UN training builds up professionalism of police officers in southern Sudan

Freshly graduated from a United Nations training programme, 100 police officers are ready to protect the people of Warrap state in southern Sudan from insecurity, mainly in the form of cattle raiding and looting.

The Southern Sudan Police Service (SSPS) started from scratch following the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended a two-decade north-south civil war in Sudan.

During the past nearly five months, the 100 officers in Warrap were trained by the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in areas including criminal investigation, human rights, sexual harassment, and child protection.

They also received training in providing security for the referendum, scheduled for next January, on whether southern Sudan should secede from the country.

State Police Commissioner Major General Andrew Kuol Nyuon thanked the world body for its assistance in improving the quality of police service in the area.

“Now we are in the process of building professional and ethical police forces, thanks to the unwavering support of the UN and the international community,” he said at the graduation ceremony held last week in the state capital, Kuajok.

Also at the event, UNMIS Police Commander Waheed Ur Rahman voiced his full confidence in the newly-trained officers.

“We at the UN hope that, as custodians of the law, you will serve your people better than you did previously,” he stressed.

The training programme was funded by UNMIS and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).