Text Box: Annex R-5UNITED NATIONS CIVILIAN POLICE OPERATIONS

(UNCIVPOL)

 

ROLE

 

          The role of the United Nations Civilian Police (UNCIVPOL) is normally derived from UN Security Council Resolution and the agreements that support the peace process.

 

UNCIVPOL generally has a three-part mandate;

 

          Assist in the re-establishment and the development of an independent and unified       

          police force through training and advising of the local police force.

 

Monitor  the local police in all aspects of their duties to foster the protection and promotion of human rights (all areas of the country)

 

          To contribute, by its presence, to the maintenance of law and order, peace and

          and security in the territory and  facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

 

The UNCIVPOL Commissioner reports directly to the UN SRSG. It can be expected that unlike military forces, UNCIVPOL officers will be slow to deploy, because few, if any countries have significant numbers of police officers who are not operationally committed at home. Experience has shown that while the military can deploy massive numbers of formed and trained troops in a matter of days, police forces are much slower to deploy and when they do, tend to come on an individual basis, rather than as a formed body.

 

ORGANIZATION

 

The United Nations Civilian Police (UNCIVPOL) is a multi-national police organization headed by a Police Commissioner who reports to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General, who is head of mission. The Commissioner exercises complete control over all UNCIVPOL personnel and operations, through a delegated chain of command.

He cooperates and coordinates activities with the SRSG, Military Commander, heads of the national and regional governments as well as heads of UN agencies and NGOs. Each level of management cooperates at the appropriate level with mission partners to meet the mission mandate, with command and control remaining with the UNCIVPOL chain of command

 

UNCIVPOL HQ will normally be co-located with the Mission and Force Headquarters. This is to enhance communication and cooperation through the linkage of common facilities and logistics. UNCIVPOL regional headquarters is often co-located with civilian police headquarters and UNCIVPOL stations are co-located with local police officers in towns within the sectors   UNCIVPOL officers are deployed individually in the stations, based on experience, training and organizational needs. English is generally the mission language, and while many UNCIVPOL officers will be fully functional in the language, others may be less qualified, and therefore need language training at the unit level during deployment.

 

UNCIVPOL officers are UNARMED. However, should mission circumstances deteriorate to the point in some area where the local police are incapable or unwilling for politically or other reasons to fulfill their law enforcement responsibilities, the SRSG with the sanctioning of the UN SG, could direct that UNCIVPOL, within a certain sector, exercise executive powers and enforcement functions. In such a case, UNCIVPOL officers would be armed and guided by International Standards in the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.    

 

STANDARDS

 

More and more multi-dimensional peacekeeping operations are demanding police officers with honed skills in investigations and leadership. In recognition of this demand, the United Nations has set selection standards and training guidelines for UNCIVPOL

 

 

SKILLS

 

·        Knowledge of basic first aid and stress management techniques

 

 

 

TRAINING- UNCIVPOL

 

In preparation for a mission UNCIVPOL should have received training in;

 

 

 

SITUATION IN THE MISSION

 

UNCIVPOL will normally set up a training academy to handle local police officers. While the local police organization may have  many senior and experienced officers and is functional, they often become casualties of the conflict. The challenge is to not only vet the organization and recruit new officers, but to provide refresher training for supervisors. It is not sufficient to provide new police officers with a few weeks training and then cast them to their fates. Recent experience shows the utility of supporting a police academy training program with a field-mentoring program.  Under such an initiative, experienced UNCIVPOL accompany indigenous police on their patrols and provide guidance, advice and feed back on the scene.  Mentoring and facilitating is also provided at middle and senior management levels.

 

POLICE AND PUBLIC SECURITY COORDINATION.

 

The diversity and the nature of the UN mission dictates an appreciation of the mission objectives of capacity building, linkages between mission itself and long term development and peace building activities. Bridging the gap between securing an end to the conflict and securing the necessary conditions for a sustainable peace are therefore crucial to a secure environment.

 

Public security is achieved when individuals and groups, which do not threaten others, can go about their lawful business without fear of physical violence or systematic discrimination by institutions. A first step is to help states rebuild police and public security institutions appropriate to the law and order challenge the society faces. Another, is to reform institutions which might be quite strong and effective, in order to protect individuals or groups from abuse by the state.

 

Community police forces are only a small part of the network of structures necessary to provide public security. A body of laws and courts to administer them fairly must back up police. The courts must be supported by penal and corrections services which treat detainees humanely according to the law. There must be adequate access to trained police and legal specialists depending on the sophistication of the community.

 

Police must also be supported by special units, Special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team anti-terrorist units, riot control squads and border police. They are necessary for a government to retain control, therefore being a perquisite to “good governance, and not used in such away as to be seen as “instruments of fear”

 

Reforming and restructuring the existing force requires monitoring, correcting and removing undesirable elements. This is best accomplished through coordination between the police and political-legal components of the international mission and between the international mission and the local police and authorities. The secret to effective coordination is co-location and communication, which is best effected through International management groups made up of bilateral aid and NGOs.

 

TRANSITION

 

Transition from one organization to another must be designed to ensure that the international community’s goals for the mission are served and strategies harmonized.

Transition includes peace-building and corporate institution building, the promotion of good governance and the rule of law. Sustainable development is indispensable to peace

 

Partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations must be enhanced. Regional organizations must seek to develop their capacity to bring to the field police, judicial and penal experts supported by international organizations.

 

EXIT

 

The mission exit is completed when the work is handed off to local agencies. The important capacities developed over a short time by UNCIVPOL working with the local police could be weakened or lost. International initiatives have to be in place to ensure that support and training continues to be provided until the capacity to carry on is developed. In the absence of UNCIVPOL it is imperative that cooperative initiatives between local, regional and national governments and international NGOs or friends of the host country work together to enhance the development of the local police and the continuing progress in police and public security and law and order