Civilian crisis management

Civilian crisis management are carried out in missions mainly implemented by the EU and international organisations, such as the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe (EN), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Countries can nominate experts in different fields for the missions.

The Crisis Management Centre Finland (cmcfinland.fi) , which operates under the Ministry of the Interior, is responsible for the training and recruitment of Finnish experts for international civilian crisis management missions. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible for the political coordination of civilian crisis management and decides which missions Finnish experts may take part in.

Taking part in civilian crisis management requires basic training preparing for international tasks and adequate language skills (national certificates of language proficiency). Members of the staff of the Prison and Probation Service of Finland participate annually in the training organised by the Crisis Management Centre and in the United Nations Prison and Probation Officer Course UNPriPoc organised by the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.

Finnish prison and probation experts have worked in civilian crisis management missions in, among others, Iraq, Palestine, South Sudan, Kosovo and Libya. The need for prison and probation experts is the biggest in the French-speaking countries in Africa, and, in the near future, in Ukraine.