EUAM hosts 24 police commanders from five oblasts for latest round of public-order training
August 21, 2018
Twenty-four senior managers of the National Police of Ukraine – from Kyiv, Lviv, Khmelnytsky, Vinnitsa and Dnipro – have been learning more about public order management in line with best EU practices during a four-week training in Lviv, conducted by European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) experts. The course is focused on the management of public gatherings, demonstrations, sport events and other kinds of mass events in accordance with human rights and democratic principles, and therefore how to increase the trust of people in police.
“It is not only about ‘no casualties’ reports as the main objective for police officers to deliver after any mass event. It is about protecting the right of assembly, the right for all people to have their voice heard,” said EUAM Public Order Advisor/Trainer, Ola Wolter. “Our approach lies in the facilitation to peaceful assemblies, rather than preventing them from taking place. Minimizing risks of violence requires planning for police at all levels: an effective chain of command should be in place, developed tactics, risk and threat assessment, evaluation of methods to be used during a mass event, and so on.”
This EUAM course in Lviv is already the third one and a part of an extensive training programme for NPU ‘gold’, ‘silver’ and ‘bronze’ commanders which started in October 2017. The overall aim of the training is to improve their skill in planning, understanding of human right perspective and rule of law in public order management, cooperation among commanders through the whole chain of command, as well as communication with organizers and participants of mass events through dialogue. More than 70 senior police officers from different regions of Ukraine are expected to have undergone the training by September 2018.
