1 00:00:00,630 --> 00:00:14,140 Our second speaker will be Captain Sophie Piper, who recently served with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. 2 00:00:14,140 --> 00:00:21,750 And Captain Piper was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in 2013, 3 00:00:21,750 --> 00:00:34,390 and she spent time serving in Germany on Operation Tosca as part of the UK support to the United Nations mission in Cyprus. 4 00:00:34,390 --> 00:00:41,750 She's also served in the pool with the Gurkha Welfare Trust and as a Gurkha programme manager in the UK. 5 00:00:41,750 --> 00:00:51,060 And her recent experience with the United Nations mission in South Sudan was as part of the UK operation to support it. 6 00:00:51,060 --> 00:00:55,050 Morning, everyone. Richard, thanks very much for the introduction and Dutch as well. 7 00:00:55,050 --> 00:00:58,790 Thank you much for a very insightful view on Sudan. 8 00:00:58,790 --> 00:01:04,800 So my presentation, I'm just going to talk and introduce you into what the role of the military 9 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:11,070 currently play on Iraq missions and specifically to my experience in South Sudan, 10 00:01:11,070 --> 00:01:25,330 and then talk about my experiences on Sudan and then kind of end with any key observations and hopefully open up the floor for some discussions. 11 00:01:25,330 --> 00:01:32,800 So there are seven kind of main responsibilities, which are all U.N. uniform persons have, 12 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:41,490 and they are to protect civilians and U.N. persons there to monitor disputed borders. 13 00:01:41,490 --> 00:01:51,810 That's your monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict zones that provide security during elections to assist in country. 14 00:01:51,810 --> 00:01:59,160 Military personnel on training and to assist ex combatants implementing peace agreements. 15 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:06,120 Now, in two thousand and eleven. South Sudan was considered a threat to the international peace and security. 16 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:11,510 So the UN's mandate mainly focussed on constitutional development. 17 00:02:11,510 --> 00:02:20,810 However, in 2014, the UN reprivatized its mandate and focussing towards protection of civilian human rights, 18 00:02:20,810 --> 00:02:28,610 monitoring and support for humanitarian aid and distribution assistance. 19 00:02:28,610 --> 00:02:36,500 So this change, the mandate kind of changed the way in which military personnel were were employed in South Sudan or utilised in South Sudan. 20 00:02:36,500 --> 00:02:41,240 And this then led to a change in or shift towards protecting, 21 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:50,460 monitoring and controlling around the protection of civilian accounts where the IDP were living. 22 00:02:50,460 --> 00:02:57,180 So you got numbers for a moment. So according to the U.N. Web site, in March 2020. 23 00:02:57,180 --> 00:03:07,290 And there are sixteen thousand and one hundred and seventeen uniformed personnel currently in South Sudan. 24 00:03:07,290 --> 00:03:13,320 Of that 16000, that's U.N. poll and also troop contributing countries. 25 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,700 Oh, that's sixteen thousand one hundred seventeen person. Seven percent. 26 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:24,880 Those are women. Now, the U.N. set out targets eyes by 2028. 27 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:34,370 They want to try and reach 15 percent of all military contingents who are deployed on U.N. operations to reach fifteen percent. 28 00:03:34,370 --> 00:03:41,570 So we've got eight years to pretty much double the numbers if we're using South Sudan's example. 29 00:03:41,570 --> 00:03:49,350 So I suppose we are on the right strategy. So with Gaza troop contributing countries are here. 30 00:03:49,350 --> 00:03:54,090 Who were the military base over in South Sudan? So obviously the military forces were bad. 31 00:03:54,090 --> 00:04:10,050 The top U.N. troop contributing countries to unnice were Rwanda and continue to be Rwanda, India, Ethiopia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Ghana. 32 00:04:10,050 --> 00:04:13,730 So what was I doing out that so just a little contact. 33 00:04:13,730 --> 00:04:20,550 So as Richard mentioned, I was part of the UK's commitment to to unnice. 34 00:04:20,550 --> 00:04:25,950 Our role was enablers. So we weren't what was considered kind of frontline security. 35 00:04:25,950 --> 00:04:30,270 We were enabling the UN to do their job correctly. 36 00:04:30,270 --> 00:04:36,120 And as an as an engineer, we were there to build hospitals of which we built the hospital, 37 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:44,000 which was accessible to 7000 U.N. staff, both civilian and military personnel as well. 38 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:56,600 So so my exposure was very kind of limited as to the job role in which the UK were were over there doing. 39 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:03,160 Our camp, however, was was pretty much opened up into the PSC. 40 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:08,250 You say, well, front gate every time you left. You went straight into the PIERCEY. 41 00:05:08,250 --> 00:05:13,770 So our Day-To-Day exposure with children was. Was it was it was quite a lot. 42 00:05:13,770 --> 00:05:18,210 They'd say it's there to the children actually. Which was really good. 43 00:05:18,210 --> 00:05:24,600 But were the guards the security we had provided our own kind of or got security I suppose, for our camp. 44 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:26,010 But within that as well, 45 00:05:26,010 --> 00:05:37,380 we were then protected by the likes of the Rwandans and the Indians who were also protecting at the IDP who were living within the PEOC. 46 00:05:37,380 --> 00:05:40,380 So I had three main roles over in South Sudan. 47 00:05:40,380 --> 00:05:49,440 One was to monitor and coordinate the day to day activity that the engineers were required to complete by the end of our mission there. 48 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:56,550 And the second one was to coordinate the return. Will UK troops, after serving in South Sudan for five years. 49 00:05:56,550 --> 00:06:05,110 And the third one was to run the outreach programmes on behalf of the UK military over in South Sudan. 50 00:06:05,110 --> 00:06:12,430 So everywhere doing ECAC, the military go, we run outreach programmes, which is basically kind of community work. 51 00:06:12,430 --> 00:06:22,340 And that was where my main concern, of course, was. Now, as ever know, as everyone knows, collaborating, working is important in any organisation. 52 00:06:22,340 --> 00:06:26,960 And in particular, a lot of the people on the panel have had an experience of working in the U.N. and 53 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,730 collaborative work couldn't be more important than working in the UN's fulness. 54 00:06:31,730 --> 00:06:41,540 And so I identified quite early on three key areas and three parts of which look within within my responsibilities 55 00:06:41,540 --> 00:06:47,540 of people that I need to have exposure to talk to in order to implement these outreach programmes. 56 00:06:47,540 --> 00:07:00,000 And that was other TCC. So other troop contributing countries. It was also members of the PCC and also members of the the UN as well. 57 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:06,990 So the outreach programme which I initiated, was working in conjunction with the human rights department. 58 00:07:06,990 --> 00:07:19,570 And the main focus was to try and establish a human rights advocate programme for members for youth members within the PEOC. 59 00:07:19,570 --> 00:07:25,360 So we identified use to our contacts within the youth centre to come up with a sustainable 60 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:35,200 plan which could last beyond the acase decades tenure and the content of the programme. 61 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:43,720 We looked as to who the contributors were, and it was going to be UK Military and human rights department and then actually the U.S. themselves. 62 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,570 So the human rights department, obviously, 63 00:07:46,570 --> 00:07:53,500 they focussed on the main areas mandated by within within the UN to them in particular was oversee human rights, 64 00:07:53,500 --> 00:08:04,090 but also conflict related sexual violence from a military perspective and in the context of the discussion of women in uniform. 65 00:08:04,090 --> 00:08:11,140 You know, I was thinking, what can the military bring to help educate but also provide opportunities for people? 66 00:08:11,140 --> 00:08:21,370 So the contributions from a military perspective with was teaching skills that we take for granted, you know, organisation communication, 67 00:08:21,370 --> 00:08:27,730 accountability, employing some form of values and standards and dare I say, 68 00:08:27,730 --> 00:08:33,250 discipline to some extent with your goals to making sure you telephone time. 69 00:08:33,250 --> 00:08:35,810 And then thirdly, as or the last part, 70 00:08:35,810 --> 00:08:44,050 the context of the some of the content of the programme was was driven by the people who were chosen to go on the programme themselves. 71 00:08:44,050 --> 00:08:51,190 So quite early on, they identified issues, the mafiosi, which they want to stress as as U.S. 72 00:08:51,190 --> 00:08:58,210 They highlighted that there were a lot of problems with with suicides within the PHC, 73 00:08:58,210 --> 00:09:08,170 unemployment, illegal abortions and also just general inequality and now into injured. 74 00:09:08,170 --> 00:09:12,970 Interesting enough. Very little was actually brought up on gender. 75 00:09:12,970 --> 00:09:17,610 So throughout the kind of four months pregnant women were running, 76 00:09:17,610 --> 00:09:26,370 we we adjusted it based on what the demand was of for used on the topics which they wanted to discuss. 77 00:09:26,370 --> 00:09:35,620 And it was on equality, on food and equality, access and equality to things like medicine, jobs and not necessary gender. 78 00:09:35,620 --> 00:09:40,750 So from a female's perspective, that was a very, very interesting observation to make, especially then. 79 00:09:40,750 --> 00:09:44,250 And that was kind of echoed amongst the human rights departments as well. 80 00:09:44,250 --> 00:09:49,240 They were surprised as to how few gender issues were actually brought up by these use. 81 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:58,730 And very much the ECB working with their ages, varied from the youngest, who's 18, and the oldest is twenty four as well. 82 00:09:58,730 --> 00:10:04,940 So we're moving on to another group of people that I associated with, and that was the other troop contributing countries. 83 00:10:04,940 --> 00:10:11,810 Now, as a as a military person, a female, a female in uniform, 84 00:10:11,810 --> 00:10:23,440 I have to say that the only issues I came across when working out back was with the other and troop contributing countries and. 85 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:31,090 When working with certain countries, that was a time in which I was made to feel like it's like a female rather than like a soldier. 86 00:10:31,090 --> 00:10:37,450 Not once during my time and exposure to any member of within the PRC was I ever made to feel like a woman. 87 00:10:37,450 --> 00:10:41,260 I was made to feel like a like a soldier, which is obviously what you want. 88 00:10:41,260 --> 00:10:43,770 So it's a very interesting observation. 89 00:10:43,770 --> 00:10:52,360 That's and, you know, it it the issues of gender was not necessarily from within those that were receiving the support from the UN, 90 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:57,580 but was actually amongst contributors to the organisation as well. 91 00:10:57,580 --> 00:11:04,840 Which understandably was quite disappointing to too, I suppose, experience. 92 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:12,940 So you kind of some key observations of my experience over in South Sudan is that I think being a woman in uniform, 93 00:11:12,940 --> 00:11:21,430 in peacekeeping, it provides you with an opportunity to influence and have an impact. 94 00:11:21,430 --> 00:11:25,870 But I think this is by virtue of the fact that, you know, women, 95 00:11:25,870 --> 00:11:32,440 peace and security and gender parity and gender equality is so high up on the UN's agenda. 96 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:37,350 So I think being a female within uniform, it provides an opportunity. 97 00:11:37,350 --> 00:11:43,090 You have to be the right person to then go and actually make a difference and make an impact. 98 00:11:43,090 --> 00:11:50,020 So going back to the beginning of the discussion, so if it meant picking a representation and I mentioned that the UN's ambition 99 00:11:50,020 --> 00:11:55,360 of having 15 percent of females and all military contingents by 2020 eight, 100 00:11:55,360 --> 00:12:01,360 I think that the ambition for that. I think it's realistic if it can happen. 101 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:09,620 But I would be a bit sceptical about the impact and what those top 15 percent would have on potentially decision making. 102 00:12:09,620 --> 00:12:18,080 You know, I think you way over 90 percent of people who women who end up getting you are in the military. 103 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:28,500 Do you end up going on U.N. missions? We. We find ourselves every circumstance and presently on a humanitarian heart. 104 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:34,920 I've been very lucky and privileged to get the opportunity to work on a number of your missions, long side and NGO as well. 105 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,690 When I was working in the pool. 106 00:12:37,690 --> 00:12:46,700 But that's my personality, which has opened up opportunities and a lot of people, people don't join the military to necessarily be a humanitarian. 107 00:12:46,700 --> 00:12:55,340 So the impact of raising that number to 15 percent, I think in principle this is wonderful. 108 00:12:55,340 --> 00:13:07,040 But then most importantly, we need to get the right people into the roles and not necessarily get them there because of their gender. 109 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:16,850 So I think on that note, I'd be finished my presentation and a thought to any questions, and hopefully that will create some good discussions. 110 00:13:16,850 --> 00:13:25,110 Thank you. Thank you very much, Sophie. 111 00:13:25,110 --> 00:13:31,389 And that was an excellent presentation. We've got quite a lot of questions that have been coming in.