DIILS recently conducted a seminar in Bogota, Colombia on the legal aspects of peacekeeping and stability operations.  In line with the Colombian military shift in emphasis from domestic security toward wider participation in multinational peace-keeping and stability operations, the DIILS seminar emphasized the importance of conducting peace and stability operations in accordance with international norms, such as the UN Charter.  As part of the DIILS program, for example, the Colombian participants were required to familiarize themselves with the tenets of the UN Charter and apply the relevant legal principles to a peacekeeping and stability scenario.

The 36 Colombian participants included military operational lawyers and ministry of defense human rights lawyers.  The DIILS-led team included personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces, the US Army Office of the Judge Advocate General and the Army Peace-Keeping and Stability Operations Institute.