“Is this really corruption?” “Is this really corruption?” asks one of the participants of the Anti-Corruption (AC) Mainstreaming course, conducted by Mentor Advisor for AC, Karel Kosek. EUPOL’s Anti-Corruption mainstreaming course’s intend to raise AC awareness by firstly providing the participants with a definition of corruption and secondly, by identifying corruption activities and the best ways in which to prevent and fight corruption, in all police related activities. Starting with the top management level, the course focused on all eleven Police District (PD) commanders’ in Mazar-e Sharif City, together with CID officers and has been conducted under Afghan ownership by Mr. Atiqula Habib, AC judge from Primary Court Balkh, on the 3rd of August. The participating PD commanders’ followed the topics with concentration and interest, raising a lot of questions. Some of the commanders’ expressed their surprise at being taught that requiring/taking bribes, is legally defined as corruption, as is a promise to do so, questioning, “Is this really corruption?” During the training the commanders’ started a discussion about the reasons for corruption, e.g. low salaries which have a demotivating effect on the Police Force leading to corruption, also corruption committed at the senior management level. The commanders’ also considered Afghanistan’s progress during the last years, regarding establishing security, equipping Police, promoting the Rule of Law (RoL), and Human Rights, as well as developing Community Policing. The second course, held on 5th August, focused on Deputy Commanders’ from the above mentioned PD’s as well as CID officers. More AC mainstreaming training is planned for next week and at the end of September, in order to cover all selected Afghan National Police (ANP) and provide them with the essential knowledge and understanding about defining, analysing and avoiding corruption. The importance of the Anti-Corruption Mainstreaming training was underlined through news coverage about the Police Commanders’ participation in Mazar-e Sharif, on local TV, which was arranged by the Chief of Security, Col. Razak. Col. Razak appreciated EUPOL’s support for the ANP in Afghanistan’s endeavor to fight corruption. At the end of the first training, PD commander of PD 5, Lt. Colonel Mohammad Yosuf, expressed his gratitude for EUPOL’s endeavors in strengthening the Afghan Police by supporting professional education, such as the AC mainstreaming course for Afghan Police saying: “It’s all about knowledge: First comes the knowledge and then we will to act in accordance with the knowledge.”
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 06:05:31 +0000