The British Council managed the Peacekeeping English Project from 1996 to 2010. English is needed

• for "interoperability" - to enable multinational forces involved in NATO, EU and UN peace support operations to communicate effectively with each other.
• for humanitarian purposes - enabling military and other security forces to interact with non-governmental agencies in conflict and post-conflict situations.
• by border guards and police, to combat drug smuggling and human trafficking.
• as a tool for promoting democratic values and respect for human rights.

As well as managing its regular projects, the Peacekeeping English Project met requests worldwide to design and implement English language projects to minimise conflict. In Guatemala and Belize we helped to design a transborder Language Exchange Project funded from the Global Conflict Prevention Fund. In Vietnam we reviewed progress and suggested further directions for the Military English project.