UN TRAINS FIRST BATCH OF MEMBERS OF JOINT POLICE UNIT IN DISPUTED SUDANESE TOWN

UN TRAINS FIRST BATCH OF MEMBERS OF JOINT POLICE UNIT IN DISPUTED SUDANESE TOWN New York, Aug 26 2008 4:10PM The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have completed the first 10-day training session of members of the new joint integrated police unit in Abyei, a town at the centre of an area still contested after the end of the north-south civil war.

The new unit comprises 63 members of the Sudanese Government police and 105 members from the South Sudan police service and is tasked with restoring the rule of law and ensuring Abyei's security so that the thousands of residents who fled the town after deadly fighting in May can safely return.

UNMIS and UNDP said in a press release issued today that, in addition to the new police unit, both the Sudanese Government police and the South Sudan police service have agreed to deploy more members of their forces in the coming weeks to Abyei.

An oil-rich area close to the boundary between north and south Sudan, Abyei's status was not resolved in the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) which ended the long-running civil war – a conflict separate to the current fighting in western Sudan's Darfur region.

But after the eruption of violence in May in Abyei, the Government and the former southern rebels subsequently reached a road map agreement that called for, among other measures, the establishment and deployment of joint integrated police units.

Under the basic training course that just ended, UN Police (UNPOL) working with the mission taught different aspects of policing, including: crime scene investigation; human rights; democratic policing; understanding the Sudan Police Act; and issues concerning gender and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Specialized and advanced training courses are also being provided.

UNDP helped organize the training by procuring and delivering the tents, laptop computers, chairs, stationery and food necessary for the course, at a cost of about $60,000.
2008-08-26 00:00:00.000

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