The British Council has managed the Peacekeeping English Project since 1996. 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 current projects, the Peacekeeping English Project meets requests worldwide to design and implement English language projects to minimise conflict. In Guatemala and Belize we have helped to design a transborder Language Exchange Project funded from the Global Conflict Prevention Fund. In Vietnam we have reviewed progress and suggested further directions for the Military English project.