United Nations, New York, USA, June 03 2016 – Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson makes remarks at the opening of the United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UN COPS), a historic gathering of more than 100 police leaders from around the world, taking place at UN Headquarters in New York, 2-3 June today at the UN Headquarters in New York.
By Britta Schmitz
UNITED NATIONS, June 4 2016 – The first-ever UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UN
COPS) was held at the UN Headquarters in New York this week.
The historic gathering brought together 110 national police chiefs and ministers from
around the world, as well as key partners such as INTERPOL, the African Union, the
European Union and senior UN representatives to discuss the role of UN policing.
The objective of UN COPS is to achieve a greater impact on the ground and to tackle
policing challenges of the twenty-first century. Police leaders discussed how UN
peace operations and national policing work hand in hand and how they can address
current and future transnational threats.
The range of issues discussed at the summit is highly complex and includes field
components, partnerships and assisting in the establishment of police in countries
affected by conflicts.
“There can be no peace without development and there can be no development
without peace. UN Police is central to this equation,“ said UN Deputy Secretary-
General Jan Eliasson.
He pointed to growing difficulties to dissolve transnational problems and disputes
with traditional diplomatic tools.
“UN Police operations are making a difference in places where the rule of law is weak
or is absent,“ said Eliasson.
United Nations, New York, USA, June 03 2016 – Press Conference on the UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UN COPS) by
(from Left) Christian Clarence, Inspector General of Liberian Police, Stefan Feller, UN Police Adviser and Priscilla Makotose, Police Comissioner of the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Photo: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire
UN Police Adviser Stefan Feller, together with Priscilla Makotose, Police
Comissioner of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and
Inspector General of Liberian Police Christian Clarence held a press conference on
the occasion of the summit.
“We are here in order to listen how we can tackle the challenges that we face in our
peace operations of contemporary times,“ said Feller.
He stressed the increasing complexity of tasks which UN Police is dealing with every
day. The work of UN Police is getting more and more important and he pledged
member countries to push forward the work of the institution.
“We need to orientate ourselves new and we want to do that in a dialogue with those
national police chiefs that we have here so that they tell us how we can serve the
purposes of international policing,“ said Feller.
United Nations, New York, USA, June 03 2016 – Press Conference on the UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UN COPS) by Priscilla Makotose, Police Comissioner of the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Photo: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire
Priscilla Makotose represented the UNAMID police component.
“Our mandate is basically to protect civilians and create a protective environment
through developing supportive community policing initiatives and also institutional
capacity procedures,“ said Makatose. “We should enhance international peace and
security by supporting the member states in conflict, post-conflict and other crisis
situations.“
UN Police forces are especially active in the difficult environment of Darfur in Sudan
to keep in contact with the population and help building strong communities. Most
people in the camps where a lot of the work in Darfur is taking place are women and
children. As culturally women in Darfur do not like to interact with males, Makatose
pledged contributing countries to train more lady police offers. Only 267 of 1.580
individual police offers at UN Police are females.
“I received very positive responses from the members,“ she said. “This summit is
giving us the opportunity to inform the contributing countries of their core
responsibilities.“
Christian Clarence is actively working towards a democratic form of police in Liberia.
He thanked UN Police for the great work they conduct in the struggling country.
Capacity building for police organizations that have been affected by conflicts can be
an undertaking lasting for decades, such as in Liberia, explained Feller.
Tasks of UN Police include help building strong communities, strengthening the rule
of law, defending and protecting human rights, help fighting crime, developing
capacity and empowerment, promoting inclusion and lasting partnerships.
“United Nations Police work in some of the most challenging situations on
earth. They protect communities. They bring stability. They restore confidence. UN
COPS is a tremendous opportunity. It is a chance to further ensure that United
Nations Police become ever more fit for purpose – and able to meet the security
threats in today’s volatile global context,“ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a
video message on the occasion of UN COPS.
“We are one international policing family,“ UN Police Adviser Feller said.
Source: EuropaNewswire