IOM POLICE PROJECT ACEH SINCE 2007

Indonesia - Some 1,000 police officers in six police districts in Aceh have received training in Community Policing and Human Rights through an IOM project funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta and the European Union. The project, which has also established 15 Community Police Forums with some 1,050 members of the public, has also trained a first batch of 40 trainers who are already training colleagues in the six districts under the supervision of experienced officers. The Aceh project, which plans to train some 8,000 Aceh police officers over the next two years, is the latest phase of a Netherlands-funded programme established by IOM and the Indonesian National Police (INP) that has successfully implemented international human rights and community policing training in six Indonesian provinces and at national level over the past three years. The Aceh project followed the Helsinki Peace Agreement, which brought peace to the province following years of conflict and the massive destruction wrought by the Asian tsunami in December 2004. "Good police community relations and adherence to the rule of law and human rights are the basic ingredients for success....and can only foster good governance, police reform, and keep the peace. Therefore the Aceh police needs to be trained and must adhere to human rights principles," says the Aceh Chief of Police, General Bachrumsjah Kasman. "The Aceh peace can only be successful in an environment where law enforcement is conducted in a framework of mutual trust and respect between the law enforcement institutions and the community they serve. Only then can we expect previously divided communities to start trusting their local police officers as individuals and as an institution," says IOM Indonesia Chief of Mission, Steve Cook.