A plane carrying 160 Rwandan Formed Police Unit (FPU) officers arrived safely at the Juba International Airport on Tuesday 4 April.  The new officers, under the command of Commissioner Bosco Rangira, were transported to the Rwandan FPU camp at UN House, where they were greeted by UNMISS Police Commissioner Bruce Munyambo.

The UNPOL chief met with the officers to inform them of the UNMISS mandate, UNMISS Police tasks and the role of the FPU in supporting individual police officers with field operations.

During the briefing, he explained the zero tolerance policy for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and urged the officers to maintain integrity, professionalism and to respect diversity and gender.

Next to speak was Commander Rangira. He stated that the officers had received thorough pre-deployment training in Kigali, adding that their experiences from other UN missions had helped them to hone their skills and tactics.

In his closing statement, Rangira highlighted that 26 members of the unit are female officers, keeping in line with the UN’s commitment to increase the participation of women in the peacekeeping mission.  He is confident that the officers will play an important role in dealing with gender issues during their tenure in South Sudan.