Kalemie (North Katanga), 11 April 2015: The United Nations Police (UNPOL) component of MONUSCO organized a two-day refresher training session for 200 agents representing twelve private security companies.

The aim was to strengthen the professional capacity of these agents, the majority of whom are assigned to security guard services at residences of MONUSCO and UN agency staff members.

This training was initiated after the arrest and death sentence in March of a local security agency agent prosecuted for criminal association. His conviction generated much public distrust toward some security companies.

For that reason UNPOL organized this refresher course to allow the participant agents to re-visit notions of security and guard service. The notions revisited included the conduct of tours of areas to be monitored, and the security guard’s code of ethics and professional conduct, which governs his/her behavior and the attitudes to be adopted before, during and after service, and prevents negative acts that could jeopardize the security of the person guarded.

Participants voiced satisfaction at the end of the training session. Also, officials of these private security companies presented two recommendations to UNPOL, namely: 1) security agents should be used for no other tasks than those for which they are recruited; 2) undue familiarity with security agents should be avoided.

François-Xavier Mybe/Radio Okapi