Our Tasks

The Center for International Peace Operations was established in 2002 by the Federal Government of Germany and the German Parliament to strengthen international civilian capacities for crisis prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. It is a non-profit limited liability company, whose sole shareholder is the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the German Federal Foreign Office.

On behalf of the Federal Foreign Office, ZIF provides services and expertise on and for peace operations at the national and international level in a comprehensive approach that unites training, recruitment, deployments, policy advice, analysis, international capacity building and dialogue formats.

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We are actively engaged in various areas:

• We train civilian experts for peace operations, humanitarian operations and election observation missions. Together with partners, we seek to advance curricula, training methods and training standards.

• For peace operations, humanitarian operations and election observation missions, we recruit and second German civilian personnel. As the employer of German civilian personnel in these operations, we are fully committed to our duty of care obligations before, during and after deployment.

• We manage the ZIF Expert Pool to facilitate the deployment of pre-qualified and pre-selected personnel to missions at short notice. Over 1,400 qualified and experienced experts in the ZIF Expert Pool are available for assignment in a broad range of professional areas.

• We offer analysis, information and policy advice on all aspects of peace operations. Through policy relevant research, dialogue and exchange, we contribute to the conceptual debate and the development of peace operations.

• We advise international organisations, their member states and peace operations on developing their civilian capacities, and promote the exchange and transfer of knowledge between relevant agencies.

In carrying out our mandate, we work closely with the Federal Foreign Office (AA), the Federal Ministries for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), of the interior (BMI) and Defence (BMVg), as well as with international organisations such as the UN, the EU and the OSCE.

The deployment of German civilian experts to international peace operations is regulated by the so-called Secondment Act.

Human Resources (HR)

The HR Team carries out the tasks of recruiting, deploying and managing the civilian experts for peace operations. The team is responsible for selecting experts for the ZIF Expert Pool, managing the ZIF Expert Pool as well as recruiting and supporting civilian personnel before, during and after a peace operation.
 

Team Policy, Partnerships & Innovation

Impact through knowledge generation and transfer

In the new Policy, Partnerships & Innovation (PPI) team, ZIF is pooling its expertise in the areas of analysis, advice and capacity development. PPI considers itself to be an ‘innovation generator’ and actively works on developing new areas of activity and partnerships. We provide concrete contributions to improving multilateral conflict and crisis management, with a particular focus on peace operations, humanitarian aid and peace mediation.
 

Training

Peace operations demand specific qualifications and skills. With its innovative, integrated and practice-oriented courses, the Training Team prepares experts for their work in missions and facilitates quality assurance and the further development of training measures at national and international level. The contents of the training courses are oriented toward the qualification needs of participating international organisations. We also consult on and carry out tailor-made training courses for other clients, while in-mission training courses are held on site during the operations themselves.

In October 1998,

the OSCE participating states deployed a nearly 1,500-person peace operation to Kosovo with the objective of monitoring the cessation of hostilities. The Federal Government of Germany agreed to deploy 200 civilian observers. However, the recruitment of suitably qualified personnel proved to be difficult, as Germany had no central focal point for the participation of civilian personnel in such operations at the time. At the same time, the German Government sought to strengthen crisis prevention and the capabilities of international organisations. A feasibility study by Dr. Winrich Kühne that focused on bolstering civilian capacities for peace operations, and the subsequent establishment of a corresponding organisation, marked the beginnings of ZIF.
 

On 22 June 2002,

ZIF was established as a non-profit limited liability company (gGmbH), with Dr. Winrich Kühne as its Executive Director and a total of 17 full-time staff positions. ZIF’s first basic course was held in the summer of 2002. Within four years, the pioneering ZIF Expert Pool had grown to a capacity of 1,000 experts. As more and more countries showed an interest in building comparable civilian capacities, ZIF was able to utilize its own institutional experience to provide valuable advice and support in this area.
 

In September 2009,

Dr. Almut Wieland-Karimi took over as Executive Director of ZIF.
 

In 2014,

three experts seconded by Germany were seriously injured in a bomb attack in Djibouti. Questions about duty of care obligations for seconded staff led to a restructuring and an adjustment of ZIF’s tasks, as well as to an amendment of Germany’s Secondment Act (SekG).
 

In 2017,

the German Parliament passed the revised version of the Secondment Act, which significantly improved the situation with regard to the legal terms of employment, as well as benefits, for seconded staff. ZIF became the seconding institution and employer of German civilian experts seconded to peace operations. For ZIF, this meant a substantial increase in terms of responsibility and associated tasks, and an important step toward ensuring duty of care and competitiveness in the labour market.

Dr. Astrid Irrgang has been Executive Director of ZIF since June 2023. She had already taken over the position ad interim from her predecessor Dr. Almut Wieland-Karimi on September 1, 2022.

ZIF Today

In the year 2024, ZIF is an important pillar of civilian crisis management and the integrated approach, with 60.5 permanent positions and around 20 additional colleagues (projects, temporary staff, interns) and around 180 seconded staff in peace operation missions as well as around 300 election observers per year.

Deployments are constantly evolving - ZIF keeps pace. New methods and standards, innovative solutions and future topics accompany our work in all areas. In 2024, for example, the focus will be on climate security, the nexus between humanitarian aid, development cooperation and peacebuilding (HDP Nexus) and the role of women in peace processes.