Blue Shield International have supported a large number of NATO events, providing cultural property protection support. Training commenced with presentations to the 1st cultural property protection German-Netherlands Corps validation exercise, and was followed up by CPP presentations to NRDC-Italy, a NATO Rapid Deployable Corps, as part of their series of Academics – training designed to help them prepare for exercise.
November saw the Secretariat supporting Human Security training organised by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and NATO’s Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), through Multinational Corps South-East (MNC-SE), at Land Forces Academy in Sibiu. Training took place from 07-11 November 2022. The event was attended by representatives from all NATO HQs and Corps HQs. Blue Shield International supported the event alongside representatives from several other International and Non-Governmental Organisations, who together contributed to the development of the training and provided lectures and subject matter expertise. Together, the trainers delivered a coherent, consistent and integrated approach to NATO’s Human Security topics – Protection of Civilians, Cultural Property Protection, Children in Armed Conflict, and Building Integrity in NATO-led Operations, Missions and Council Mandated Activities.
NATO recognises cultural property protection as an essential consideration in the military environment and a critical indicator of community security, cohesion and identity. ... NATO’s obligations regarding the protection of cultural property stem from both its values and international law.
The season concluded with support to NATO Exercise Steadfast Jackal 2022 (STJA22). The exercise was designed to train and evaluate NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy (NRDC-ITA) and its Joint Logistics Support Group (JLSG) in planning and conducting a small joint operation at the operational and tactical levels. It was directed and hosted by the Joint Warfare Centre, Norway, and involved approximately 1,100 participants from 25 allied nations. The exercise focussed on crisis management and stability operations in a fictitious scenario, with an emphasis on how the political, civilian and military instruments interacted. Blue Shield International provided subject matter expertise and realism to simulate the impact of cultural property in the mission environment, together with a fictional Ministry of Culture, emphasising the importance of government leadership, partnership, and the important of international humanitarian law, particularly the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
These events build on the Letter of Intent signed between Blue Shield International and NATO SHAPE J9 in 2020.
