UNAMI organizes program over human rights among community police

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – The Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has organized a training program to promote human rights values among community police in the newly liberated areas in Iraq.

The program aimed at giving “60 Iraqi Interior Ministry staff of community policing the opportunity to focus on the basic concepts of human rights and gender-based policing to better serve their communities,” the UNAMI said in a statement, quoted by Baghdad Today, on Thursday.

The “Training Workshop on Improving the Impact and Effectiveness of Community Police in the Newly Liberated Areas in Iraq” was delivered by UNAMI, in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Iraqi
Interior Ministry. Funding was provided by the Japanese government.

The training program included two intensive training courses on December 11-20 for 60 staff of community police (men and women) from liberated areas in Ninewa, Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk.

The courses focused on basic concepts of human rights and gender-based policing, the United Nations human rights system, and standards of conduct for community police to protect women, children and vulnerable groups.

The UNAMI Human Rights Office plans to follow up on this program with a “training of trainers” in January 2018. The training of trainers will prepare 12 participants to conduct effective training courses with community police officers to support their role, reinforced by the values, principles and standards of human rights.