{"id":64414,"date":"2021-05-10T15:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T05:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=64414"},"modified":"2021-05-10T14:58:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T04:58:59","slug":"peacekeeping-missions-with-australias-army-and-talking-under-water-with-the-red-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/peacekeeping-missions-with-australias-army-and-talking-under-water-with-the-red-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"Peacekeeping missions with Australia\u2019s army and \u2018talking under water\u2019 with the Red Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kath Stewart has served as Australian Army officer on peacekeeping missions, with the strength of a military force behind her, and as an unarmed official from the International Committee of the Red Cross with just her wits, experience and negotiating skills to calm violent situations.<\/p>\n

Now she\u2019s in Canberra as the ICRC\u2019s armed and security forces delegate.<\/p>\n

Over 30 years as an Australian Army officer, Stewart took part in four major, and diverse, operations starting in 1997 as part of the truce monitoring group in Bougainville.<\/p>\n

As a young captain she was part of a 20-strong forward group and quickly became aware of the complexities of such operations. The Australians had been invited by the Bougainville forces and the Papua New Guinea government to monitor the ceasefire between them.<\/p>\n

But when the Australians arrived, one of the first questions Stewart was asked was: \u2018Why are you invading us?\u2019<\/p>\n

That gave her an early perspective on how those involved could see the same situation very differently.<\/p>\n

Then she went to Syria, Israel and Lebanon as a peacekeeper with the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization. She recalls being completely outside her comfort zone, working with individuals from 22 different nations and negotiating with people driven by entirely different goals.<\/p>\n

That meant understanding what was motivating those people, even if she did not agree with them, and seeking solutions that were as mutually beneficial as possible.<\/p>\n

In 2003, she joined the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, working with 10 regional partners trying to re-establish the rule of law there. She commanded nearly 100 personnel providing communications. That involved considerable time spent in outlying villages and learning local norms and customs.<\/p>\n

Then came a deployment to the Middle East helping plan coalition operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.<\/p>\n

So, how did those operations prepare her for her role with the Red Cross?<\/p>\n

\u2018The training and experience I got in the ADF was excellent and it did help me understand how important it is to listen to people when you go into a different situation\u2019, says Stewart. \u2018You have the training behind you, you rely on that training. You work with a team in the ADF, but also in the ICRC.\u2019<\/p>\n

Listen to Brendan Nicholson\u2019s interview with Kath Stewart in the latest episode of<\/em> Policy, Guns and Money:<\/em><\/p>\n