UN POLICE ASSESSMENT MISSION TO CHAD REPORTS

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000232


STATE FOR AF/C, S/USSESS AND PRM/AFR
NSC FOR GAVIN
LONDON FOR POL -- LORD
PARIS FOR POL -- KANEDA
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL PHUM CD
SUBJECT: UN POLICE ASSESSMENT MISSION TO CHAD REPORTS
GENERALLY POSITIVE RESULTS


1. Charge d'affaires and Refugee Coordinator received an
outbriefing from members of the DPKO Mid-Term UN Police
Assessment Mission to Chad June 13, including a generally
positive assessment of performance by the DIS (Detachement
Integree de Security, the special police force established to
provide security for humanitarian operations in and around
refugee camps and IDP sites) to date. New York-based DPKO
Assessment Team leaders Ingrid Hayden and Walter Wolf told
Charge that the original concept of how the DIS would be
deployed to the field required some adjustment, given
difficult security conditions in eastern Chad and the delay
in full MINURCAT troop deployment. Wolf said that his
assessment team had observed a clear need for further
training for DIS officers with a particular emphasis on basic
police procedures and proper weapons handling. He said
recent disciplinary problems in various field locations
involved less than five percent of the force, which was
considered an acceptable average in police organizations
worldwide. Wolf added that his team had observed a good
working relationship between the DIS and UN Police colleagues
providing mentoring and continued training in the field.
Wolf acknowledged that closer supervision of DIS officers by
UNPOL trainers could improve future performance.


2. The DPKO team offered that misunderstanding of the DIS
mandate by humanitarian actors had led to inflated
expectations and an overly critical review of DIS performance
in the field. According to the assessment team,
humanitarians sometimes mistakenly expected DIS officers to
perform the same escort services for daily convoys to refugee
camps and IDP sites that the prior protection force (CNAR)
had performed before the creation of the DIS. Prior to the
DIS, CNAR, the Chadian National Commission for the Welcome
and Reintegration of Refugees, was responsible for both legal
activities such as refugee status determination and security
services such as protection in and around the camps. (Note:
Because UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations worked
closely with CNAR on legal and assistance issues related to
the refugee population, they were able to develop a
relationship with the Commission which eased coordination of
CNAR escort activities in the field. In most cases, MINURCAT
military troops are now tasked with escorting humanitarian
convoys for distances longer than 10 kms. Coordinating
escort logistics thus has recently involved a greater number
of military and civilian actors than in the past, resulting
in less time for aid organizations to spend in the camps on a
daily basis. This has contributed to impatience with the DIS
on the part of some humanitarian organizations. End note.)


3. In response to a request from Charge for regular lists of
DIS accomplishments, the team reported consistent DIS success
with arrests of perpetrators targeting humanitarians for
carjackings and office invasions. DIS officers have
increased security for women in many camps through increased
patrols and deployment of female officers to assist women
refugee victims of crime. Charge emphasized that UNPOL and
MINURCAT needed to do a better job of educating humanitarians
and donors as to the limits of the DIS mandate. Charge
called for more concerted UN efforts to publicize DIS success
stories and explain chain of command relations between the
DIS and MINURCAT/UNPOL mentors, so as to demonstrate the
degree to which the UN exerted influence over the DIS. She
specifically asked that UNPOL distribute to donors a periodic
accounting of DIS officers' actions in various field
locations.


4. In turn, the team requested diplomatic assistance in
encouraging the GoC to provide DIS officers with promised
equipment and weapons. The team said it would share a
written report on its mission once the document was released
in New York.


BREMNER