About 15 directors of the South Sudan National Police Services in Aweil town in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State have received training on how to handle children in conflict with the law, human rights, and the role of the police in protecting and promoting the rights of detainees.

“We also learnt that the South Sudan police will soon be responsible for law and order and the protection of internally displaced person living in camps that used to be protected by the peacekeeping mission,” said Lieutenant Colonel, Musa Uger Upiero, referring to the planned transitioning into camps of the two remaining protection of civilians sites in Bentiu and Malakal.

That issue aside, the workshop was prompted by the public’s general trust in the government’s law enforcement agencies, due to a perceived lack of honesty and transparency, and for that reason it also included a session on how to build trust.

“We trained the officers on democratic policing, crime prevention, leadership and mentorship management,” said Isatsu Baba Musa, a police adviser serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Participants keenly expressed their concerns about a lack of equipment to do their work properly. The list included everything from pens and batteries to radios, handcuffs, batons and vehicles. The two female officers in attendance decried the absence of facilities tailored to women’s specific needs.

“We do not have a private room for women. On several occasions, female officers have been giving birth while on duty, and the situation affects women detainees as well while on duty give birth and detainees as well,” said First Lieutenant Achan Mathok.