UNAMID POLICE LACK CRITICAL RESOUCES

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000719 DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, INL, AF SE WILLIAMSON ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU SUBJECT: UNAMID POLICE LACK CRITICAL RESOUCES REF: KHARTOUM 570 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UNAMID civilian police (CIVPOL) leadership have identified deficiencies in their programs such as the need for a greater police presence in IDP camps, additional female officers from Police Contributing Countries (PCC),and additional senior police officers with more experience. UNAMID CIVPOLS believe that they still have the good will and trust of most of the IDPs and want to take advantage of this with additional programs, but are stymied by a lack of resources. END SUMMARY. ELEMENTARY POLICE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED -------------- ¶2. (SBU) UNAMID North Sector Commander Christopher Buik told poloff that the lack of police infrastructure, such as police stations in IDP camps, hinders efforts to provide security to IDPs. He said that without police stations there are limited avenues for people to report crimes. While UNAMID CIVPOLS would like to construct police stations with basic requirements such as separate detention cells for women, men and juveniles, they are limited by DPKO program restrictions on how much they can spend on construction. Buik expressed frustration with DPKO's limitations on construction and noted that the EU had proposed funding the construction of a number of stations for AMIS using local materials and labor. However after the transition, UNAMID insisted the UN do all police station construction themselves but has yet to follow through on construction of the much-needed police stations in IDP camps. Buik said that having a simple police building with some chairs for meeting community leaders would go a long way toward facilitating investigations and improving security in the camps. ADDITIONAL FEMALE OFFICERS NEEDED -------------- ¶3. (SBU) UNAMID's Deputy Police Commissioner Elizabeth Muwanga identified an additional need, that of more female police officers. She told poloff that only 200 of the current 1550 UNAMID CIVPOLS are females and that additional female police officers are required because female IDPs feel more comfortable reporting sexual crimes to another female. "If these women don't report crimes, the criminals will remain at large and commit additional assaults," observed Muwanga. MORE EXPERIENCED POLICE OFFICERS NEEDED -------------- ¶4. (SBU) UNAMID's Acting Chief of Police Administration Ralf Gehling told poloff that there is also an urgent need for additional experienced western-trained police officers. Gehling said his officers have different backgrounds, levels of training, and cultural attitudes toward police work. Gehling, who was part of the EU-supported advisory team to AMIS, said that while there is a common international core of basic policing methods, many of the UNAMID police are re-hatted AMIS police who have mixed policing techniques based on French, Portuguese, and British colonial systems from within Africa. Gehling said that more experienced western-trained senior police officers are needed to provide on-the-job training and supervision, if overall police performance is to improve. IDP ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE STILL LARGELY POSITIVE -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Both Gehling and Muwanga believe that there is still a positive "wait-and-see attitude" among IDPs toward UNAMID civilian police in the IDP camps, but admit that this positive perception might change in the absence of a more robust police presence. UNAMID police are optimistic that the imminent arrival of Nepalese and Indonesian FPUs (reftel) will enable them to build up their capacity and therefore keep the trust of IDPs, which will be essential to the success of their mission. FERNANDEZ