UN Women Cameroon drills Police force on protecting women, children in Humanitarian situations.

The five-day capacity building workshop is the first in a series of three, aimed at training 150 Policemen and women on how to better protect women and children in humanitarian situations in the East and Adamawa Regions of Cameroon

Date: Monday, 21 December 2015

Cross section of Police Officers brainstorming on how to better protect women and children in group work. Photo credits: J FAJONG/UN Women

Bertoua-Cameroon 18 December 2015: Some 50 law enforcement officers, drawn from the Police corps across the East Region of Cameroon are poised to protect women and children in humanitarian situations-armed and non-armed conflict areas. They have also taken the commitment to respect the rights of refugees and pay particular attention to the plights of women and children.

The Police Officers took the commitment on Friday 18 December 2015 at the end of a five day capacity building workshop on how they can better protect women and children in humanitarian conflicts.

“We, the law enforcement officers in the East Region promise to put into practice and vulgarize all what we have apprehended as we go back to our various duty stations and police posts”, the representative of the participants pledged at the end of the training.

Assiga Thomas, Senior Police Commissioner and Director of Training at the General Delegation for National Security lauded UN Women for the initiative but also requested more capacity building workshops.

“We are pleading on UN Women to consider assisting us in formulating a training module that can be integrated as a full course for initial training in Police schools in Cameroon”, the Director requested.

The Program Officer at UN Women, Joseph Ngoro, seating in for the Country Representative told participants that “UN Women intends to train 150 Police Officers and set up Gender Desks-specialized units on gender based violence, in Police stations in Bertoua, Batouri and Meiganga”.

During the five day workshop, the Police officers were drilled on the current state of humanitarian situation in Cameroon, gender based violence and the role of the Police, legal and in situational frameworks in the area of protecting women and children in humanitarian crises among others.

The capacity building workshop which was organized by UN Women Cameroon falls within the framework of the project on the provision of life-saving integrated GBV services and protection for women and girl refugees in Adamaoua and East Regions of Cameroon, supported by Japan.