The United Nations Police (UNPOL) has pledged to continuously support the Government of Liberia; especially the Liberia National Police (LNP) to ensure that it has the capacity to contribute to upholding the rule of law and sustenance of peace in the Country.
At a recent meeting with the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police (LNP) at the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations in New York, the Deputy Police Adviser and Officer-In-Charge of the UNPOL Shaowen Yang assured that the United Nations Police would continue to provide needed technical and other support to address short and long-term challenges facing the Liberia National Police (LNP).
Mr. Shaowen said UNPOL would provide the LNP with police experts when necessary, and work with the Government of His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah and other partners to conduct outreach activities to source funding for skills development in specialized areas. "I can say on behalf of the Police Division of the United Nations, we will be able to support you continuously by providing police experts, and other resources that we can possibly generate together in partnerships with UNDP and other UN Country Teams. We will work together to outreach to more donors in a bid to generate more sources of funding. Such funding will support long-term strategies for standardizing police operations and building specialized skills that are required for criminal investigation and operation of forensic labs". Mr. Shaowen assured.
The commitment was in response to a plea from Inspector General Patrick Sudue, who sought the support of the United Nations and International Partners in addressing challenges of transnational crimes, cyber crimes, money laundering, and human and drug trafficking. He explained that the police force was not sophisticated enough to address the challenges, and would require the support of all partners to enhance its capacity and acquire requisite equipment. "Among other things, we would need a very equipped laboratory to ensure that we fight the high level of subversive activities taking place in cyberspace and trans-nationally".
Inspector General Sudue used the meeting to thank the United Nations for the role it played in reforming the LNP from a "highly militarized force to a professional and service-oriented police force" that is responding to the security needs of the people since the departure of the United Nations Mission in Liberia.
A dispatch from the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations quotes Inspector General Sudue as saying that the transformation of the Liberia National Police is evidenced by the manner in which it provided security during the historic 2017 Legislative and Presidential elections, which led to the transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another; as well as the manner in which the police handled recent protest actions in the country. " We had two major demonstrations in the country. We managed and policed the demonstrations without one person being arrested or manhandled. It was guided to its logical conclusion. For such professionalism, we got praises from across the Liberian society."
Inspector General Sudue then expressed Liberia's interest in contributing police officers to United Nations Peacekeeping operations globally-- " The new professional Liberian Police Force is an offspring of the United Nations. We were properly trained and transformed by the UN, and think it's time to give back just as other post-conflict countries are doing".
The Liberian Police Chief expressed gratitude to His Excellency Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah Sr. and his team at the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations for organizing such a fruitful meeting with high-profile officials within the United Nations System.
In response, UNPOL's Deputy Police Adviser Shaowen Yang welcomed Liberia's interest in contributing police officers to United Nations Peacekeeping operations and described it as a sign of the Country's readiness to not just be a beneficiary, but share the responsibility for ensuring global peace. He promised to share the criteria for contributing troops to the United Nations Peacekeeping missions with the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations to get the process started.
Speaking earlier, Liberia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations who proposed and arranged the meeting between Inspector General Patrick Sudue and the United Nations Police Division, His Excellency Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr. hailed the United Nations role in transforming the Liberia National Police and restoring peace to Liberia.
Ambassador Kemayah stressed that the LNP has a pivotal role in ensuring that Liberia remains secure, and would need all the support it can get from the United Nations, and other regional and international partners to fully contribute to the sustenance of peace in Liberia.
Ambassador Kemayah on behalf of His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah, the Government and People of Liberia commended the Chief of the Security Sector Reform Unit (SSRU) within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations Ms. Ilene Cohn and her team for their help in organizing the meeting.
Ms. Cohn and representatives of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) were also present at the meeting and committed to supporting the LNP.
