By Bernice Bessey..
The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has made preparations to deploy 218 law enforcement officers to South Sudan for a peacekeeping mission by January 2017.
The deployment was based on the Ghana government’s commitment to the 2015 United Nations General Assembly to provide two batches of Formed Police Units (FPUs) to UN peacekeeping efforts in war torn countries.
The 218 personnel make up the first batch, even though the Service had already deployed some 170 personnel to South Sudan.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. John Kudalor, addressing the FPU Pre-Deployment Training Graduation ceremony at the National Police Training School, Accra, said the training was a partnership between the Ghana Government and the United States.
According to the IGP, the fulfillment of the promise also deepens Ghana’s commitments to peacekeeping, as it has been at the forefront in committing personnel to peacekeeping operations in war-torn countries.
He congratulated the facilitators and trainees for making the programme successful
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Also at the ceremony was the US Ambassador to Ghana, H. E Robert P. Jackson, who added that the US government had signed an agreement with the Police Service to support Ghanaian police personnel who would be deployed as peacekeepers to UN missions.
He said the seven weeks training was a transformation of ideas to reality by the Service and US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
According to the Ambassador, the training was necessitated by the high demand of FPUs in fragile countries like South Sudan, where there is critical need for peace to be restored, adding, “the United States is encouraged by Ghana’s commitment to peacekeeping, and its quick response in organising, training and deploying units.”
Mr. Jackson indicated that the 218 peacekeepers, made up 620 personnel of the Ghana Police Service, are participating in nine UN peacekeeping operations across Africa and Haiti.
“These UN police help maintain public order, protect civilians, guard UN facilities and personnel, and bolster local law enforcement operations. They play a critical role in building the capacity of professional, credible enforcement institutions in the host nation, paving the way for citizen security and recovery from conflict,” he added.
The Ambassador stated that the aim was not only to offer assistance to partner countries, as they prepare for the next deployment, but to invest in strong national training systems that would continue to prepare high-quality police for future rotations and new peacekeeping operations.
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