"Training in humanity" : international police training in human rights and international humanitarian law

Abstract

Providing the world with peace and security has been one of the highest moral aspirations of the organised international community, in the last 65 years. Field realities, as faced by peacekeeping missions deployed all around the continent, have been decades now, indicating the increasingly crucial role of international policing, in establishing stability in post-conflict societies. Among the agents that are entrusted with international policing, the Stability Police Units have been lately attaining great importance, due to their unique capability in addressing instability, both through the military and the police doctrine and training. The aim of this thesis is to suggest that if the world’s major powers desire to be effective in providing stability, and to reach the aim of long-lasting peace, then proper education and training for the international police should be their main objective. The objective in turn of the education and training provided, should become, the forming of police officers with strong “head” knowledge accompanied with “heart knowledge”. Human rights and international humanitarian law fit the profile of the training tool for both types of knowledge, that are required for achieving effectiveness in the challenging field of international policing. Their added value, is the cultivation of respect for the human being and for cultural diversity, facilitating thus the effectiveness of the peacekeeper in a demanding multi-national and multicultural environment.