Twenty-four officers from the Rwanda Defence Force and the National Police on Friday, June 10, completed a training on internal security operations at the Rwanda Peace Academy (RPA) in Musanze District. The five-day training, titled “Military in Internal Security Operations Course,” was organised by the RPA in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). According to the RPA, during the training, participants learnt about different laws governing military operations and the law of armed conflict, also known as the International Humanitarian Law, which applies to wartime operations. The workshop, designed by the ICRC, aims to enhance participants’ knowledge of their obligations under national laws during security operations, guided by international laws, norms and standards. “The workshop started with lots of expectations, and ended on a high note, in terms of course content package. We ask the officers who have completed this course to put into practice what they have learnt and train their colleagues,” Methode Ruzindana, the Head of Research at the Rwanda Peace Academy, said. “In case they are deployed to peacekeeping missions, they have to demonstrate what they learnt through their behaviour, professionalism and in knowledge and skills.” Also present at the closing ceremony were the ICRC’s regional delegate for armed and security forces, Yssouf Traore, the Netherlands Defence Attaché to Rwanda, Col Nils Rienks, and a team of facilitators from the ICRC. The training was attended by 15 officers from the Rwanda Defence Force and nine from the Rwanda National Police. They said the training had expanded the horizons in terms of the conduct of military operations. Christine Uwingeneye, a police officer who took part in the training, said “The content I received met the expectations I had at the beginning of the course. We studied different laws, such as the International Humanitarian Law, the International Human Rights Law, the Geneva Convention and domestic laws, which protect civilians.” She noted that they also learnt about how to control riots and other elements of law enforcement. The ICRC said the training will equip officers with knowledge about the circumstances under which they need to take a particular course of action and how to measure appropriate use of force. “This workshop was about bringing military and security forces together, looking at how to solve problems and how to impact the population in a positive way. So, basically it was about how to achieve military objectives while observing humanitarian principles,” Traore said. He also thanked the Ministry of Defence and National Police for their collaboration in the course.
