Mogadishu, June 6, 2014: The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in partnership with UNSOM Human Rights and UNSOM Police yesterday concluded a joint five day training of trainers (ToT) training of Somali Police Force (SPF) officers on human rights principles pertaining to the police Force.
The training, which started on 1st June 2014, was aimed at integrating and strengthening the Somali Police Force’s understanding of international human rights in the application to their profession. During the training the participants were taken through critical aspects of international human rights such as Protection of Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Children in Armed Conflict, Human Rights in Police Search and Seizure, Human Rights in Pre-trial Detention, among others.
The closing ceremony was attended by AMISOM Deputy Police Commissioner Benson Oyo-Nyeko, representative of the Director of UNSOM Human Rights Nicholas Vyshy, representative of the Ministry of National Security Director of Human Rights Department Sarha Mohamed Ali as well SPF Director of Training and Planning, General Garad C. Nuur.
UNSOM’s Director of Human Rights Section Nicholas Vyshy applauded the graduates for their commitment in ensuring that human rights principles are integrated into their work and encouraged the officers to apply what they learnt in their daily work.
The training benefitted 27 Somali Police Officers, 13 of which were female officers.
The Somali Police Force Director of Training and Planning, General, Grad C. Nuur, thanked AMISOM and UNSOM for their unwavering support and urged the graduates to use their newly acquired knowledge to improve and rebuild Somalia.
“You are the pillars of tomorrow and in charge of ensuring that the human rights of the people are adhered to,” said General Grad C. Nuur.
Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, the AMISOM Police Training Coordinator reiterated AMISOM and international partner’s commitment to enhance the capacity of the Somali Police Force.
“No single stakeholder can accomplish the task at hand alone and we must therefore pull our resources together to achieve our aim to build the capacity of our brothers and sisters from the Somali Police Force.”
The Director of the Human Rights Department in the Ministry of National Security Sahra Ahmed Mohamed closed the workshop on behalf of the Minister of National Security and thanked the organizers and graduates for their commitment to addressing human rights issues. She said the responsibility of upholding human rights is dependent on the Police Force as the institution charged with ensuring that the rule of law and order is observed.
The training is part of efforts to build the capacity of Somalia’s Public Service in line with the peace building and stabilisation process.
