CARABINIERI

Copyright 2008 - Carabinieri
COESPU
Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (CoESPU)

Gen. A. Chinotto barracks

On the 1st of March 2005 the Carabinieri Force has established in Vicenza, into the "Gen. A. Chinotto" barracks, the "Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units".
This Center, currently led by Brigadier General Umberto Rocca, stems from an Italian initiative, supported by other G8 countries, taken during the last summit of Sea Island, as part of a wider project of the International Community to provide technical and financial assistance in order to increase global capacity for sustaining peace support operations, with an emphasis on African countries.

Framework

The persistence of conflict in many developing countries, a phenomenon that has come to seem particularly endemic to parts of Africa, raises questions about how to maintain peace and stability in order to foster social development and economic growth for the future.
Many initiatives have been planned to spur development, encourage good governance, promote regional partnerships and create political relationships with developed and democratic countries. However, world leaders have recognized that we are facing a critical need for greater capacity to maintain stability in countries emerging from crisis.
Bearing this in mind, leaders of the G-8 countries at the 2002 Kananaskis Summit made a pledge to " Provide technical and financial assistance so that, by 2010, African countries and regional and sub-regional organizations are able to engage more effectively to prevent and resolve violent conflicts on the continent." At the 2004 Sea Island Summit, G-8 leaders formally adopted the "G-8 Action Plan: Expanding Global Capability in Peace Support Operations", which demonstrated the commitment of G-8 nations to increase global capacity for sustaining peace support operations with an emphasis on African countries. Specifically, the G-8 Action Plan pledged to train 75,000 international peacekeepers by 2010, 7,500 of whom will be gendarme-type peacekeepers specializing in managing the transition from a post-crisis situation to a more stable context for reconstruction.
Clearly, the G-8's ambitious project will require increased peacekeeping skills in those countries whose forces could be available for deployment in Peace Support Operations (PSO). It will be necessary to foster the creation of Carabinieri/Gendarmerie-type forces prepared for rapid deployment, self-sustained logistics, interoperability with military components, and the capability to establish a strong police presence in hostile neighbourhoods.