Germany, KAIPTC partner to support peaceful elections in Ghana on December 7
Accra, 22nd Sept: The Federal Republic of Germany, a long-standing partner of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), is collaborating with the Centre to roll out an Electoral Violence Security (EVS) Course for security personnel across the country. The overall goal is to contribute to peaceful and safe presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana in December 2020.
The German Government’s support to Ghana’s elections stems from its commitment to promote peace and security in Ghana, West Africa and the continent. Whiles elections have become indispensable to strengthening democracy, it is usually beset with violence that threaten the peace, security and stability of a nation. The incidences of violence occur throughout the electoral cycle but is usually very pronounced during the pre-electoral and electoral phases, ranging from threats, assault, vandalism of materials to hate speech.
Against the backdrop of these recurring election-related violence, it is critical for all stakeholders, particularly the law enforcement agencies, to lead the charge to ensure a safe, secure and violence-free elections. The German Government is thus partnering KAIPTC to deliver the EVS course, which aims at equipping law enforcement agencies with the knowledge, competencies and skills to prevent, manage and deal with potential or perceived electoral violence situations with professionalism. The course also aims to protect electoral law and the individual right to vote.
The training will be held in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale for selected personnel from the Ghana Police Service, The Ghana Armed Forces, The Ghana Immigration Service, The Customs Division, and The Ghana Prisons and Fire Services.
The significance of the EVS Course is that it closes gaps in the knowledge and understanding of complex political processes and operational interlinkages among relevant stakeholders, particularly the law enforcement agencies. By imparting the same knowledge and skills to participants from different agencies, the course assures a common understanding of the cross-cutting issues relating to security, political processes and electoral management; it also promotes consistency in approach to managing potential and actual electoral violence occurrences.
The training, among others, will cover topics such as elections cycle and security, recent trends in election violence, threat assessment, intelligence and early warning, Gender, Human rights and Elections Security, community/elections security policing. The training would also include simulation exercises that will enable participants to gain practical skills to handle potential situations.
Highlighting the importance and the expected outcomes of the training, the German Ambassador in Ghana, H.E. Christoph Retzlaff noted: “Ghana is a beacon of stability in West Africa and a key partner for Germany in Africa. Together with KAIPTC, we are strengthening peace and stability in the region. A number of elections will be held in West Africa between now and December 2020, one of which is the December 7 elections in Ghana. These elections are crucial for each country and stability in the region. It is therefore of utmost importance that these elections are free, fair and peaceful.”
The Commandant of KAIPTC, Major General Francis Ofori said; “Our business is to offer training, research, education to promote peace and security in Ghana, the sub-region, the African continent and the world at large, in partnership with national and international stakeholders. Therefore, we are excited to partner the German Government to deliver this training in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, so that we can enhance the preparedness and effectiveness of the security agencies to ensure peace in the upcoming elections. We are most grateful to the German Government for this great support.”
KAIPTC and the German Government introduced the EVS course in 2016, ahead of Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections held that year. The course has been delivered in Mali, Guinea Bissau and Nigeria.
The German Government, since 2002, has supported and partnered KAIPTC to contribute in several ways to peace and security in Ghana, the sub-region and Africa at large. With funding support from Germany, KAIPTC has delivered courses such as Investigating Sexual Gender Based violence, Police Middle Management Course, Police Women Leadership course, Maritime Security and Transnational Organized Crime, among others, to security personnel from Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and a host of other West African countries. The German Government’s support to KAIPTC also includes the secondment of a German Police and a Military Officer as Course Directors to the Centre.
For further information, please contact the Corporate Affairs Unit of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) on +233 302 718200 ext 1104/1203. You can find the KAIPTC on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as: @Kaiptcgh and on Instagram @Kaiptc. You can further find out more about the KAIPTC on our website: www.kaiptc.org.
About the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre:
The Ghana Ministry of Defence (MoD) established the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in 1998 and commissioned it in 2004. The purpose was to build upon and share Ghana’s five decades of internationally acclaimed experience and competence in peace operations with other states in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region and the rest of Africa. This was in recognition of the need for training military, police and civilian men and women to meet the changing demands of multidimensional peace operations. The Centre is one of the three (3) Peacekeeping Training Centres of Excellence mandated by the ECOWAS to offer training in peacekeeping and peace support operations (PSO) in Africa.
The Centre delivers training courses in three thematic areas; Peace Support Operations, Conflict Management and Peace and Security Studies and also runs Masters and PhD programmes in same. The KAIPTC has a world-class research department that undertakes research in the thematic areas in Peace and Security. Located in Accra, Ghana, the KAIPTC is an internationally recognised institution and has to date trained and tutored over 21, 496 participants and students since its inception.
KAIPTC is a gender-sensitive organisation and committed to gender equality. Following the launch of its gender policy in 2014, the Centre has mainstreamed gender into its policies and programmes, and integrates same in its focal areas, namely training, research and postgraduate education. The Centre has developed a Sexual Harassment policy and fully oriented employees on same. It has also provided a Nursing and Childcare Centre and instituted a paternity leave policy, all with the aim to create a conducive work environment at KAIPTC.