Police officers from across the Pacific and Timor-Leste have graduated from a specialised five-week training program delivered by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at its Pinkenba Hub in Brisbane, becoming mission-ready for future United Nations Police Peacekeeping deployments.
The 54-strong graduating class, including four AFP members, completed training in areas including UN peacekeeping principles, police command in a UN context, child protection, sexual exploitation and abuse, and intelligence-led policing and reporting.
The cohort achieved an 83 per cent pass rate, improving on the 73 per cent recorded by last year’s inaugural class. Some graduates from the first cohort have already deployed to South Sudan.
AFP Acting Commander Pacific Elias Petropoulos congratulated the graduates for their commitment to serving their countries and the broader international community.
“The ongoing success of this initiative is testament to the shared vision and commitment of participating nations, partner agencies and training providers.”
Women made up 40 per cent of this year’s participants, which he said reflected their growing leadership and contribution to policing and peace operations across the region.
United Nations Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar said the participation of officers from across the Pacific and Timor-Leste demonstrated the region’s strong commitment to international peace and security.
“We deeply appreciate the Australian Federal Police’s partnership in preparing officers with the skills, professionalism and values needed to protect communities, strengthen public institutions and build trust when serving in United Nations peace operations.”
The tailor-made training program was developed by the AFP last year at the request of Pacific police chiefs seeking to build a Pacific-led UN peacekeeping capability.
This year’s participants came from police forces in Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Nauru, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Kiribati, alongside AFP members. The wider training cohort included participants from Fiji, Ghana, Italy and Australia.
The program also responds to a United Nations call for a more streamlined and sustainable model of police peacekeeping training.
The latest graduates are expected to contribute to future UN peace operations, strengthening the Pacific region’s role in international peace and security.
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