SADC: Police chiefs gather for peacekeeping tips
By Piet Bame

June 18, 2008 – (Mmegi Online) Senior Police officers from Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) are gathering in Gaborone until tomorrow to share skills on peacekeeping operations in the region.

The three-day seminar conducted by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre (PPC) and sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office and will seek to strengthen the capacity of military, police and civilians to deliver peace operations. Director of PPC Africa Peter Miller, a retired police officer, who is also coordinating the seminar, said that they would identify challenges, issues and opportunities associated with police contribution of United Nations and African Union peace operations.

Miller is also a former United Nations (UN) police commissioner in East Timor and Western Sahara. Others are Peter Dnistriankyj, who is deputy director of the PPC Africa Programme and UN former investigator for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burundi and Rwanda.

"We are pleased to fund a police capacity building programme in Africa and to work with the PPC, which, through this program, is extending its reach across Africa, said Dr Phillip Schauer, from German Federal Foreign Office.

The PPC is a Canadian based organization founded in 1994. It has been educating people about peacekeeping throughout the world. It has about 11, 000 police officers working for it throughout the world and majority of whom are men. But Miller said they want to balance the gender by engaging more women officers. PPC intends to have prepared the region for peacekeeping operations by 2010 and with at least 16, 000 under its engagement.

From:http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=8&dir=2008/June/Wednesday18