African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) concluded a 12 days human rights training for 50 SouthWest State police officers including 10 female officers to enable them promote and improve the protection of human rights.
Speaking at the completion of the training Superintendent of Police Thaimu Balie Sesay, AMISOM Police Head of Training and Development for Southwest State said the training was aimed at improving the capacity of the police to protect the rights of the most vulnerable including women and children.
“For any country that has war, there are a lot of human rights violations, so with this training the 50 participants will actually be able to implement this in their daily activities. They will be able to actually observe the dignity and the right of the individuals while executing their duties especially in terms of arrest, in terms of detention, in terms of everything actually pertaining the rights of human being,” said SP Sesay.
Lt. Col. Amin Mohamed Osman, Bay region commander of police thanked AMISOM for giving SPF skills that will help them execute their duties professionally.
“This country has gone through a lot of destruction. The police officers were taught how to protect the rights of the people, how to treat the civilians and to inform the masses and they also taught the rights and the obligation of the citizens,” Lt. Col. Osman said.
Nurta Mohamed Hassan, Southwest female police officer stated that they gained valuable skills and expertise that will help make difference in their relations with the community.
“We have learnt many lessons that will make difference on our relations with the community when we go back to the field. I am grateful to AMISOM and I am happy to attend this training,” said policewoman Nurta.
AMISOM police provides such specialized training to the SPF as part of its mandate to support and mentor the police to help improve their capacity to maintain law and order and observe rule of law. Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are the six Police Contributing Countries (PCCs) to AMISOM.
