Peacekeeping operations are dynamic and no one is quite like the other. However, both military and civilian practitioners experience uncertain conditions, difficult situations and unclear contexts. It is important to take advantage of lessons learned - both from practical work and studies - to improve in future endeavors. These similarities were emphasized throughout the week and summarized in the last day of the conference.
The 6th ILLC conference discussed a fusion of both civil and military perspectives on topics ranging from for example: the protection of civilians, multidimensional cooperation and coordination, training and exercises, implementation of resolution 1325, leadership and cultural awareness, mission planning and preparation as well as concrete organizational and geographical cases.
On the last day, the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy in general and EULEX, Kosovo in particular was in focus. Veronica Cody, (Head of Unit, Horizontal Issues, CMPD) described how EU's missions have over the years grown in number and scope as they have adapted to the circumstances and needs on the ground. According to Cody, Lessons Learned is a backward looking exercise in a forward looking process.
The forward looking process was also underlined through out the conference. There is a need to ensure that lessons learned do not just end up as a pile of paper on a shelf. How to target those who can benefit from Lessons Learned information and how to share information effectively were generally agreed as priority for both civilian and military organizations.
The ILLC was concluded by Director General Henrik Landerholm (Folke Bernadotte Academy) and Major General Moore (Swedish Armed Forces) who both expressed a warm thank you to all who had contributed to the success of the conference. Both also expressed their sincere gratitudesand a hope that the constructive discussions during the conference had contributed to broker solutions building on lessons learned from past experiences. This will enable a development of peacekeeping operations that can more effectively achieve their goals.