STORY: SOMALIA POLICE FORCE HUMAN RIGHTS

TRAINING
TRT: 3:45
SOURCE: AMISOM PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES
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SERVICES
LANGUAGE: SOMALI/ENGLISH/NATS
DATELINE: 1 JUNE 2014, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST

1, Wide shot: AMISOM, UN and Somali Police Force Officers in the training
session
2, Med shot: An official conducting the training
3, Close up: Training official
4, Med shot: SPF officer listening
5, Wide shot: Training official
6, Med shot: Senior SPF Officer listening
7, SOUNDBITE: Dr. BENJAMIN AGORDZO, AMISOM POLICE TRAINING
COORDINATOR:
The womens rights are also very important in this course, because we realize it
is an issue here and therefore we want to amplify it and emphasize it so much.
These are some of the areas but above all, we also want to talk about
accountability when it comes to police overstepping their bounds. What are the
avenues for people to report the police? Whether they exist, if they are not
existing how should we take steps to ensure that these avenues or mechanisms
exist for the public to make complaints against the police? This is also a human
rights issue we want to deal with.
8, Wide shot: AMISOM, UN and SPF officers at the training session
9, Med shot: AMISOM, UN and SPF officers at the training
10, Close up: SPF senior officer delivers the opening remarks
11, SOUNDBITE: ZAKIA HUSSIEN AHMED SOMALI POLICE FORCE DIRECTOR
COMMUNITY POLICING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS:
We are attending a training right now, on training the trainers for human rights,
organized by the Rule of Law, the UN and the AMISOM. We, as the Somali Police
Force are highly appreciative of such trainings. We are recovering from twenty
years of violence and we are still in a society where terrorism and violation of
human rights are at the peak. So getting this type of training is extremely helpful
for all of us. It is also something quite new to the society. To have police officers
in different ranks and different genders actually getting this type of training is
extremely vital for our work. It will assist us to do better police services for the
Somali people and it will also assist us to comply more with the international
standards of the police as such. Specifically for the community policing, this will
be extremely helpful to actually have people trained and actually guarding
human rights is part of the community policy, it is a very important component.
So am very grateful and we appreciate this training.
12, Wide shot: AMISOM, UN and SPF officers at the training session
13, Med shot: UN staff conducting the training
14, Wide shot: AMISOM, UN and SPF officials during the training session


STORY
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) together with its development
partners has begun training of trainers, for the Somali Police Force (SPF)
including those to be deployed in the newly recovered areas. The 5- day training
is being attended by 27 officers including directors of the various units of the
SPF.

At least 10 towns were recovered from al Shabaab across different regions in the
joint offensive conducted by the Somali National Army and AMISOM between
February and April this year. The Somali Federal Government together with
AMISOM and other development partners have since embarked on activities to
ensure that effective administration systems are set up in the newly recovered
areas and rule of law re-established.

The training of the police officers especially on issues of human rights ahead of
their deployment is timely and in line with similar activities being undertaken by
the Somali Federal Government working together with AMISOM to re-build the
newly liberated areas.

Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, AMISOM Polices Training Coordinator says the training
aims to enhance the sensitivity of the Somali Police to human rights, and to
educate them about how to effectively execute their duties while at the same
time upholding the rights of citizens.

The womens rights are also very important in this course, because we realize it
is an issue here and therefore we want to amplify it and emphasize it so much.
These are some of the areas but above all, we also want to talk about
accountability when it comes to police overstepping their bounds. What are the
avenues for people to report the police? Whether they are existing; if they are
not existing how should we take steps to ensure that these avenues or
mechanisms exist for the public to make complaints against the police? This is
also a human rights issue we want to deal with, he says.

The Somali Police Officers attending the training noted that it is very relevant to
their current duties and will go a long way in improving the quality of their work.

We are attending a training right now, on training the trainers for human rights,
organized by the Rule of Law, the UN and the AMISOM. We as the Somali Police
Force are highly appreciative of such trainings. We are recovering from twenty
years of violence and we are still in a society where terrorism and violation of
human rights are at the peak. So getting this type of training is extremely helpful
for all of us it is also something quite new to the society, to have police officers in
different ranks and different genders actually getting this type of training is
extremely vital for our work. It will assist us to do better police services for the
Somali people and it will also assist us to comply more with the international
standards of the police as such. Specifically for the community policing this will
be extremely helpful to actually have people trained and actually guarding
human rights is part of the community policy, it is a very important component.
So am very grateful and we appreciate this training, says Zakia Hussein Ahmed,
SPF Director Community Policing and Public Relations.

Other modules to be covered during the training course include Protection of
Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Children in Armed Conflict, Human
Rights in Police Search and Seizure, Human Rights in Pre-trial Detention, among
others.
The course is part of the AMISOM strategy which includes training and building
the capacity of the Institutions of the Somali Federal Government, to facilitate its
eventual exit.
END.