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UNHCR trains police trainers on International Refugee Protection

May 19, 2005

Quetta, 19 May (UNHCR) - The UN Refugee Agency concluded a two day orientation workshop on Thursday on 'International Refugee Protection' for the trainers of the Police Training Centre in Quetta.

UNHCR arranged the event in collaboration with the Catholic Relief Service (CRS). The effort was aimed at explaining the human rights foundations and the basic concepts of the international refugee protection system to the police trainers who could further pass the knowledge to trainees.

"The initiative, of such workshops, is the best source of imparting knowledge to police. I hope that the information and knowledge, which the trainers gain from this workshop, will be later imparted to their trainees, who would take maximum benefit out of it," said Kwame Boafo, Head of UNHCR Sub Office Quetta, while speaking at the opening session of the workshop.

He thanked the commandant of the Police Training Centre in Quetta and CRS for their cooperation by conducting the orientation workshop on refugee's rights.

Ayub Khan Achakzai, deputy superintendent of police dealing with training, said that his department considered the conduct of the workshop a welcome step. "We urge other humanitarian organizations to come ahead and conduct such workshops in future as well," said Khan.

He thanked UNHCR for conducting an informative training for police trainers on basic human rights. Khan informed that the training courses being taught at the institute already included some basic information about human rights and pressed the need for having refugee laws and other humanitarian courses in the syllabus.

Bik Lum, protection officer UNHCR, in her presentation offered an overview of the concept of international human rights and ratification of international instruments by the Government of Pakistan. She also shed light on the role of police in providing international protection to refugees.

Shubhash Wostey, associate protection officer UNHCR, presented an introduction to the 1951 Convention on the status of Refugees.
He laid emphasis on the significance of the role of police saying that police were responsible to help and protect the displaced by operating effectively, lawfully and humanely.

Referring to the Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), he said that everyone had the right to seek and receive in other countries asylum from persecution.

He told that performance of police was one of the main and most visible measures of success or failure of a state in fulfilling its international legal or moral obligations.

UNHCR organized a similar workshop for the police officers of Balochistan last year in Quetta.