In their words: Training for Sudan’s challenges

Fred Yiga, UNMISS Police Commissioner, says ISS prepared UN police for the challenging mission in South Sudan.

Published on 23 April 2016 in Impact

‘The ISS helped our officers to adapt to one of the world’s most difficult conflicts,’ says Fred Yiga, Assistant Inspector General of the Uganda Police Force and current Police Commissioner to UNMISS.

The ISS has collaborated with Yiga and UNMISS since 2013. The Sudan mission has huge challenges and a mandate that calls for the protection of thousands of internally displaced people who seek refuge in UN compounds.

Yiga invited the ISS to conduct a training needs assessment of knowledge and skills of mid-level police managers who work on issues such as community policing, rule of law and good governance, and their role as gender advisors.

Following the outbreak of violence in December 2013, the training was adapted to have a much stronger focus on the protection of civilians.

The ISS training enhanced officers’ knowledge and skills relating to gender-based violence and the protection of children and vulnerable groups, and will be used as part of the induction training for all new UNPOL officers and advisors.

The ISS training was jointly developed with UNMISS UNPOL based on true ground scenarios, and tailored to equip UNMISS field commanders for specific challenges. ‘Learning in South Sudan cannot be based on a generic understanding of conflict,’ Yiga says. ‘The ISS has trained a formidable UNPOL team. My officers are now proudly professional and understand the realities on the ground.’

He expects that the ISS approach will help to shape further UN policy on protection of civilians.

	The ISS helped our officers to adapt to one of the world’s most difficult conflicts. The ISS has trained a formidable UNPOL team
	– Fred Yiga, Police Commissioner, UN Mission in South Sudan