UN trains Kurdish police officers in Garmiyan

The training is meant “to support regional institutions and civil society organizations in protecting and promoting human rights in the Kurdistan Region.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Police officers in the Garmiyan Administration recently finished a two-day training course organized by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Human Rights Office (HRO), the organization said in a press release on Sunday.

The training course, entitled “Rights of Persons Under Investigation,” took place on Sept. 18 and 19 and focused on core human rights principles relating to police work.

Twenty-one officers from the Kalar Directorate of Police and Asayish (Security) and directorates of police in the surrounding districts like Kifri, Darbandkihan, and Rizgari within the Garmiyan Administration participated in the course.

“The training course examined general principles and concepts of human rights law, including United Nations reporting and review mechanisms and state obligations,” UNAMI said.

“It also addressed the rights of detained persons under international, Iraqi, and Kurdistan Regional law, and the role of police in protecting the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.”

UNAMI Human Rights Office official Nedim Osmanagic expressed hope the training would help those involved “see human rights law as a tool, and the United Nations as a partner, to perform their important work to the highest standards,” the statement said.

On Aug. 29, UNAMI provided a similar two-day training course to the police in Halabja.

In its statement, UNAMI said the training is meant “to support regional institutions and civil society organizations in protecting and promoting human rights in the Kurdistan Region.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany