Namibian police host 5th Annual African Union Police meeting

The Namibian police and the African Union officially opened the 5th Annual African Union Police Coordination Meeting in Windhoek on Monday.

The week-long meeting, held under the theme ‘Enhancing the Police as a Vital Capability for Contemporary Peace Support Operations in Africa,’ is aimed at ensuring and discussing international policing in peace operations and coordinating police efforts across the continent.

Speaking at the official opening of the ceremony, Namibian police inspector general Joseph Shikongo said the meeting serves as an opportunity to outline strategic objectives to strengthen police capabilities in peace support and the African Standby Force.

“The strategic objective of this meeting is to enhance police capabilities and capacities for policing in peace support operations, African Standby Force and other crises in Africa, through efficient and effective coordination, communication, cooperation and collaboration among policing entities,” Shikongo said.

He said amid the various security threats and conflicts exacerbated by economic pressures and instability, which Africa continues to experience, the forum serves as a collaborative effort to tackle these issues, stressing that threats cannot be tackled by individual countries but as a joint effort.

“Africa continues to face dynamic and evolving security challenges from complex, protracted and intractable intra-state conflicts, transnational organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime and trafficking in persons and drugs. Our unity, our shared intelligence and our common strategies are our greatest strength to build and reinforce a continental network of security cooperation,” Shikongo added.

The director of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs in the Southern African Development Community, Kula Theletsane, further highlighted that the meeting will review the African Standby Force and the entire African peace and security architecture, to support African multi-dimensional peace support operations.

Theletsane argued that Africa is facing a global surge in violent conflicts, and there is a need for a policing strategy that moves beyond rebuilding shattered infrastructure to rebuilding public trust in authorities.

“These initiatives have been developed in response to the dramatic changes in the international community’s surge to violent conflict. The United Nations police must do more than help rebuild damaged infrastructure; they must repair the broken faith in the authorities,” Theletsane noted.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.