Main area: Peace and security
Theme: Activities involving partner country military
Assessment: Non ODA-eligible
Provider country: Hungary
Recipient country: Iraq
Implementing agency: Hungarian Ministry of Defence
Budget (USD x 1000): 16
Year(s): 2016
Purpose code: Not applicable
Case number: Peace and Security / 16
Training for military experts to counter improvised explosive devices
Hungary has offered to provide expert training to a group of Iraqi soldiers through its military training facility to enable them to counter the threat stemming from the widely used improvised explosive devices (IEDs). IEDs are a direct threat not only to military forces but to the civilian population. Building capacities to counter this threat will preserve civil society from these risks and maintain conditions required for socio-economic development. In 2017, Hungary will be offering similar training to Iraqi police forces as well.
This project aims to increase capacity building and the resilience of the Iraqi army personnel through the training of experts.
Skills acquired from the training can be readily used upon return to the homeland to protect troops and civilians from the threat of IEDs.
This activity is deemed non ODA-eligible. The project will be beneficial for the civilian population; however, the Reporting Directives on the eligibility of activities in the field of peace and security give strict instructions in order to draw a clear line between ODA and non-ODA activities: eligible training of partner country military personnel, under civilian oversight and with a clear developmental purpose for the benefit of civilians is limited to the areas listed in the Reporting Directives (see DCD/DAC(2024)40/FINAL, paragraph 121). Training in demining is not included in the list of eligible areas of training of partner country military.
Training in demining of civilian actors such as Iraqi police as planned in 2017 could be ODA-eligible, as are the additional costs incurred with the use of military for the removal of land mines and explosive remnants of war for civilian purposes (see DCD/DAC(2024)40/FINAL, paragraph 131).
The rules in relation to demining can be summarised as follows:
Conduct of demining activities for civilian purposes by any actors can qualify as ODA (see DCD/DAC(2024)40/FINAL, paragraph 131); if conducted by military actors, additional costs only
Training of civilians in demining qualifies as ODA (see DCD/DAC(2024)40/FINAL, paragraph 131); if delivered by military or provider country police, additional costs only;
Training of military personnel in demining does not qualify as ODA (the section of the Reporting Directives on providing training to the military specifies limited areas of training which are reportable as ODA and does not include demining, see DCD/DAC(2024)40/FINAL, paragraph 121).
This document was approved by the Development Assistance Committee under a written procedure on 20 October 2017 and prepared for publication by the OECD Secretariat.
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