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‘However, the end state is the handover of full responsibility to an effective local police force,”
continued Criscitiello, who participated in USARAF’s Shared Accord exercise in Rwanda
recently. “Stability Police Units help establish a safe and secure environment (SASE), restore
public order and security; however, always with a goal towards local self-governance.”
Col. Mbika Bede, a police officer from Congo Brazaville, agreed the hard work for police
peacekeepers starts after the military intervention ends.
“The gendarmerie’s role is different,” said Bede, speaking French. “The military is the
demonstration of force. The police
provide internal security and stability
for the government to exercise its
authority.”
Bede added that the training provided
during Shared Accord 2018 in
Rwanda on the protection of civilians
was invaluable to his police and
military members.
“In the Congo, we had an internal
war, during that time we experienced
the abuse of civilians,” Bede said.
“We really need this training to
understand how to protect civilians – children, women, men – they are vulnerable and need
protection.”
The partnership between USARAF and CoESPU not only helps train peacekeepers like Bede
and Murenzi it provides a platform to analyze and develop stability policing doctrine within
the U.N. framework, as well as other international organizations, and used to develop the
training scenarios used during exercises like Shared Accord.
Safari Uwimana, an assistant commissioner in the Rwanda Police, said the training on gender,
human rights, and public order during peacekeeping operations also enabled participating
countries to capacity build and gain tools to restore peace at home.
“We learned a lot from their experience and expertise. The military planning process was a
milestone in all the missions,” Uwimana said. “The training is very important since we are now
well-equipped and understand the conflict and will be able to carry any mission by putting more
emphasis on protection of civilians.”
Superintendent of Police Eric Murenzi agreed troop- and police-contributing countries (TCCs
and PCCs) must ensure the protection of civilians during U.N. missions.
“I gained a lot from the U.S. Army Africa exercise during mission planning process and how we
coordinate with CoESPU in different programs,” said Murenzi, director of Formed Police Units
(FPU) management in Rwanda National Police Department of Peace Support Operations.
“The Kigali Principles has about 18 pledges regarding Protection of Civilians (POC) and
during our Command Post Exercise mostly, the injects allowed us to simulate the POC
protection which was very good for future peacekeepers.”

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