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G8 Global Peace Support Operations Plan

The White House June 10 issued a fact sheet summarizing a Group of 8 (G8) action plan to expand global peacekeeping capability. Agreement on the plan came on the final day of the G8 meeting at Sea Island, Georgia.

Following is the text of the fact sheet:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Sea Island, Georgia)
June 10, 2004

FACT SHEET
G-8 ACTION PLAN: EXPANDING GLOBAL CAPABILITY FOR PEACE SUPPORT OPERATIONS

Presidential Action

President Bush and the other G-8 Leaders endorsed today an action plan to expand global peacekeeping capability, with a particular focus on Africa, to bring stability and security to troubled regions.

G-8 Action: The number of peace support operations throughout the world continues to grow, but there is a lack of well-trained and equipped units able to respond to these increased demands. Therefore, the G-8 Leaders adopted today an Action Plan on Expanding Global Capability for Peace Support Operations that commits the G-8 to:

-- Train and equip 75,000 troops by 2010 to increase global capacity to conduct peace support operations with a focus on Africa;

-- Create a "clearinghouse" function to exchange information and coordinate G-8 efforts to enhance peace operations training and exercises in Africa;

-- Develop a transportation and logistics support arrangement to help provide transportation for deploying peacekeepers and logistics support to sustain units in the field; and

-- Establish a Gendarme (Constabulary) Center of Excellence in Italy to increase capabilities and interoperability of gendarme forces for peace support operations and support other existing centers dedicated to that purpose.

U.S. Leadership: President Bush has proposed a program that would provide approximately $660 million over the next five years to increase U.S. funding for peace support operations, including those established under this initiative.

Current U.S. training programs to enhance peacekeeping capacities around the world include:

-- The African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program (ACOTA), under which the U.S. has trained and provided equipment to over 12,000 peacekeepers from ten African militaries; and

-- The Enhanced International Peacekeeping Capabilities program (EIPC), under which the U.S. has provided assistance to 29 countries in developing their peacekeeping capacities.