“As United Nations Police officers serving with UNMISS, we work very closely with our South Sudanese policing counterparts,” says Andrii Doroshenko, a Police Adviser serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in the world’s newest country.

“Part of our mandate is to build capacities within local law enforcement and, therefore, we decided to provide them with a course in leadership and management since good decision-making usually starts at the highest level,” he adds.

Fifteen senior police officers from the South Sudan National Police Services in Yambio, Western Equatoria, including two women, attended this four-day training exercise which aimed at improving their knowledge on leadership and management skills, motivating junior officers, necessary planning tools and adhering to an internationally accepted code of conduct.

The workshop combined theory with practice: Following theoretical instruction by UNPOL trainers, participating officers were given practical scenarios based on the South Sudanese context where they had to apply the concepts they had learnt.

“As police officers, we genuinely need such exercises to develop our own skills and also to train younger officers who serve under us,” said Zaza William, a police officer who participated in the training. “I have picked up some valuable knowledge in the past four days which will help me be more effective in deterring criminality as well as maintaining law and order.”

For Eunice Enoka, a female police officer in charge of the state Gender-Based Violence and Child Protection Unit in Western Equatoria, the course offered an additional benefit.

“Handling of suspects in any situation is a delicate matter,” she said. “For the area I handle, it’s even more tricky because many perpetrators of violence against women and children are never brought to justice.”

Eunice revealed that last year, with school closures due to COVID-19, Western Equatoria witnessed a spike in cases related to underage rapes and other forms of gender-based violence.

“This course has taught me skills that will come in handy in the particular crimes I deal with every day,” she stated.

“It is a very positive start to the new year, which, I hope, will bring in better, more peaceful times for all of us."