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Kinyarwanda
Two officials from Haiti visited the Rwanda National Police headquarters in Kacyiru on October 13 to strengthen cooperation between police forces in the two countries.
The visit is part of the partnership between the two countries that was formalized four years ago when a commission headed by the Office of the Prime Minister of Haiti, was instituted to identify major areas of collaboration.
At the RNP, they were explained on the force’s structure and development journey including face-lifting police schools, community policing and the force’s support to community development.
“The Rwanda National Police is committed to build the capacity of its personnel through professional and academic course and committed to strong partnership with other forces to bring stability and peace globally,” Commissioner of Police John Bosco Kabera, who received the team, said.
They were also explained on the RNP gender promotion programmes including the force’s target of attaining 30 percent of the total police force from about 20 percent currently, as per the national gender policy.
Jean Louis Karl, the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister and director of Cabinet of Haiti commended RNP for being a “people-centre force” and for facilitating the country’s development agenda.
“My mission is to evaluate where we are and what needs to be done to reinforce this partnership; the kind of activities that both countries can do together in terms of institutional support, how Rwanda, in additional to having a peacekeeping force, can further support our Police force,” Karl said.
Rwanda National Police started the deployment in the Caribbean nation in 2010 and currently maintains the fifth Formed Police Unit (FPU) contingent of 140 peacekeepers under the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
“I met with several authorities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rwanda National Police and I am meeting others to assess where we are and explore opportunities to strengthen the collaboration,” he added.
“One of the things we have done successfully; five Haitians have graduated at Butare [University of Rwanda-College of Arts and Social Sciences], and are going back to Haiti and now we look forward to having more students to come here; we are looking at the possibility to have more diverse and expended collaboration between the RNP and Haiti National Police in terms of training, medical assistance and experience,” he noted.
“I think there is a lot of training experience the Haitians Police force can learn. We want to learn from the Rwanda Police success story. Community policing and the technical school strikes me and is a major key to build skills of officers and Rwandans and we believe there is a lot the Haitian Police can learn from this,” he further stated
Next year, he disclosed, they intend to hold a cultural festival in Rwanda as part of the partnership.
The officials also visited the RNP anti-GBV medical and legal wing – Isange One Stop Centre – situated at the Kacyiru Police Hospital where they were explained on the various free holistic services offered to the victims of gender violence and child abuse.
