COMPOL Attends UNCOPS 2022

The Commissioner of Police Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho has reaffirmed Fiji's commitment in assisting smaller island states in pre-deployment peacekeeping training.

Brigadier-General Qiliho reiterated the commitment at the UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS) 2022 in New York this past week.

As interest grows among Pacific law enforcement for participation in U.N. Peacekeeping missions, one of the challenges are pre-deployment training opportunities in the region.

As such, Fiji's Commissioner of Police said Fiji is ready to lead and be declared the regional hub as a United Nations Police (UNPOL) Regional Training Centre, for the sake of smaller island states who share the same commitment to enhancing international peace and security.

He said just as the Fiji opened its doors for regional policing training and workshops in other fields of policing, so too would we offer the same for pre-deployment peacekeeping training.

“I want to reiterate that we, as Pacific law enforcement, are committed to continuing our service to humanity but we need help in doing so and this can be best achieved by bringing the training opportunities closer to the region".

“On the margins of the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP) Conference, I had the opportunity to speak candidly with fellow Chiefs, observers and partners, and an issue discussed at length was the need to urgently identify a regional hub for UN Peacekeeping training opportunities,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said.

The Fiji Police Force, through Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, co-hosted with the Governments of Finland, Germany, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Rwanda, Kiribati, a pre-event discussion.

Discussions were based on how to improve the training aspects of Police peacekeepers and peacebuilders of the United Nations Police component of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

The Discussions were opened by the Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean Pierre Lacroix.