U.S. GPOI Has Made Progress in Meeting Program Goals, but Challenges Remain

State and DOD have made some progress in achieving GPOI goals in three  principal areas: training and equipping peacekeepers, providing equipment  and transportation for deployed missions, and building peacekeeping skills  and infrastructure, but challenges remain in meeting these goals. First, State and DOD have trained about 40,000 military  peacekeepers, predominantly in Africa, and supported the training of over  1,300 stability police, but it is unlikely that GPOI will meet its goal of  training 75,000 military peacekeepers by 2010 due to the time it takes to  expend program funds, and State and DOD have encountered delays in  delivering nonlethal training equipment. Second, State has provided  equipment to deployed missions in Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, and Haiti;  supports an equipment depot in Sierra Leone; and initiated a process for  peacekeeping countries to request donor assistance for their  transportation and logistics needs, but some efforts have been delayed. State and DOD Have Encountered Problems in Providing and Accounting for Training Equipment

State has provided about $31 million in nonlethal training equipment to  military peacekeepers in 27 countries, predominantly in Africa. State Has Targeted a Smaller Share of Resources to Build Peacekeeping Skills and Infrastructure in Africa Compared with Other Regions and Faces Delays in Completing Activities

State and DOD have conducted a number of activities to enhance  peacekeeping skills and infrastructure to develop the ability of countries  to conduct training for their own peacekeeping missions and to improve  the capabilities of regional organizations to plan, train for, and execute  peacekeeping missions. Although African partners receive the majority of  GPOI funds, State has targeted a smaller share of resources,  comparatively, for activities to build peacekeeping skills and  infrastructure among Africa peacekeepers, in part due to the needs and  capabilities of the region and its focus on training and equipping  peacekeepers to serve in current missions. In comparison, of the $98  million spent in Africa, 12 percent was spent on assisting with  peacekeeping skills and infrastructure. More than Half of GPOI-Trained Military Peacekeepers Have Deployed to Missions, but State Cannot Assess the Quality or Effectiveness of Its Training Program

State and DOD provide training on a number of military peacekeeping  skills, and 56 percent of these trained military peacekeepers from 13  countries have deployed to peacekeeping missions, as of April 2008. However, State faces challenges in assessing the quality and effectiveness  of its training program. Third,  State is unable to fully account for the activities of trained instructors to  measure the program’s impact in building countries’ capability to continue  this training. State Cannot Assess the Proficiency of Trainees to Determine if Capabilities Are Comparable to Other GPOI- Trained Peacekeepers

State does not have an established process for measuring the proficiency  of trainees who receive similar types of training. We found that military  peacekeepers and stability police were not always screened or were not  properly screened for human rights abuses, as required by State guidance  for the legislative requirements. We found that most of the 52 partner countries met the participation  criteria, but 24 countries had identified human rights violations by security  personnel in State’s human rights reporting for 2007. 2. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

In response to a congressional mandate in the fiscal year 2008 Defense  Authorization Act to review the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI),  we assessed (1) the progress made in meeting GPOI goals, (2) whether  State is consistently assessing the quality and effectiveness of the training  program, and (3) the extent to which countries meet program criteria and  whether program participants are adequately screened for human rights  abuses. We selected 14  countries with documented human rights violations by security forces that  received training in 2007 and assessed whether individuals and units  trained in these countries were vetted for human rights violations. 5.
Why GAO Did This Study

In 2004, in response to the Group of Eight (G8) Sea Island Summit, the United States established the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), a 5-year program to build peacekeeping capabilities worldwide, with a focus on Africa. Since 2005, the Department of State (State) has allocated $374 million and selected 52 countries to participate in the program. Congress mandated that GAO assess and report on the initiative. This report assesses (1) progress made in meeting GPOI goals, (2) whether State is consistently assessing the quality and effectiveness of the training, and (3) the extent to which countries meet program criteria and whether trainees are adequately screened for human rights abuses. GAO assessed State and Department of Defense (DOD) data and program documents, interviewed U.S. and host country officials, and conducted field work in eight countries.

What GAO Found

State and DOD have made some progress in achieving GPOI objectives in three principal areas: training and equipping peacekeepers, providing equipment and transportation for peacekeeping missions, and building peacekeeping skills and infrastructure, but challenges remain in meeting these goals. First, nearly 40,000 military peacekeepers have been trained and some training equipment has been provided. However, State is unlikely to meet the goal of training 75,000 military peacekeepers by 2010 and has encountered problems in accounting for the delivery of training equipment to countries. Second, State supports an equipment depot in Africa and has supplied equipment for missions in Haiti, Lebanon, Somalia, and Sudan, but has been delayed in providing some equipment in support of these missions. Third, State and DOD have trained 2,700 military peacekeeping instructors, conducted several multinational peacekeeping exercises, and refurbished some training centers. However, State has targeted a smaller share of resources to build peacekeeping skills and infrastructure than for training and equipping peacekeepers in Africa in comparison to other regions, in part due to needs and capabilities of the region and a focus on training African peacekeepers for current missions. Of the $98 million State has spent in Africa, 12 percent was spent on building skills and infrastructure needed for long-term peacekeeping capabilities, compared to 20 percent to 51 percent in other regions. While 56 percent of trained military peacekeepers--primarily from Africa--have deployed to peacekeeping missions, State faces challenges in assessing the proficiency of trained peacekeepers against standard skills taught in training and accounting for the activities of trained instructors. Although GPOI training standards follow U.S. military doctrine and United Nations requirements, State does not have a program-wide standard to assess the proficiency of military peacekeepers in skills taught. Further, State is unable to fully account for the training activities of the trained instructors. Collectively, these program limitations result in State's inability to assess the overall outcomes of its program in providing high-quality, effective training. State, in consultation with DOD, has selected 52 partner countries that generally meet program criteria, but in some cases State did not screen trainees for human rights abuses. For 24 countries, State's human rights reporting identified documented human rights violations by security forces in 2007, and GAO found that peacekeepers were not always screened or were not properly screened for human rights abuses. For example, we found that 81 individuals from one country received military training but were not screened for human rights violations.