Page 18 - Islands Business February 2023

Security

FIJI POLICE PREPARE FOR UNMISS

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti

For the past year, the Ukraine-Russia war has monopolised
the attention of the globe and shifted attention away from
other countries that are suffering conflict. One such country is
South Sudan, where Fiji police have undertaken peacekeeping
missions for several years.
A new cohort of Fiji Police Force officers are currently un-
dergoing extensive training to prepare them for their peace-
keeping duties under the United Nations Mission in South
Sudan (UNMISS).
The Chief Administration Officer (CAO), Acting Assistant
Commissioner of Police, Meli Sateki, gave stern advice to the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vidya Pillay is currently serving with the
selected officers in training for the pre-deployment recently. United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), where he says sharing his knowl-
edge of community policing has assisted local law enforcement efforts in building
Sateki said, “If you are going to be representing the or- confidence and trust amongst the business communities in Juba. Photo: Fiji Police
Force
ganisation, you must show the United Nations that choosing
police officers from Fiji and this part of the world for peace-
keeping duties over police officers closer to the country of
deployment, is a worthy investment. Aside from these conditions, they have to manoeuvre the
“You need to be exemplary and unique in the conduct of differences in culture, traditional protocols, way of life, and
your service,” he added. navigation in a foreign land, an area they are learning through
pre-deployment training with the help of the International
The South Sudan conflict Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The war in South Sudan stems from a conflict between the The ICRC has supported the Fiji Police Force with key
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Government (SPLM-IG) training before deployment to South Sudan since 2021.
and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition ICRC facilitator, Eric Meier Junior, told participants at the
(SPLM-IO). During this conflict, the people witnessed acts of workshops, “The situation can be challenging, you consider
violence from both ruling parties, reports of rape, slaughtered leaving home for a foreign country to do your service, to work
civilians, and troops in Juba searching out ethnic opposition with the people, to protect the population, and to bear in
groups in homes. mind that it is not an easy task,” he said.
Affirming their support for the 2018 ‘Revitalized Agreement
on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Pre-deployment training
Sudan,’ the members of the UN Security Council decided to The pre-deployment continues until March 3rd, and ACP
extend the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mis- Ganivatu said, “Most of what we learned through the three
sion in South Sudan. weeks we were here was about humanitarianism and im-
UNMISS was directed by the Security Council to maintain its partiality, when we are there on a mission, what we should
force levels with a ceiling of 17,000 troops and 2101 police expect, what we should do when faced with certain situations
personnel. in Sudan, especially mingling around with locals.”
The current Fiji ACP contingent commander, Sakeo Gani- It is hard to miss the visible presence of women attending
vatu, was part of the first cohort to go on the South Sudan this peacekeeping mission. ACP Ganivatu said this was a stra-
peacekeeping mission, and he spoke of his experiences. tegic move to meet the UN requirement on gender balance.
“Discipline is the first thing that must be shown to an officer He said, “We have almost 20 women with us, we are trying to
when dealing with this kind of situation.” get more women because it is a requirement from the UN.”
ACP Ganivatu said while deployed, “We did core-location; Fiji has a good record in this respect, with Unaisi Vuniwaqa
we are doing community policy, like getting down to the previously leading UNMISS.
members of the public and teaching them what the law is One of the women going on this mission is mother of two
because we are trying to revive the law in that country, it’s all teenagers, Inspector Fawini Kado.
haywire at the moment. “We have covered a lot of very vital topics, including the
“So the main task of the Fiji police, with other stakehold- mission mandates and the different cultural backgrounds of
ers, is to try and get the people to know that they are safe if people, and this is my first mission,” she shared.
they uphold the rule of law,” Ganivatu adds. Kado feels that reaching out to women and children will be
It is a task that is neither safe nor easy. “What I have expe- easier for the female officers, particularly in their vulnerable
rienced in West Africa, especially when you go to communities situation.
where they offer you a cup of water, you look at the water
and you know it’s unhygienic, but you still have to drink it.” editor@islandsbusiness.com

18 Islands Business, February 2023