Commissioner asks UN for more support towards peace in S.Sudan
The Assistant Inspector General of Police, Dr Fred Yiga (pictured) has asked the United Nations Security Council for more support towards peace building in S. Sudan. Courtesy photo
What you need to know:
Dr Yiga further noted that the events of December 15, 2013 ushered in a crisis that left over 100,000 IDPs stranded and taking shelter within UNMISS sites
KAMPALA
The Police Commissioner of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan has asked the United Nations Security Council for more support towards peace building in S. Sudan.
“……. the strategic objective of all peace processes is bringing soldiers back to the barracks and police officers to the streets. This alone illustrates the need for your unreserved attention and support,” said Assistant Inspector General of Police, Dr Fred Yiga.
Dr Yiga made the appeal while speaking to members of the United Nations Security Council in New York, US.
“South Sudan is largely a pastoralist and nomadic society and the policing models require special skills, policies and equipment to enable United Nations Police (UNPOL) do its work effectively,” Dr Yiga said, a Ugandan police officer based in South Sudan on a peacekeeping mission.
South Sudan, one of Africa’s youngest countries, had been challenged by insecurity problems following tension between President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President Riek Machar which in turn saw their supporters in an armed struggle that started in 2013.
After the deliberation by Dr Yiga and the Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Hervé Ladsous, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution stressing the importance of close cooperation and coordination between the UN Police components and other elements of peacekeeping operations and special political missions.
Dr Yiga said in the last 25 years, the role of police officers in the implementation of UN Security Council mandates has increased especially in conflict areas and therefore there is need to have police officers capable in such areas.
“True policing has never genuinely been offered to the South Sudanese people for the past 50 years. It has largely been done by combatants and former combatants, whose ethos and experience are often those of a soldier in battle,” he added.
Dr Yiga further noted that the events of December 15, 2013 ushered in a crisis that left over 100,000 IDPs stranded and taking shelter within UNMISS sites.
“UN Police require special training and orientation, skills and equipment to cope with challenges of policing these sites as mandated by the Security Council,” he said.
