United Nations State Liaison Functions train Government of Sudan police officers in West Darfur
Zalingei: 7 May 2019, UNAMID’s State Liaison Functions (SLFs) Police and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Government of Sudan (GoS) Police, organized in El Geneina, West Darfur, a ten-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops for 38 local police officers in criminal investigation techniques and protection of civilians, respectively.
The two training courses that began on 28 April 2019, were part of SLFs’ efforts aimed at building the capacity and skills of local police in different areas of policing including crime scene management, criminal investigation, protection of civilians, human rights, community policing and crisis management.
Joseph Zanu, UNAMID Police Training Officer, explained that the objectives of the training courses was to build the capacity of Government of Sudan police officer to be capable to train other police officers after UNAMID exit from Darfur. He emphasized that the participants have benefited significantly from the courses and commended the cooperation between UNAMID, SLFs and GoS police.
Col. Nadhem Ahmed, Officer in Charge of UNAMID SLFs, West Darfur, said that through close coordination with UNDP the SLFs would implement eight ToT workshops for local police in West Darfur. “Additionally, the SLFs will implement an infrastructure enhancement projects in West Darfur including the construction of police training and community policing and rehabilitation of police stations,” he added.
West Darfur Police Director for Legal Affairs, Col. Sufian lutfi Ahmed, who presented a lecture on the “Legal Framework of Protection of Civilians in the International Humanitarian Law”, emphasized that protection of civilians course would help the participants to respond effectively during armed conflicts.
Mohammed El Sheikh Bagadi, West Darfur Police Liaison and Coordination Officer, thanked UNAMID police and SLFs for organizing such training courses and for the construction of police stations and police training and community policing centres in West Darfur. “Building of these facilities will help to maintain rule of law and promote reconciliation among local communities,” said Bagadi.
One of the participants in the training on criminal investigation techniques, Mazin Saifeldin Abdelaziz, commended UNAMID continued efforts to support local police and underlined the importance of exchanging expertise between police officers from different countries in building the capacity of local police
UNAMID police also funded the construction police station and family and child unit consisting of two waiting cells, three offices and an armory in El Genaina. The project that was implemented through UNAMID police programmatic funding projects aimed at improving security condition and creating a conducive working environment for local police.