The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Felix Namuhoranye, on Tuesday, April 2, received the United Nations Police Advisor, Police Commissioner Faisal Shahkar, at the Rwanda National Police RNP General Headquarters in Kigali.
Shahkar and his delegation, including the Chief of Recruitment and Selection, Ata Yenigun, and the Chief of Staff for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Murat Isik, are in Rwanda to explore new areas of partnership in peace operations.
Rwanda, which started its peacekeeping operations in 2005, is currently the leading police contributor to UN peace operations, with a total strength of 1,133 peacekeepers, and the leading contributor of female police peacekeepers.
Rwandan police peacekeepers are deployed in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Abyei, Haiti, as well as professional posts in CAR (Head of Police component) and in New York.
Namuhoranye thanked Shahkar for visiting Rwanda to exchange ideas and share experiences on peace support operations.
"Rwanda’s participation in peace operations is a commitment born out of the international community’s failure to intervene and save lives of innocent civilians during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, 30 years ago," Namuhoranye said.
Rwanda remains committed to contributing towards the protection of civilians in danger wherever and whenever required, he said, either under the UN flag or on bilateral arrangements like in Cabo Delgado region, in Mozambique, where Rwandan security forces are engaged in counter-terrorism operations.
"Rwanda National Police has invested in training, personnel management, acquisition of policing equipment and developed operational capabilities necessary to fulfil our mission mandates in line with UN standards and procedures," the police chief said.
He added: "A well trained and equipped force is always ready to be committed for deployment in a very short time upon request."
Shahkar lauded Rwanda's transformation process after the devastating 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and lauded the country's contribution to international peace, particularly for embracing the global call to deploy women to international peace duties.
Rwanda maintains a female-dominated Formed Police Unit contingent under the UN Mission in South Sudan.
"Globally, national Police institutions have challenges and always difficult to spare good and professional officers for international duties abroad. Rwanda's participation shows its commitment to dedicate its few resources to international peace," said the UN police chief.
He pointed out that the environment in UN missions is becoming extremely challenging in terms of safety and security, a factor which should be considered especially during pre-deployment training.
Shahkar noted that, as policing becomes more hi-tech, the UN is also shifting to focus on use of technology as well as welcoming specialized units to deal with the evolving mission challenges.
The UN police chief and his delegation will also visit the Police Training School (PTS) Gishari, which hosts the peacekeeping pre-deployment training centre, and Counter Terrorism Training Centres (CTTC).