VZCZCXRO1522
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0719 1330847
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120847Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0785
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000719 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, INL, AF SE WILLIAMSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: UNAMID POLICE LACK CRITICAL RESOUCES 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 570 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UNAMID civilian police (CIVPOL) leadership have 
identified deficiencies in their programs such as the need for a 
greater police presence in IDP camps, additional female officers 
from Police Contributing Countries (PCC), and additional senior 
police officers with more experience.  UNAMID CIVPOLS believe that 
they still have the good will and trust of most of the IDPs and want 
to take advantage of this with additional programs, but are stymied 
by a lack of resources.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ELEMENTARY POLICE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) UNAMID North Sector Commander Christopher Buik told poloff 
that the lack of police infrastructure, such as police stations in 
IDP camps, hinders efforts to provide security to IDPs.  He said 
that without police stations there are limited avenues for people to 
report crimes.  While UNAMID CIVPOLS would like to construct police 
stations with basic requirements such as separate detention cells 
for women, men and juveniles, they are limited by DPKO program 
restrictions on how much they can spend on construction.  Buik 
expressed frustration with DPKO's limitations on construction and 
noted that the EU had proposed funding the construction of a number 
of stations for AMIS using local materials and labor.  However after 
the transition, UNAMID insisted the UN do all police station 
construction themselves but has yet to follow through on 
construction of the much-needed police stations in IDP camps. Buik 
said that having a simple police building with some chairs for 
meeting community leaders would go a long way toward facilitating 
investigations and improving security in the camps. 
 
ADDITIONAL FEMALE OFFICERS NEEDED 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) UNAMID's Deputy Police Commissioner Elizabeth Muwanga 
identified an additional need, that of more female police officers. 
She told poloff that only 200 of the current 1550 UNAMID CIVPOLS are 
females and that additional female police officers are required 
because female IDPs feel more comfortable reporting sexual crimes to 
another female. "If these women don't report crimes, the criminals 
will remain at large and commit additional assaults," observed 
Muwanga. 
 
MORE EXPERIENCED POLICE OFFICERS NEEDED 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) UNAMID's Acting Chief of Police Administration Ralf Gehling 
told poloff that there is also an urgent need for additional 
experienced western-trained police officers. Gehling said his 
officers have different backgrounds, levels of training, and 
cultural attitudes toward police work.  Gehling, who was part of the 
EU-supported advisory team to AMIS, said that while there is a 
common international core of basic policing methods, many of the 
UNAMID police are re-hatted AMIS police who have mixed policing 
techniques based on French, Portuguese, and British colonial systems 
from within Africa.  Gehling said that more experienced 
western-trained senior police officers are needed to provide 
on-the-job training and supervision, if overall police performance 
is to improve. 
 
IDP ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE STILL LARGELY POSITIVE 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Both Gehling and Muwanga believe that there is still a 
positive "wait-and-see attitude" among IDPs toward UNAMID civilian 
police in the IDP camps, but admit that this positive perception 
might change in the absence of a more robust police presence. UNAMID 
police are optimistic that the imminent arrival of Nepalese and 
Indonesian FPUs (reftel) will enable them to build up their capacity 
and therefore keep the trust of IDPs, which will be essential to the 
success of their mission. 
 
FERNANDEZ