Combating Illicit Flow of Arms: Police Officers Urged to Partner with Civilians

 By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Police officers who took part in the training

Police officers and other law enforcement elements have been schooled on how to cooperate with the civilian population in the fight to check the illicit flow of small and light weapons in the country.
    This was during a one day workshop on community policing at the National Advanced Police School in Yaounde, on Tuesday 20 October 2020. It was part of activities to commemorate the Africa Amnesty Month, SEPTAMM2020.
    The workshop was organized by the NGO, Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace, CAMYOSFOP, an expert civil society organisation on the promotion of peace and arms control and an implementing partner of the SEPTAMM2020 project on “Silencing the Guns”.
    In his introductory remarks on the Amnesty Month during the training, the Executive Secretary of the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA), General Bardeldin Elamin Abdelgadir Mohamed, said the training will empower the Cameroonian police corps and other security agencies on how to engage civilians in a friendly approach to voluntarily hand over illegally acquired weapons in their keeping. 
    He underscored the importance of involving citizens in the “Silencing the Guns” programme, assuring that the community policing approach if adopted will bring about order, reduce crime, enable police and civilians work hand in gloves to find common solutions to community problems and reduce deaths.
    In his keynote address, Dr. Ivor Richard Fung, Representative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) said the community policing training in checking the circulation of small arms will help participants and experts propose recommendations that will be adopted to ensure its implementation.
    He said participants will be drilled on four key areas including the prevention of conflicts, proximity to civilians, partnership cooperation with local authorities and participation in resolution of community conflicts.
    On his part, Police Commissioner, Assiga Toma, Director of Training and Interim Director of the Police College who represented the Delegate General of National Security hailed the initiative and said it will be of great use to their elements in their fight to control illegal possession of weapons.
    The representative of the Minister of External Relations, Mouandjo Moundjo Ebenezer who doubles as Director of the Department of United Nations and Decentralised Cooperation said the training will also equipped officers with the knowledge and skills on how to apply simple and effective measures to store, manage ammunitions, reduce accidental or unintentional deaths.