CAPACITY-BUILDING WORKSHOP FOR TOGOLESE SECURITY FORCES ON” THE RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES BY SECURITY FORCES DURING LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS”
From 19-23 October 2009 was held at the National School of Gendarmerie in Lomé, a capacity-building workshop for
Togolese security forces on “the respect of human rights and humanitarian principles by security forces during operations of maintenance of law and order”.
Organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) in partnership with the Togolese government, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Togo and the Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Togo, the workshop saw the participation of fifty (50) members of the Togolese security forces resulting from the police force, the gendarmerie, the firemen and the gardiens de préfecture.The workshop took the form of a training course of fifty (50) trainers who will in turn ensure the training of approximately 6000 agents of Togolese security forces who will be in charge of securing the next presidential polls of February 2010.
During the workshop, various courses were delivered by high level experts, who shared with the participants their knowledge on subjects like the rules, principles and functioning of the United Nations as regards conflicts prevention and respect of human rights, as well as humanitarian principles.
The courses were delivered in the form of interactive lectures and especially practical case-studies based namely on situations and techniques of operations of maintenance of law and order, the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials , Security Forces’ Guide on the Maintenance of Law and Order during Elections, and the rules and principles of the intervention of the international movement of the Red Cross.
The training ended with a simulation exercise of an operation of maintenance of law and order on an electoral site where violent demonstrations were taking place. The opportunity was thus given to the 50 trainers to appreciate the techniques and means of maintenance of law and order with the assistance of first-aid workers of the Togolese Red Cross.
This workshop held with the financial support of the British High Commission in Accra and the African Security Sector Network is one of the major capacity-building activities of security forces organized by the project ASSEREP which aims, since its launching in 2007, at professionalizing defence and security institutions, and promoting confidence relationships between the civilians and the military and the democratic control of security sector by parliamentarians. For the full outcome document visit www.unrec.org/unrec/asserep.pdf
