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With UN's help, Liberia graduates first set of correctional officers in over two decades |
| Theallineed |
In another sign of growing stability in once war-torn Liberia, the United Nations today announced that it has finished training two dozen correctional officers there, the first to graduate in that field in over two decades.
Luiz Carlos da Costa, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Deputy Special Representative for Operations and Rule of Law, today awarded certificates to the first graduating class at a ceremony at the Police Academy in Paynesville on the outskirts of Monrovia.
The 24 officers, including six women, successfully completed a year-long training course conducted by the Ministry of Justice and the Corrections Advisory Unit of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
Addressing the graduates, who will soon be deployed to corrections facilities throughout Liberia, Mr. da Costa emphasized their responsibility to uphold basic protections. "As a correctional officer you will be dealing with human beings who, although they have broken the law, have human rights and dignity. It is therefore imperative that you also focus on the humane treatment of those individuals or groups incarcerated."
This is all the more true, he said, "now that peace has returned and a new democratically elected government is in place."
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was sworn in as President of Liberia on 16 January, becoming the first woman to lead an African nation.
Also addressing the graduates, Marjo Callaghan, the Head of UNMIL's Corrections Advisory Unit, cited the words of the famous Russian author Dostoevsky, who said "one can determine the morality of a country by the way it treats its prisoners."
Ms. Callaghan urged the new corrections officers to reflect on that statement when they go off to perform their professional responsibilities. She added that the role of a correctional officer is "not to punish" detainees, but to keep their colleagues and prisoners safe, thus contributing to the security of the community as a whole.
Acting Justice Minister Mr. Kabineh Ja'neh thanked UNMIL for the valuable training provided and said the graduation of this class "marks the beginning of a new era" showing Liberia's commitment to develop a new culture of respect for human dignity in which the rule of law will be the order of the day.
The ceremony was attended by UNMIL officials, representatives of two organizations which had provided training to the graduates – the International Committee for the Red Cross and the Center for Victims of Torture – as well as proud friends and relatives of the graduates.
In addition to the 24 officers who graduated today, a further 55 future correctional officers are undergoing on-the-job training at correctional institutions throughout Liberia.
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| About the Author |
©2005 All rights reserved
More info in www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases
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