Jakarta PRESS RELEASE

Regional Peacekeeping meeting in Indonesia to develop strategic guidance for UN Police

13 June 2012 | Semarang With global demand for international police peacekeeping on the rise, a regional meeting to define the guidelines for police work in peacekeeping missions opened on Tuesday (12/06) in Semarang, Central Java, drawing the participation of more than a dozen countries in the Asia Pacific region. There is a pressing need for this discussion, said Andrew Carpenter, Chief of Strategic Policy and Development Section in the UN Police Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). This is a once in a generation opportunity, Mr. Carpenter said, adding that an endeavour like this has never happened before, where we get together and define UN police work. The Semarang meeting, held at the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC), is the first in a series of four regional consultations designed to help UN Member States provide the best possible police expertise in peacekeeping operations, based on the development of a common Strategic Guidance Framework for International Police Peacekeeping. There are currently more than 14,000 police officers serving in a dozen UN peace missions around the world an exponential increase from only 1,700 UN police 15 years ago. In addition to growing in numbers UN police (UNPOL) have also seen the scope of their responsibilities expand into many new areas beyond the traditional monitoring and evaluation of host country police operations, including the prevention of gender-based violence and combating transnational organized crime. The development of the strategic guidance framework will help UNPOL define who we are and how we go about fulfilling our tasks, Mr. Carpenter said. In addition to setting the standards for UN police peacekeeping, the guidance framework is intended as a tool that can also guide countries in their regional and bilateral police peacekeeping operations. The regional meeting in Semarang takes place in the context of Indonesias efforts to boost its UN peacekeeping contribution to as many as 4,000 uniformed personnel (up from more than 1,400 today), and the countrys recent pledge to provide at least three military helicopters to UN peace missions. UN peacekeeping has always been a vital element in Indonesia, said Police Commissioner Nanan Sukarna of the Indonesian National Police. This year we prepared and trained more than 50 women police officers for UN duty, he said. Indonesias initiative to provide more female peacekeepers is being warmly welcomed by UN officials as supporting the UN Global Effort to have at least 20 percent of police services female by the end of 2014. Women police officers currently account for 10 percent of the total number of UN Police peacekeepers. The Semarang meeting concludes on Friday 15 June and will be followed by a regional meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, later this year. CONTACT: Mr. Michele Zaccheo, Director, UNIC Jakarta tel: +62 21 3983-1011 mob: 0813 835 80908 e-mail: michele.zaccheo@unic.org

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