The International Academy for Security Forces, EIFORCES in Awae in the outskirts of Yaoundé has begun training the firth batch of United Nations Formed Police Units and Individual Police Officers in charge of peacekeeping operations.

The training that will run from April to June 2016 is a training of trainers’ course organised for Police and Gendarmerie officers from 10 francophone countries in Europe and Africa.

The Chief of United Nations Standing Police Capacity, Maria Appelblom said Cameroon is hosting the first edition of the United Nations Formed Police Units and Individual Police Officers organised in French.

She added that the four previous editions in the different continents were all in English and the increasing need for UN peacekeeping to serve in Francophone countries especially on the African continent prompted the training. She used the occasion to salute the Cameroon government for regularly contributing Peace keepers in different UN missions.

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of defence, Joseph Beti Assomo while presiding over the official ceremony to launch the training in Awea saluted the United Nations choice of Cameroon to host the specialised training of officers who will prepare police units prior to any deployments for UN peacekeeping missions.

He noted that the International Academy for security forces that was presented as a project at the UN General Assembly in 2007 and officially created in 2008 by presidential degree trains police and Gendarmerie officers from Cameroon and abroad in peace support operations.

So far, the institution which is the first of its kind in Francophone Sub-Sahara Africa has been recognised as an Excellence Centre for the training of Peacekeepers by the Economic Community for Central African States, ECCAS and the African Union.

He used occasion to call on the United Nations to certify EIFORCES which is currently developing its infrastructure as an excellence centre for the Training of United Nations Peacekeepers.

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