Disarmament in Review
From 9-15 March 2025, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) organized a training course in Thailand on ‘Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments’ (SSAFE) for the United Nations Secretary-General’s Mechanism for Investigations of Alleged Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons (UNSGM).
This was the fourth SSAFE course organized for qualified experts nominated by Member States to the UNSGM roster, and a group of 17 experts from 14 countries joined the course in March. During the course, participants received lectures from UNDSS on the UN Security Management System and guidelines for working in field environments. Participants also received training on medical elements of working in the field, with theoretical lessons, demonstrations, and practical exercises on individual first aid and managing injuries in field environments. The course concluded with a half-day field simulation to put into practice aspects of lessons covered during the first five days of the course. Finally, to wrap up, UNODA led participants in an interactive discussion on how the skills covered in the course could be applied in the context of a UNSGM investigation.
SSAFE courses aim to provide participants with a better understanding of the UN Security Management System and the practical skills that will help them prevent or respond effectively to various higher-risk safety or security incidents. The training curriculum is based on UNDSS and UN System Staff College (UNSSC) standard modules and is delivered by SSAFE trainers who are UNDSS and UNSSC certified. By the end of the course, participants also received certifications in both SSAFE and Individual First Aid (following relevant testing).
In addition, the course provided participants with a common understanding of the United Nations principles, guidelines and policies to enhance their security awareness. These are elements that will be critical for experts to understand should they be deployed as part of a UNSGM investigation. As such, the continued cooperation between UNODA and UNDSS in organizing SSAFE courses for experts on the UNSGM roster is crucial to maintaining the readiness of the Mechanism.
In addition to the support provided by UNDSS, financial support for the workshop was generously provided by the Governments of Canada and the United Kingdom.
For more information, please contact the UNODA team in support of the UNSGM at UNSGM@un.org.
