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West Africa: Alan Doss Meets With Delegation of Police Chiefs
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United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
19 February 2008
Posted to the web 19 February 2008
Nina Yacoubian
On 19 February 2008, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in the DRC, Alan Doss, met with a delegation from the West African country contributors to the UN Police (UNPOL), who are visiting the DRC from 18-22 February. The conference, initiated by the Pearson Centre for Peacekeeping, aims for a better understanding on the part of UNPOL representatives of the nature of peacekeeping operations, and of the challenges related to the increasing manpower demand.
The peace processes are not viable unless the local police force services are able to maintain law and order.
"On the one hand, its a good occasion for informing the country contributors of UN police manpower of the duties and responsibilities for the United Nations Police, and sensitising them to the complexity of a peacekeeping operation," declared Mr. Doss, in the presence of Deputy Special Representative Ross Mountain and MONUC Police chief Sudesh Kumar.
Mr. Doss, moreover, announced the importance of the role of the police force within the framework of a rule of law.
"The peace processes are not viable unless the local police force services are able to maintain law and order," he said.
"MONUC Police continue to lend its technical assistance to the Congolese National Police (PNC) for the security of the elections. Today MONUC Police is closely implied in the reform process of the PNC," Mr. Doss added.
PNC reform was postponed as a secondary plan to elections security in 2006.
However, the Special Representative underlined the challenges which face UNPOL, such as the quality of personnel and the weak representation of women.
There are only twenty women. It is important to correct this imbalance in the selection programme of your respective countries.
"I can only ask you, you who are decision makers of your respective countries, to be attentive to the professional, moral and physical qualities of the candidates whom you propose for deployment with the UN."
Mr. Doss also deplored the weak representation of the women within the MONUC Police force which includes 285 police officers from 23 countries.
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"There are only twenty women. It is a very weak representation and it is important to correct this imbalance in the selection programme of your respective countries," he said.
At the request of the Pearson Centre, its the second time that MONUC has received high ranking police officials from French-speaking African countries. The first conference took place from 20-24 February, 2006.
Pearson Centre representatives were also present at the meeting, including President Suzanne Monaghan, Director of the West Africa Programme Peter Miller, as well project manager James Newman and project officer David Forest.
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