Thirty-six law enforcement officers from nine Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) member states, on Monday, August 26, started a two-week African Union Police Officers' course at the Police Training School, Gishari in Rwamagana District.
The course organized by the EASF and Rwanda National Police (RNP) was officially opened by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Operations, Vincent Sano.
It is designed to contribute to the EASF and continental multidimensional operational capabilities in AU peace support operations.
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Sano said that Rwanda and EASF share the common belief to work together to address regional and continental security challenges.
"Rwandans know the value of security better after decades of insecurity, injustices and human rights violations that culminated into the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that took place here 30 years ago," he said.
"The new Rwanda built from the ashes of that Genocide will remain a relevant security partner and valuable contributor to regional efforts to resolve regional and global security challenges... security is a backbone of everything."
He pointed out that partnerships in training and capacity building are among the top priorities of the RNP to guide the institutional steps towards growth and to enable officers to effectively perform policing tasks both locally and internationally.
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He added that law enforcement officers earmarked for peace support operations must be trained to deal with asymmetric conflicts environment, which in most cases pose threats to AU Police officers.
"This course is one of the African continental solutions that allow Regional Mechanisms to support countries in conflicts, post-conflict environmentss and other crisis situations to ensure that all African brothers live in harmony," the Deputy Police Chief said.
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Commissioner Ali Said Bacar, the Head of Police component at EASF, said that in contemporary peace support operations, police roles and responsibilities consist of complex capacity building and police reform tasks in support of the host nation law enforcement agencies.
The EASF, he noted, is in the process of assessing all police officers pledged as 'Individual Police Officers', in line with the AU Police Policy.
"This is a true expression of true commitment to keeping our valuable organization going," Bacar said.
