Windhoek: The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) and the African Union (AU) officially opened the 5th Annual African Union Police (AUPOL) Coordination Meeting in Windhoek on Monday. The weeklong meeting, under the theme 'Enhancing the Police as a Vital Capability for Contemporary Peace Support Operations in Africa,' aims to ensure and discuss international policing in peace operations and coordinate police efforts across the continent.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Inspector General of the Namibian Police Force, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo, emphasized the meeting as an opportunity to outline strategic objectives to strengthen police capabilities in peace support and the African Standby Force. Shikongo stated that the strategic objective is to enhance police capabilities and capacities for policing in Peace Support Operations, the African Standby Force, and other crises in Africa through efficient and effective coordination, communication, cooperation, and collaboration among policing entities.
Shikongo further highlighted that amidst various security threats and conflicts exacerbated by economic pressures and instability, this forum serves as a collaborative effort to tackle these issues. He stressed 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 organized crime, terrorism, cybercrime, and trafficking in persons and drugs. Shikongo pointed out that unity, shared intelligence, and common strategies are the greatest strengths to build and reinforce a continental network of security cooperation.
The Director of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs in SADC, Kula Ishmael Theletsane, 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. He noted that 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.