January-13 - EUPOL Afghanistan

EUPOL - Serving Afghanistan
Newsletter of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan
January 2013
01/13
SUPPORTING POLICEWOMEN:
AFGHAN OWNERSHIP:
Justice and criminal
procedurel training
page 4
Female police network meeting
to share experiences
page 6
AFGHAN FIRE FIGHTERS:
Battling flames
and challenges
page 7
Afghan police takes over
responsibility for Ring of Steel
A
Kabul. After four years of constant support, training and mentoring by EUPOL Afghanistan, Kabul’s Ring of Steel was handed
over in a formal ceremony in mid January to
the Afghan National Police. Launched by the
European Police Mission in 2009 with national and international partners, the Ring of
Steel established a ring of 25 checkpoints
around central Kabul. 890 police officers are
on duty day by day, guarding the arterial
roads, checking cars for explosives and guns.
More on Page 5
Key personnel appointed
Kabul. Changes in the senior management level of EUPOL Afghanistan in January:
Chief Constable Pieter Deelman from the Netherlands was
appointed as the Deputy Head
of Mission. Previously, he
worked as EUPOL Head of the
Police Component. Before
coming to Afghanistan, he held
for two years a post as the director of the
Dutch Society, Security and Police Foundation (SMVP).
The new Head of the Rule
of Law Component is Heikki
Wendorf from Finland. Most
recently, worked as a team
leader and consultant in different EU and US funded projects
in the Balkans and in Central Asia. Colonel
Uwe Heller from Germany is the new Executive Officer.
WHAT’S INSIDE
AFGHAN CHILDREN AT RISK:
Donation for an orphanage in Kunduz
1-3
BIG STEP TOWARDS AFGHAN
OWNERSHIP:
Justice and criminal procedure training
4
HANDOVER KABUL’S RING OF STEEL:
“We have to defend our soil ourselves”
5
FEMALE POLICE NETWORK MEETING:
Supporting, sharing experiences
6
FIRE FIGHTERS IN AFGHANISTAN:
Battling flames and challenges
7
BRIEFS
OVERVIEW: EUPOL Highlights
8-9
10
A boy peeks out the window of the orphanage in Kunduz. Pictures: Fallckom Cuenca
Afghan children at risk
Local state run orphanage a first step
for protection
Kunduz. It is 10 am on a cloudy, cold
morning. We can see our breath as we gather
the EUPOL team outside Copland Kunduz
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) for a
short briefing before departing. The mission
deliver a donation to the only official state
run orphanage on the outskirts of the city. It
is only days after the first snow and we all
feel the anticipation growing as we stand
outside waiting for our transport.
As the winter draws near their needs are
becoming ever so pressing. With the logistic
support from the Dutch Police Training
Group (PTG), we are about to deliver mattresses, clothing, toys, food, school supplies,
‘goodies’ and 700 kg of wood to help heat
the orphanage. A humble contribution, yet
absolutely necessary to a facility which lacks
electricity and respectively heating. This is
our first visit to the orphanage, which draws
some unforeseen attention as our convoy
rolls through the gate. We can feel the expectations of the children as some come to greet
us right away, while other peek through the
windows with curiosity in their eyes.
The school is currently accommodating
112 children, 100 boys and 12 girls. Unlike
the boys the girls live elsewhere. This orphanage is one of many across the country,
providing education to children which are for
various reasons not able to live with their
families. Indeed, we are told, that some of
the children have lost their parents, others
cannot be provided with adequate care by
their single living guardian, often mothers, or
have parents suffering from addiction. In
many cases, children who have lost their
father are considered as orphans and can be
separated from their mothers if they do not
accept a marriage with another male member
of the deseeded husband’s family. Hence,
these orphanages provide a substitute to an
otherwise harmful environment and a refuge
from abuse, violence and malnutrition.
Undernourishment is known to be the
cause of one third of the child mortality cases
in Afghanistan and recent statistics from
UNICEF show that 59 percent are born
stunted. Malnutrition during early childhood
or birth has irreversible effects on development such as height, weight, as well as mental health.
Continued on page 2
2
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
Continued from page 1
by the 2011 Child Rights Analysis commisUnfortunately Afghanistan tops the statissioned by Save the Children Sweden which
tics among the Central Asian countries and
concluded that ‘drafting of additional laws
also the world. The children greet us with
should also be followed up by adequate huenthusiasm and remind us of what the Afman and financial resources’.
ghan people have always been known forThis is where the mandate of the EUPOL
their hospitality and friendliness. As Gul
Afghanistan Mission proves to be best posiAlam, the training manager, welcomes the
tioned in creating valuable linkages between
team the children gather around us with incivil policing, protection of civilian rights
quisitive curiosity while their smiles and
and rule of law. EUPOL has already enjoyed
laughter fill the large entrance hall of the
great success through mentoring and courses
orphanage. Each armed with a lollipop they
for strengthening both cooperation between
gladly follow us on a tour of their ‘home’.
police and prosecutors as well as justice and
We make a quick visit of three classcriminal procedures. This includes integratrooms. The government employs the teachers
ing general principles into all legislation relethat come here on a daily basis to provide
vant to children, and applied in political, jueducation. A door at the end of a hall leads
dicial and administrative procedures and deinto a large room adjacent to a fairly new
cisions.
kitchen area which remains more or less unIn October 2011, EUPOL project was
used. Just like the heating facility, right outstarted that would equip Afghan police offiside the kitchen, it requires electricity from
cers with the booklet on ‘Child Rights and
the generator. The heatPolicing’ to be
ing system is a generaused in daily
tor with a 100l reser- Afghanistan ratified the
work. 100.000
voir which stands Convention on the Rights of the copies will be
empty. Although fairly Child (CRC) in March 1994.
distributed durnew and fully operaing the spring
tional it currently lacks
season 2013.
of diesel fuel to renders it useful for its purAnother project is about an educational
pose, we are told.
video which addresses various working situaAs we exit the building through on the far
tions for the Afghan National Police (ANP),
side of the dining hall we are shown the curwhere Child Rights play a significant role.
rent kitchen. Two big kettles are being preAll ANP educational institutions (Police
pared with the daily lunch over an open fire
Academy, Staff College, MoI Training Deand we continue our visit through the sanipartment, ANP Provincial Educational Centary facilities, recently constructed in a small
tres) will disseminate the video for training
building adjacent to the playground, and on
purposes. Of course, training plays a crucial
to the second floor and the dormitories.
role. This is why, EUPOL started in April
Afghanistan ratified the Convention on
2012 to conduct trainings on Child / Juvenile
the Rights of the Child (CRC) in March
Rights together with the the Justice Sector
1994. Its first report to the Committee was
Support Program (JSSP) at Kabul District
assessed in 2011 and the concluding observaPolice Stations.
tions subsequently resulted in three new laws
It is through these initiatives that greater
relevant to the protection of children. Yet, a
awareness of legal instruments (including
strong legal framework is not sufficient as
national and international frameworks) for
the country is currently struggling with ‘low
protection can be extended beyond the numimplementation due mainly to weak enforceber of limited professionals specifically
ment and a limited level of awareness of the
working directly with children.
legal norms […]’. This was further affirmed
Continued on page 3
Be accountable!
For EUPOL Afghanistan the year 2013
started off well. I am
extremely happy that in
January our new operational plan (“OP-plan”)
has been endorsed in
Brussels; it is a significant document that gives
us guidance for the next months and years to
come. One of the major changes is the a new
benchmarking unit which I am particularly
attached to. I believe that we should be more
accountable toward our taxpayers in Europe.
The unit will also help us identify areas in
which we have made progress, and others
where we should adjust our efforts.
Another key change in the OP-Plan is the
reduction of our field presence outside of Kabul, allowing us to reinforce and re-focus our
efforts. Pol-e Khomri and Chagcharan will be
closing shortly, Kunduz later this year. The
field offices in the provinces are close to my
heart: I visit them often, most recently Mazare Sharif. There, I could hear from Governor
Atta of Balkh Province that the Community
Policing Unit (Police e Mardume) is doing
well and truly connect with the public. They
have discussions with civil society and meet
elders. All this outreach serves one purpose:
to build mutual trust and increase security.
Sadly, as the attacks on the NDS and traffic police headquarters have shown, security
in Kabul remains an issue. Despite the commitment of the police manning the “Ring of
Steel”, no such system can ever be perfect. If
some terrorists obviously made it through the
checkpoints, however, many others did not.
After four years of mentoring and training,
EUPOL handed over the Ring of Steel to the
Afghan Police. More such hand-overs will
take place this year, and the Afghan National
Police will live up to the challenge.
I am also pleased to welcome experienced
colleagues to EUPOL’s senior management
team: I believe that Pieter, Heikki and Uwe
are great assets on my team and will help me
steer the mission in the right direction.
Karl Åke Roghe
Editorial Staff
Christiane Buck, Aziz Basam
Edith Lommerse, Mariam Asey
EUPOL Press and Public
Information Office
Providing children with the
basics: Mattress delivery to
the orphanage
[email protected]
www.eupol-afg.eu
© 2013
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
3
Afghan child peeking through the window. Photos: Fallckolm Cuenca
The power of a smile: children warmly welcome the visitors. Picture: Fallckom Cuenca
Continued from Page 2
Several reports indicate that children are
often not heard in judicial proceedings, and
are repeatedly subjected to various forms of
Several reports indicate that
children are often not heard
in judicial proceedings, and
are repeatedly subjected to
various forms of verbal and
physical abuse.
verbal and physical abuse, including the use
of handcuffs in rehabilitation centers as well
as during transport by police. Often without
any independent formal child sensitive
mechanism to subject complains against law
enforcement officers many grow up with a
general distrust for the police. EUPOL enjoys a unique outreach with the the Attourney General’s Office (AGO), the Ministry of
Interior (MoI), Afghan Ministry of Justice
(AMJ) which may well prove to be unique in
terms of sustainability. As we are getting
ready to leave we are invited to the office of
Mirwais, the Head principal of the school to
also meet with Masoma Yaqeen who is the
Head of the Social Affairs office in Kunduz.
In a brief consultation we talk about all
the adjacent protection issues- about the fact
that, unlike this orphanage, many child protection centers continue to operate without
proper licensing and registration, that many
centers and schools still practice harsh disciplinary measures and Yaqeen shares with us
her concerns and hopes. While thanking
EUPOL for our interest, support, effort in
Kunduz and in particularly at the orphanage
we leave with a sense of satisfaction that our
mission- ‘to contribute to the establishment
of sustainable and effective civil policing
arrangements that will ensure appropriate
interaction with the wider criminal justice
system’ actually touches all aspects of society and especially the young generation
which has shown us the power of a smile.
Fallckolm Cuenca,
EUPOL Rule of Law Training Advisor
External links and further resources





Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission:
* http://www.aihrc.org.af/
Documents from the Committee's 56th session:
* http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/crcs56.htm
UNICEF Factsheet Child Protection Nov. 2011:
* http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/files/
ACO_Child_Protection_Factsheet_-_November_2011.pdf
Nordic Consulting Group and the 2011 Child Rights Analysis
commissioned by Save the Children Sweden:
* http://www.ncg.no/index.asp?id=35037
More resources on CRIN (Child Rights International Network):
* http://www.crin.org/reg/country.asp?ctryID=2&subregID=11
4
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
Justice and Criminal Procedure training
Big Step towards Afghan ownership
Afghan prosecutor giving a lecture to his colleagues
C
ircumstances beyond their control
tice Unit began planning to deliver the Jusmade it necessary for EUPOL Rule of
tice and Criminal Procedure training for
Law trainers Gordon Klussman and Luca
Bamyan and its districts; letters were sent,
Costa to experiment with their Justice and
planning was done, Bamyan authorities were
Criminal Procedure Training. At the end the
approached, the hotel was booked.
training went fine as it was organised and
But in the last weeks for the second
conducted by the Afghans themselves. Beround of the training program some issues
fore that could happen, all kinds difficulties
arose: Gordon at that moment the Trainer/
arose.
Adviser in charge, could not be hosted in the
Gordon Klussman is pleased with the
New Zealand base because of logistical isdevelopment towards Afghan ownership and
sues. In addition the hotel where the training
the auto-piloting of the training. “An imporwas supposed to be held was not able to oftant measure for the
fer the venue
support to Afghaniand
Criminal
stan is the role of
Investigation
local counterparts. All our efforts would be wasted in
Department
All our efforts
(CID) officers
would be wasted in just a few years, if Afghans are
from the disjust a few years, if not stepping into the direct ortricts were still
Afghans are not
orders
ganisation of the training, and are waiting
stepping into the
and
official
direct organisation getting involved in the developcommunications
of training, and are ment of their country”
despite proper
getting involved in
planning
and
the development of
addressing
the
- Gordon Klussman
their own country.”
authorities
in
So in the last few
Kabul. Moreyear’s interpreters, local assistants, local
over, tension created by the demonstrations
trainers have been increasingly engaged in a
in several Muslim countries also affected
vast range of activities. “But for this training
movements of EUPOL experts in Afghaniit was incredible how much problems we
stan. Gordon: “The first, and maybe easiest
faced”, he says with a smile now that is bedecision would have been to postpone the
hind him.
course and re-start all the arrangements
In the summer, it was August Bamyan
when the restrictions on movement would be
Field Office and the HQ's Rule of Law Juslifted.” However, the wish not to disappoint
the prosecutors already enlisted and the two
Afghan trainers prevailed. The big difference was made by a local employee Monir
Rahimi. Monir has been working with
EUPOL since early 2011 and is currently the
Administration Officer at the Rule of Law
Component. He is from Kabul with ample
experience in planning and implementing
the JCP training program. For this specific
activity Monir agreed on facilitating the first
"autopilot training". With great commitment
and enthusiasm he arranged the selection of
the participants, necessary changes in the
venue for the event, coffee breaks and
lunches, as well as the necessary travel and
accommodation arrangements for the trainers. Many tasks to be conducted, decisions
to be taken, all at the very moment constantly coordinated with Kabul's HQ and
Bamyan's offices and the immanent trust by
EUPOL HQ.
Monir involved Bamyan Field Office
only when strictly necessary for minor logistical issues and final clarifications. After
skillfully managing all earlier obstacles the
last challenges were the last moment declared holiday, the19 Sept. anniversary of
the killing of Burhanuddin Rabbani (former
AFG president and Head of AFG peace
council), and cancelation of EUPOL flights
due to the tragic event of an suicide attack in
Kabul involving the contracted pilots of
EUPOL planes. Gordon: “Definitely not an
example of a lucky circumstances course!”
Nevertheless it got completed successfully and is now a proof of the possibility for
conducting "autopilot" initiatives and effective local ownership and sustainability in
Afghanistan.
Some statistics
The JCP course in Bamyan was attended
by 20 participants: 5 CID officers, 14 prosecutors (in both cases mainly from the provincial districts) and a female representative
from the Violence against Women Commission.
The decision to have the course in the
Prosecutors' Office was sincerely appreciated. The Chief Prosecutor could attend, not
only for the formal opening/closure
speeches, but also for daily talks with the
trainers and his subordinates in order to
strengthen the professional ties. Conducting
the course at the Prosecution Department
proved to be not only more cost effective but
allowed for additional purchases from the
local market which also fosters local economic development.
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
5
Official ceremony at the headquarters of the Ring of Steel. Below: Handover of the Memorial Plaque.
“We have to defend
our soil ourselves”
I
n the end, EUPOL armored vehicles only
drove a few kilometers back to their headquarters in Kabul, but their departure was
heavy with symbolism as they marked the
official handover of Kabul’s Ring of Steel to
Afghan police forces.
More than 250 Afghan policemen from
the Ring of Steel lined up to EUPOL mentors and trainers and their Afghan police
chiefs during a handover ceremony marked
more by symbolism on a cold morning in
January.
The Ring of Steel is one of the projects
handed over by EUPOL to the Afghan police in the first phase of a gradual transition
process that will continue until 2014.
Launched by the European Police Mission in
2009 with national and international partners, the Ring of Steel established a ring of
25 checkpoints around central Kabul. 890
police officers are on duty day by day,
guarding the arterial roads.
The police men and women on the street
have almost a dangerous task: they are
searching cars for explosives and guns, always there is the risk that a suicide bomber
can be in any car and detonate their deadly
charge any minute. Despite the preparedness
and commitment of the men, it is almost a
mission impossible in a porous city with
over five million people. Some terrorists
manage to make it through the “Ring of
Steel” checkpoints, as sadly demonstrated
recently when the NDS headquarter and the
traffic police headquarters were attacked.
But many other terrorists did not.
For David Oram, EUPOL Head of Kabul
Field Office, the Ring of Steel is all about
deterrence – despite the drawbacks. In his
speech he encouraged the officers and patrolmen who are “out on the streets day in,
day out in the freezing rain and snow of winter and the dusty heat of summer”. He said:
“Your role is to keep the city safe, you will
detect much crime at checkpoints. However,
you will never know how much crime and
terrorism you will have prevented just by
your presence.”
“We started almost from nothing but since then we are on
the verge of transition.”
- General Qadir Gul Zadran
This wouldn’t be reality with EUPOL’s
effort: approximately 650 Ring of Steel officers and sergeants received training by
EUPOL in different areas such as vehiclesearch, body-search or Human Rights. Train
-to-Trainers enabled the Afghans to deliver
the training courses to new recruits. An effort, which was much appreciated by Colonel Nezamuddin Ghori, the Commander of
the Ring of Steel: “Better education, logistic
support and the increase of morale and confidence of our staff had a truly positive impact.”
This will also have an impact on the performance, said General Qadir Gul Zadran,
Commander of Special Brigades. He reminded his personnel at the parade: “We
started almost from nothing but since they
we are on the verge of transition, we should
be independent and fight the enemy ourselves.” He said passionately: “Remember
colleagues, we didn’t even have uniforms
four years ago, of course it is a challenge to
provide security for the citizens of Kabul,
but we must defend our soil ourselves.”
At the end of the ceremony, David Oram
congratulated Colonel Nezamuddin Ghori
and his colleagues on their new responsibilities. "Your role is not only one of vigilance
but you are the proud representatives of the
ANP and servants of the community. Be
proud what you do, be vigilant, be professional, be ambassadors," David told Nezamuddin. In a message to EUPOL and the
international community, Colonel Nezamuddin, said what was really on his mind: “It
won’t be a good idea if the international
community leaves us. We must be supported
until we are fully self-sufficient.” He
stressed that corruption is a major challenge
he wishes to tackle. David Oram assured
him that the “proud tradition of cooperation
will continue into the future”. As a symbolic
sign for his friendship a double-sided coin
with EUPOL and the Afghan National Police was handed over. This is certainly not
the end of a successful cooperation.
6
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
Afghan policewomen symbolically created a network with a ball of woool
Supporting, sharing experience
Kabul. "I would like to wear a uniform
and look like a police officer, but I can’t it is
too dangerous”, explains Lieutenant Colonel
Mariam her predicament in the 6th Female
Network Meeting at Kabul City Police HQ.
When her neighbours and family know that
she is a policewomen she will be shunned
and isolated. Life is not easy for these policewomen that fill the central hall of the
Kabul City Police Headquarters. The room
is cold but heats up after the speeches when
the almost 50 women are divided in groups
to talk about their lives as policewomen.
Lieutenant Colonel Mariam is proud to
be a police officer despite the fact that she
has to hide it. “How do you cope with the
suspicions of family and neighbours?”, she
asks her colleagues. Her husband knows
about her job and gave permission, but otherwise nobody knows. “I don’t mind, I am
proud to be a police officer and an actress,
everybody can know”, a brave colleague
replies saying that she should not care about
the others. “Telling stories won’t help”, the
actress/policewoman emphasises.
More than 50 Afghan female police officers from different police districts in Kabul
are regularly brought together by EUPOL to
learn from each other and to generate support. It is said repeatedly, find strength in
each other and know how to organise support, for instance by using the police ombudsman. “When the internationals are gone
that is what keeps you going”, Odile Kantyono, UNAMA Gender Affairs Officer
from Burkina Faso says passionately. She
had to wait a long time to see the change but
she never gave up. She is proud to say that
after over 20 years her police force has many
women working on high levels.
“Our work is often limited to body
searching but we need more duties at detective level”, says Lt. Col Rana, Head of Afghan Female Police Officers Network in
Kabul. She starts the discussion in her group
after the women symbolically created a net-
“Our work is often limited to
body searching but we need
more duties at detective level.”
- LT. Col Rana
work by throwing a ball of wool and questions each other. First they are shy but when
asked what needs to be done to improve
their situation, they come up with a long list.
As a top priority they list the need for a high
ranking female police officer as the Head of
Human Rights and Gender department. “We
need a female, we can show our injuries to”,
they explain. Quite often they have bruises
from a beating at home, as they show their
shoulders and point at the marks.
Next on the list is a very practical requirement. “We need a place in the police
offices where we can change our clothes and
stay for example when we have nightshift.”
Another urgent matter is the lack of transport. “We can’t walk home alone and if we
can drive a car, we are much safer”, they
explain as they cannot be seen in a car with a
policeman on their own.
A recurrent topic is the withdrawal of the
international security forces by the end of
2014. “Women living here are quite happy
to have foreigners around”, one of the female police officers starts the discussion.
“Girls are going to school again; we don't
want the internal conflicts to start again. We
are much safer now, especially in the city.
We don't want to go back to the Taliban
days.” It is quite clear that these women are
not convinced that the progress and human
rights they have achieved over the years will
not be taken away from them.
2nd Lieutenant Sohaila Jamaluddin, Complaints Officer at the Gender Unit of the MoI
closes the meeting. “Yes, this time we came
up with solutions and have gotten to know
each other better.” It all boils down to raising the status of female police officers both
within their working field and in society.
When that is accomplished, Lieutenant
Colonel Mariam won’t have to lie about her
occupation anymore and will proudly wear
her uniform.
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
7
Fire fighters:
battling
flames and
challenges
A
huge fire swept in December through
a market in Kabul, destroying hundreds
of stores and million dollars of merchandise.
Afghan fire fighters battled throughout the
night to contain the flames. The fire though,
was so severe, that Afghan army and ISAF
army fire squads were sent to assist. An
electrical shortcut was suspected to be the
blame for the outbreak. In other incidents
gas explosions are the main cause of many
fires. Afghan fire fighters are trying their
very best to respond immediately – despite
many challenges.
General Mahboob Amiri, the Head of the
Fire and Disaster Directorate, doesn’t really
know where to start when to list all the hurdles his 1.500 fire- and disaster fighters in
Kabul and throughout the country are constantly have to overcome in order to assist
those in dire need: notorious traffic jams,
narrow roads which make it difficult to maneuver fire trucks, no water mains, no fire
hydrants. When a fire crew comes to fight a
fire they bring one load of water with them
in the trucks, then they have to return to their
fire station to refill. Still, Amiri remains optimistic. He is proud of the response time to
dispatch crews: “Usually, in 30 minutes the
fire trucks are on the spot.” What brings him
job satisfaction is that “I am happy to help
people who really need us.”
Amiri knows that the infrastructural
problems (narrow streets, missing water
hydrants) are long-term challenges which
can’t be solved over night, weeks or not
even over months. It will take many years.
Some major problems are already tackled
with the help of the international community: The NATO training mission to Afghanistan (NTM-A) provided 200 fire
trucks, vehicles and further equipment to the
49 fire stations throughout the country.
Proudly he poses in front of the red shiny
red fire trucks in the Disaster Police HQ.
Whilst equipment is not the most critical
issue any more, Amiri is now focusing on an
area where a difference can be made: training. Each of the officers has to undergo a
one year theoretical and practical training,
the fire fighters are receiving a basic police
Afghan fire fighters in front of a search and
rescue truck. General Mahboob Amiri (right)
course. They are educated also in the headquarters in Kabul. 30 students are following
there a class on the law of Afghanistan. One
of them is Habib Rahman (28, pictured below) who made recently a life changing
choice. “I was working in a private bank in
Kabul and earned well”, he says. “One night
I saw on TV a news story in which fire fighters were trying to
control a fire in a
market”. He decided
that this is what he
wanted to in his life,
help people: “I hope
that my wishes will
come true and Insh’Allah I will became a professional fire fighter.” He is content with the practical training he receives:
“We are using old storage containers, simulate then a gas explosion in a house and then
we practice to set out the fire.”
There is more serious training to come,
though. And more is needed, is the assessment of the four EUPOL Afghanistan mentors to the Fire and Disaster Police whose
major task is to advise the Afghan leadership
on a strategic level. They are also assessing
training needs and coordinating courses for
call takers or fire prevention in cooperation
with EUPOL units and international counterparts. Next year, a Fire Training Academy
(building financed by NTM-A) will be inaugurated. 250 students will then be trained
there, then to be sent by the Ministry of
Transport, the Ministry of Defense and the
Ministry of Interior. The EUPOL mentors
will have a huge task ahead of them in the
next few months: to write a curriculum for
the new academy. “We are creating module
based training courses – from basic to advanced modules,” says EUPOL’s Peter Johansson. One of the modules will be a 400
hours basic training for 10-12 weeks. In this
module, the classes will concentrate on topics such as the “use of ladders, hoses, protective gear, compressors or search and rescue
operations,” explains Peter. To have the
training courses led by Afghans a while, “is
the goal”, he stresses.
Mandatory property insurance
for business owners
After the disastrous fire in the market,
the Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan
announced that no business will be able
to operate in the country without insuring
their properties by next Afghan year. The
Head of the Insurance Regulatory Body
in Afghan Finance Ministry, Fazal Bari
Mumtaz, following a press conference
along with the representatives of the
Insurance companies said the finance
ministry has sent a regulation that enforces compulsory insurance for all the
commercial zones to the Afghan justice
ministry. The regulation will be approved
in the near future.
8
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
BRIEFS
Mine Awareness Course
Herat. EUPOL Herat Field Office Police-e
Mardume Unit (Community Policing Unit) in
close cooperation with MACCA (Mine Action
Coordination Center of Afghanistan) and
UNAMA organised a Mine Awareness Trainers Course for 27 participants. The participants, also including many females, are members of Police-e Mardume Unit, local school
principles, safety and child protection workers
of the Education Department of Herat.
The participants are professional are mine
awareness instructors now, who will educate
children and youth in Herat.
EUPOL’s efforts will not only save lives
but also provide a positive face to community
policing in Herat.
Handover of equipment to
Ring of Steel commander
Kabul. To work at a checkpoint in Kabul
is one of the most dangerous jobs in the Afghan National Police. The policemen search
cars and other vehicles for explosives or
weapons at one of the 25 checkpoints in Kabul
City, everyday they run the risk to be blown
up or shot by insurgents planning an attack.
To keep them as safe as possible EUPOL and
GIZ handed over new equipment including
100 bullet proof vests and helmets. Ring of
Steel Commander Colonel Nezamudin said
the equipment is essential and will be put to
use to safeguard his men and women. Kabul
Field Office Mentors/Advisors Jessica Toussaint, Markus Pink and Juan Salguero organised the handover.
Launch of Legal Aid
Leaflets and Poster
Kabul. EUPOL officially launched the
legal awareness leaflets and posters produced
under the project to “Strengthen the Linkages
between the Police and Defence Lawyers/
Legal Aid Providers in Afghanistan” in order
to raise awareness about defense rights
among the general public and police.
Most criminal defendants (approx. 25.000 in
2012) still lack access to legal counsel in
Afghanistan and little interaction exists between the police and defence lawyers which
makes raising awareness of defense rights,
disseminating information about the existing
legal aid scheme and increasing the knowledge of the police about their role and obligations therein necessary.
49.000 legal aid information leaflets, 900
posters and 2700 address books for police
officers setting out the rights of suspects
upon arrest have been produced in partner-
ship with the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) and with the financial support of the European Union. The materials
were developed by EUPOL in cooperation
with the Legal Aid Department of the Afghan Ministry of Justice and the Afghan Independent Bar Association and shall be disseminated by the Ministry of Interior and the
Attorney General’s Office to police stations,
police custody centres, detention centres and
prosecutors’ offices in Kabul and ten key
provinces.
“Prosecutors and
police should work
like brothers”
S
haring ideas, experiences and develop a
better a relationship: For the first time,
police officers from Kabul’s Police District 4
(PD 4) and North Zone prosecutors gathered
for a workshop in January to enhance their
capacity to build effectively a criminal file
together. That there is a need for this meetings, explains David Oram, EUPOL Head of
Kabul Field Office: ““It is very significant
that police and prosecutors should work together like brothers it can be a logical next
step to put police and prosecutors together in
order to facilitate operational work in the
field.”
To work like brothers, though, they have
to meet more frequently in the future and
coordinate their tasks. This is also what
Chief Prosecutor of North Zone in Kabul,
Abdul Hassas, stresses. “It is one good opportunity for us to sit together. Police and
police and prosecutors are in the same ship,
we should sail the ship together to the shores
– since we have a common goal.”
This goal is also shared by the Chief of
PD4, General Farooq Hassas, and other CID
officers and prosecutors working in the
North Zone and PD4. As many other police
districts in Kabul, the district has many cases
and crimes to solve which are all referred to
the prosecutors in the North Zone of Kabul.
Only if a case is thoroughly investigated and
all the evidence is there, criminals can be
prosecuted according to the law. So far, this
is not always true – a closer cooperation is
needed. This is especially true for severe
crimes, states Chief General Farooq Hassas,
and names one of them: “Terrorism is a
shocking phenomenon for all of us, we have
to work together to bring the criminals to
justice.” Apart from terrorist attacks, organised crimes and drug trafficking are serious
threats as well for PD4. General Hassas mentions another crime that is linked to all the
other threats: “Administrative corruption the
worst phenomenon for us. It opens doors for
other crimes such as organised crimes.” He
emphasized that only “by working collaboratively will help us meet our goals.” To support them, a number of legal books and
booklets were handed over to the participants. The books will be used as reference by
them. “We want to make sure that when the
police and prosecutors want to investigate a
case, they are having a reference book to
check legal details in it during investigations.” says EUPOL mentor Frantisek Sailer.
He and his colleague Ian Groom are the ones
assisting the police districts when it comes to
enhance the police-prosecutor cooperation.
The police district in the North of Kabul was
also nominated after PD3 and PD9 for the
implementation of community policing.
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
BRIEFS
“Bringing together people
is the key to success”
Mazar-e Sharif. "Bringing people together is the key to success" – this was the
outcome of the Police e Mardume (PMU –
Community Policing) kick-off meeting held in
the German House in Mazar e Sharif, hosted
by the GIZ in co-operation with EUPOL Afghanistan and the Afghan National Police
(ANP). Sensitive issues such as how to tackle
bribes in gambling houses in the city were
discussed by the participants from international organisations, Afghan state owned organisations and international/Afghan Non
Governmental Organizations (NGO’s).
Bahman Qaderi, representing the Afghan
Civil Society Forum (pictured above), expects
for the future talks with his police counterpart
how to tackle the issue of bribes. Aiming at
committees to be founded together with the
elders he intends in charge of his NGO to
solve the challenge of bribes related to some
gambling houses in his area. Bahman commented on this kick-off meeting: “This is the
ideal audience to help me identifying new
counterparts in each police district in Mazar –
in the police departments and in the Rule of
Law departments.” One
of the attending elders Ali
Zafar added:
“We suffered
a lot in the
past. And our
people need a functioning judicial system in
their future. It’s the duty of our government to
implement it, and I hope we can reach it all
together now!”
EUPOL mentors and advisors Zed Bjalldal
and Mikael Saveman were optimistic at the
end of man’s states: “EUPOL has initialized
this meeting with the purpose of bringing people together who are involved in community
policing.” He is convinced that “connecting
people and police to each other to share their
experience and expertise on the way to solutions for their community: that’s our approach.“
9
Conference on
psychological support
for victims of violence
Mazar-e Sharif. To promote and create a
better understanding of psychosocial support
for victims of violence related crimes,
EUPOL’s Rule of Law and police pillar organised recently a joint conference in Mazare-Sharif. The overall intention was
to provide information from a medical point
of view for involved professional groups like
police officers to be the first at the crime
scene, prosecutors and judges. Dr. Fareshta
Queedes from IPSO (International Psychosocial Organisation) facilitated the event and
gave her professional input. IPSO is working
right now with a network of 22 Afghan psychosocial consultants in Balkh, Baghlan and
Badakhshan Province. Active participation
and involvement of the 25 participants,
hereof five officers of the Police e Mardume
unit proved that there is a vital need to proceed and promote the idea of psychosocial
support, not only to improve the approach to
victims during the pre-trial and trial phase,
but also as prophylactic approach in a society
where domestic violence cases are rising.
According to the Mental Health Department
in Kabul over 50 percent of the population
suffer from mental disorder. Sensitization of
police and society in general will help to take
preventive measures and provide timely professional intervention.
The police: ‘Light for the city’
Mazar-e Sharif. “The police should be
the light of the city”, says Samia, a female
Police Officer working in Mazar-e Sharif
Police District (PD) 3 which is mentored by
EUPOL. Samia’s words were just one of the
many ideas given by the trainees during the
EUPOL’s Community Policing Course.
Some of Samia’s colleagues stressed the importance of cooperation between police and
the people and shared their ideas on how the
police can serve the community better “If we
cooperate with the people, the people cooperate with us”, it is the motto of the Community Policing Course. . Different topics were
covered by EUPOL Mazar team Jarmo Uuttala, Michael Saveman, Felix Andaker, Joels
Gareth, Thomas Hippler, and Mark Hatchette. Trust, confidence, and respect have been
elaborated as the principal basis and prerequisite for a fruitful cooperation between the
police and the community.
During one of the lessons, the EUPOL
Head of Mission, Karl Ake Roghe, came to
visit: “I respect you and your work and know
that it isn’t easy to change into a police that
serves the people.” After the course the patrol officers in Mazar get support of the
EUPOL mentors that will patrol the streets
with the students. “These patrols last half of
the day and the ANP members have been
observed interacting with the public, especially the children” according to a EUPOL
Mentor. During these joint patrols, EUPOL
members observe first-hand interactions with
the public, both positive and negative. Language Officers are always present so that
EUPOL members can ask the community
members questions. Hussein Ali, the PD1
Commander, appreciated the Community
Policing training very much and was very
interested in exercising joint patrolling with
EUPOL. During the Community Policing
Course, a PD1 police officer pointed out the
main issue about the importance of community policing: “If the community doesn’t trust
the police, the police are not a community
police.”
The ANP patrol men were observed conducting Traffic Enforcement, Intelligence
Gathering, Mobile Security Checkpoints, and
High Visibility Presence in the form of foot
patrols through busy market areas. “Each of
these activities strengthens the trust that the
public has in the police, and does so much to
establish a proper baseline of behaviours
which will become the trademark of the ANP
in Mazar e Sharif.” The purpose of it all is to
change from a police “force” to a police
“service”. Regular visits to the schools and
mosques further reinforce the good work that
is being conducted by these members” says
Sylwia Zalewska, EUPOL RoL Mentor in
Mazar.
10
EUPOL-Serving Afghanistan, January 2013
EUPOL Highlights
cies/police standard operating procedures
(including on criminal investigations, traffic
policing, duties upon arrest, interrogations)
have so far been approved by the Ministry
of Interior. Policies for four of the six Afghan police structures have been signed
by the MININT, while the signature for the
AACP (Afghan Anti-Crime Police) and
ANCOP (Afghan National Civil Order Police) policies are still pending. EUPOL has
contributed to the development of these
policies.
Ireland took
over the
rotating
presidency
of the
European
Union on
1st January,
2013.
Police / Rule of Law
 On 1st and 6th December, the Democratic Policing Course was delivered by
EUPOL Field Office Bamyan to five out of
the six members of the provincial Community Policing Unit. At the same time, the
Head of the Community Policing Unit attended an International Neighbourhood
Inspectors course at the OSCE Police
Academy in Bishkek, Kirgizstan, which
features advanced community policing
themes.
 On 3rd December, a one-day Code of
Conduct Basic Course for 11 Afghan National Police (ANP) officers of the Dusi
District (Baghlan Province) was conducted
by an ANP trainer without international
supervision, in accordance with the coalition transition plans. The trainer was trained
by EUPOL and UNODC.
 The Basic Call Takers course for staff
working in the 119 Emergency Service Call
Centres was handed over to full Afghan
ownership.
 EUPOL involvement in the reform
(with a focus on command, control and
communication) of Kabul’s Police District
(PD) 4 has been finalised with the handover of the final mentoring report to PD4
Commander. EUPOL will now work on the
reform of Kabul’s PD5 and PD11.
 At the Police Staff College, a Problem
Solving/Decision Making course, a Provincial Command Course, a Police Culture
course – advanced and a Police Communication course commenced.
 At the Crime-Management-College, an
Investigative Interviewing course, Evidence Gathering course, Intelligence for
Crime Investigating Officers course and a
Basic Surveillance Course commenced.
 EUPOL concluded a Management –
Basic course, Police Communication –
Advanced course, Provincial Command
Course, Police Culture course, an Evidence Gathering course, an Advanced
Crime Scene Examiners Course and an
Investigative Interviewing course.
 EUPOL identified Afghan National Police officers from Police District 9, 3 and 4
to attend a two-week Basic Computer
training, followed by a NIMS training and
a collator course.
 EUPOL delivered a two-day and seven
-day Community Policing Training to the
ANP Police-e Mardume Unit in Bamyan.
On 11 December 2012 the inauguration
ceremony for the Police-e-Mardume Unit
(PeMU) was held at the provincial police
HQ in Bamyan province. The ceremony
was held before a wide range of community
leaders, including members of the Provincial Council, and a representative from the
Provincial Governor’s office.
 More than 50 female ANP-officers attended the Female Network Meeting at
Kabul City Police with the main aim to
exchange information. EUPOL and
UNAMA attended and facilitated workshops.
 On 15 December, Field Office Mazar-e
Sharif organised a conference on “Police-e
-Mardumi” with 30 participants, 28 national participants from police, judiciary,
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and 2 international participants.
 On 7 January, a Community Policing
Training & Code of Conduct Training
was delivered to ten police officers in Baghlan-e Jadid district of Baghlan province by
an Afghan police trainer who had previously been trained by EUPOL.
 Institutional and Police Policy Development (IPPD): 50 police operational poli-
 From 7 – 15 January, EUPOL conducted the second community policing
course in Kabul. One of the Afghan trainees will conduct the next community policing course under EUPOL monitoring and
mentoring.
 On 8 January, EUPOL conducted a
workshop in Kabul’s Police District 4
(PD4) on police-prosecutors cooperation,
in particular on developing the capacity of
police officers and prosecutors to effectively build a criminal file together. Four
prosecutors and six police officers from the
Criminal Investigation Department officers
attended the workshop.
 An Intelligence-led Policing Course on
9 January finished in Herat for 20 ANP
officers. On 15 January a one-week Community Policing Course in Kabul’s Police
District 4 for 14 students, including one
female officer (One of the Afghan trainers
present on the course will take deliver the
next course under EUPOL mentoring and
monitoring).
 On 20 January, in order to support the
visibility and outreach of the Herat PMU,
EUPOL supported a Basic First Aid
Course for 120 school teachers from 60
public schools in the Province of Herat,
jointly organised by the Herat PMU and the
Herat Provincial Department of Education.
 On 23 January, in Pol-e Khomri,
EUPOL delivered two two-day training
courses each on Basic IT and Code of Conduct for ten ANP officers.
 A two-week Provincial Command
Course for nine students from Bamyan; a
two-week Trainers Work Shop for five
students. At the Kabul Crime Management
College EUPOL finalised a two-week
Elimination of Violence Against Women
Course for 23 participants (investigators
from the MoI Family Response Unit/
Juvenile Investigations, Inspector General’s
Office, Human Rights investigators and
prosecutors of the Attorney General Office’s Violence Against Women Unit).