki España’s flagship international peacebuilding program: a comprehensive 220h in-person training on Conflict Prevention, Crisis Management, and post-Conflict Rehabilitation. It was launched in 2003 by proposal from Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation with support from the OSCE and the United Nations, with the aim of equipping selected professionals with the skills and competencies required to deploy in international peace operations. This year’s edition will last from May 30th to July 1st, with its first four weeks taking place in Alicante.
What makes this month-long program unique, besides being imparted by high-profile experts and trainers from international and public institutions – including numerous UN agencies; the OSCE, EU, NATO, and ICRC; and Spain’s ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs – is that it represents an opportunity for both career development as well as career transition and is the only training program of its kind that takes place in Spain. The 2022 cohort includes students from 11 different nationalities: from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States; to Cameroon, Nigeria, Syria, and India, among others.
Over the past 19 years, Helsinki España has successfully organized 25 REACT editions, training over 500 professionals from 70+ countries (including during COVID-19). Attesting to the success of the program, today REACT alumni (the majority of whom are women) are deployed in 85+ countries; operate virtually within all sectors (public, private, NGO) and at all levels (from entry-level to senior management); and represent one of Spain’s main contributions to human-centred international peace and security efforts. Together with Helsinki España staff, diplomatic corps, local authorities, and media, some alumni had come from as far as Nigeria and India to attend the inauguration of the program with USG Lacroix.
USG Lacroix arrived in Spain on Sunday May 29th – on the date the UN commemorates the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to recognize the service and sacrifice of the more than one million personnel who have served under the blue flag since 1948, and to honour the memory of those peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.
This year, the United Nations will mark the occasion under the theme People Peace Progress: The Power of Partnerships to highlight the importance of partnerships – with Member States, local communities, regional organizations, NGOs and civil society, and within the UN system – in building and sustaining peace and achieving peacekeeping mandates.
Candidates interested in participating in REACT 2023 can already submit their applications. For more information about the program, visit its official profile on ReliefWeb.
Dec 9, 2021 | Human Rights
On November 16, the “Serge Lazareff” award of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was delivered in Torrejón de Ardoz.
The Alliance recognizes with this distinction the relevant contribution of the awardees to NATO’s legal affairs. Among the awardees, we highlight our President Maria Jaen, the only civilian woman awarded for her contribution to the Alliance’s legal department.
The awards were presented by Andrés Muñoz Mosquera, Director of the Legal Department of the Headquarters Allied Forces Europe (SHAPE).
This award was created in 2017 by NATO in honor of French jurist Serge Lazareff, who was General Eisenhower’s interpreter during his military service as a French Army officer in World War II.
With this award, we recall the importance of civilian collaboration in peacekeeping processes and the promotion of human rights at the international level.
