UN
300 police officers trained in gender concepts in domestic violence – UNDP Afghanistan
9 June 2010 - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan has trained 300 police officers in gender issues related to domestic violence.
At the launch of a three-day photographic exhibition at the Serena Hotel in downtown Kabul, Robert Watkins, UNDP Resident Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan, also emphasized that 800 Afghan women have so far been recruited into the national police force.
These gender mainstreaming and development activities of the Afghan National Police (ANP) are funded by the UNDP’s biggest project in the country – the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA).
“We are proud of having a more capable, effective and transparent police through the LOTFA project,” Watkins said.
Acting Minister of Interior Munir Mangal represented the Government at the launch and, in his speech, he vowed to recruit more female police in the villages.
The UNDP Resident Coordinator highlighted that with support from UNDP-LOFTA, “99 per cent of the police force benefit from the electronic payroll system, 77 per cent receive their salaries through the banking system (electronic fund transfer), 300 police officers have been trained in gender concepts in domestic violence, 600 MoI (Ministry of Interior) officials have been trained in financial management, accountancy and human resources, and 800 women have been recruited into the police force.”
Financially the largest UNDP project globally, LOTFA is a multilateral trust fund set up in 2002, providing a mechanism for coordinating contributions from international partners. The project prioritises covering police salaries and other police activities as part of the international community’s support to rebuild the Afghan police force. It is managed by the Government, through the Ministries of Interior and Finance.
The largest contributors to LOFTA are the United States of America, European Union and Japan. Other contributors are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
Robert Watkins told the gathering that the photographic exhibition was aimed at “advocating for the Afghan National Police.”
Titled “Enhancing Security & Rule of Law for Afghans,” the exhibit of 90 photographs of Afghan police also features paintings by children aged 10-15 years old with the theme, “My Police: The Child’s Eye View.”
A project of the NGO Aschiana headed by Mohammad Yousuf, the paintings capture the children’s perceptions of the police, and how the police activities impact on their daily lives.
By Aurora V. Alambra, UNAMA
