Capacity-Building and Development of Host State Police: The Role of International Police

Abstract

Capacity-building and development are key elements of many international assistance and intervention programmes in post-conflict settings, typically seeking to effect change and improvements in the performance of organisations, namely state agencies or governmental departments. This paper addresses police capacity-building and development activities that occur within the context of international peace operation. It focuses specifically on police capacity-building and development as an element in the recently promulgated UN policy on police peacekeeping, with the objective of throwing some light on the challenges that lie ahead in operationalizing the broad principles contained within the policy as pertaining to police capacity-building and development. The paper begins by briefly outlining how the police component in UN peacekeeping operations has evolved and how its roles have also undergone change. It then sets out the main principles and concepts within the UN Police Policy with regard to police capacity-building and development. It then turns to the broader rule of law and security sector reform context in which police capacity-building and development often exists, and examines what the Police Policy says about this. Finally, the paper examines key challenges encountered in police capacity-building and development. It suggests that while the recent development of an overarching policy framework on UN police peacekeeping is an important step in view of the rapid development of the scope and complexity of tasks undertaken by the police component, the more challenging work of creating relevant and usable guidance for those working in the field to implement the principles outlined in the policy lies ahead.