A five-day workshop for community watch groups organized by UN Police (UNPOL) finished today.

Some 100 participants drawn from the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) and Community Watch Group members from IDP (internally displaced persons) camps attended the training.

Basic principles and the importance of community policing to the police and the public, problem-solving mechanisms, protection of civilians and vulnerable groups, sexual gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS awareness, international and national bills of rights were among the topics being discussed.

UNPOL advisor Enia Marambire explained that the workshop is a continuation of the trainings offered to the community watch groups established last year in IDP camps and in the community as a whole.

“We picked fifty police officers for the training, mainly special protection officers who deal with cases of sexual gender-based violence, domestic violence and other criminal cases involving women and children,” the UNPOL advisor said, adding that some of the participants were unaware that early marriage is a crime in South Sudan.

Enia Marambire says that the community watch groups are bringing meaningful positive change by imparting knowledge and sensitizing the IDPs and the local community.

“Their work has increased the relationship between the South Sudan National Police Service and the local community by increasing the public’s confidence in their police. Now people bring their cases of sexual gender-based violence to  the police.”

Mr. Leone Richard, a member of the community watch group at the IDP camp located at Wau Cathedral Church, says a wide range of social and legal issues have been discussed during the workshop.

“This workshop has helped us upgrade our knowledge of the existing international and national legal instruments to address issues of sexual gender-based violence,” he says.

Mr. Richard also believes that the workshop will strengthen the working relationship between the Community Watch Group, UNPOL and SSNPS and other stakeholders.

Last year, UNPOL and SSNPS established community watch groups in several IDP camps, including the ones located at the Cathedral Church, Nazareth Church and in Loko loko in Wau town.