A contingent of 160 Rwanda National Police officers on Monday departed for one-year peacekeeping operations under the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
The sixth contingent under Formed Police Unit (FPU VI) headed by Commissioner of Police Joseph Mugisha and includes 22 females.
The officers were seen off by Commissioner for Operations, Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Butera, alongside the Commissioner for Peace Support Operations, Assistant Commissioner of Police Jimmy Hodari and other senior officers at Kigali International Airport,
The fifth contingent, headed CP Bruce Munyambo is expected to return home here on Wednesday, July 08, 2015 after serving for one year to bring peace and stability to Haiti. The officers are returning home with a record or exceptional performance and UN medals for their outstanding and professional services in the Caribbean nation.
Commissioner Butera advised the officers to show a high level of discipline as expected of them during their mission, as well as be innovative by extending homegrown solutions to residents in their mission areas.
“Be motivated at all times. Be disciplined, professional and make your country proud by serving excellently to deliver results as expected. Let your actions be guided by the Rwandan spirit and the Rwandan flag fly high and your uniform be respected ” he said.
Butera told the departing officers that they are ambassadors of Rwanda and every action they take will represent Rwanda.
“Therefore, promote peace and extend your knowledge, skills and expertise to the process of building sustainable peace for Haiti,” Butera said.
He also recognized the officers for their selflessness in service and commended them for expressing a hunger to participate in building peace beyond Rwanda’s borders.
“Many of you have sacrificed and have left families behind to go to Haiti and promote peace. This sacrifice is well noted and will not go in vein. Rwanda is proud of you and you should build on this pride and trust to perform to the best of your abilities,” he added.
Prior to the taking off for the Mission the Inspector General of Police Emmanuel K. Gasana met with the officers for the pre-deployment briefing where he hailed police peacekeepers for exhibiting extreme discipline and professionalism which has made Rwanda a world model.
Earlier in June, the Police Commissioner for MINUSTAH, Serge Therriault commended RNP peacekeepers for their exemplary and efficient contribution to Haiti’s peace building process – and noted that the UN family considers Rwanda as a very strong ally in international peacekeeping.
Some of the crucial work that the RNP peacekeepers have done in their mission time includes; provision of security in Grande Anse Region, public order management, protection of delegates and provision of emergency services to the local population.
RNP contingents in Haiti are also fond of conducting community works, such as rehabilitating roads, supporting orphans and responding to disasters like floods, which has built a strong relationship between them and the Haitians.
RNP has been deploying peacekeepers to Haiti since a catastrophic earthquake in 2010 that killed over 100,000 people and affected over three million.
Rwanda contributes about 600 officers in seven UN missions – in Sudan, South Sudan, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic, Haiti and Abyei.
Leave a Reply