{32 military, police and civilian officers from Comoros, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda have started one week course on “Protection of Civilians”. The course was opened at RPA headquarters, Nyakinama, in Musanze District, on 14 December 2015.}
The UNDP Country Director, Mr. Stephen Rodriques present at the occasion said that there is a need to strengthen the capacity of both security and civilian personnel to ensure that they will be ready to respond to whatever civilian protection challenges when deployed in peacekeeping missions. “Each peacekeeping operation is deployed in a unique political and operational setting. Each will have a distinct mandate and set of capabilities and confront a unique set of challenges.” he said and stressed that Peace keeping missions and personnel have and should keep the protection of civilians at the center of all their interventions.
In his remarks Col Jill Rutaremara, the RPA Director said that even if the United Nations and the African Union have adopted various mandates and strategies aimed at enhancing protection of civilians, challenges still remain. He cited what is happening in DRC where FDLR continues to kill and rape innocent civilians. He also mentioned the failure of the International Community during 1994 Genocide against Tutsi when they abandoned Rwanda at needed time. He called on participants to discuss such cases and to find other case studies elsewhere to enrich their discussions on how they can overcome such challenges.
The RPA Director thanked the Government of Japan and UNDP for continued financial support to Rwanda Peace Academy. Their initial support was used for constructing and equipping the training and administration block. They have now extended their support on strengthening the capacities of Rwanda Peace Academy, he said.
Ms. Saori Kishii, Third Secretary at the Embassy of Japan said that Japan appreciates the continuous efforts for peace and security in the region including the Eastern Africa Standby Force. “I am sure that RPA will play a vital role for further development of the regional and sub-regional capacity for conflict prevention, management, resolution, post-conflict recovery and peace building, by drawing on Rwanda’s extensive experience in peace building and international best practices” she said.
Leave a Reply