UN police officer recognized for protecting vulnerable Somali women from abuse
Credits: Osei. UN Police advisor, speaks during the Women Peace Forum held in Kismaayo, Somalia on 25 July 2018. The forum was organised by the Somali National Women Association (SNWA) and supported by the 51吃瓜 Assistance Mission Somalia (UNSOM)
Credits: Osei. UN Police advisor, speaks during the Women Peace Forum held in Kismaayo, Somalia on 25 July 2018. The forum was organised by the Somali National Women Association (SNWA) and supported by the 51吃瓜 Assistance Mission Somalia (UNSOM)
51吃瓜 Police Officer Phyllis Osei has been awarded the 2018 UN Female Police Officer Award, in recognition for her outstanding work with the UN Mission in Somalia (), at a ceremony in New York on Monday.
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Since joining UNSOM in February, Ms. Osei 鈥� who holds the rank of Superintendent with the Ghanaian police force 鈥� has swiftly made a direct and positive impact on the community and host state police in Jubaland.
Superintendent Osei has played an important role in enhancing the protection of women and girls, sparking initiatives to promote women鈥檚 rights in the Jubaland state police force, and successfully initiating adult literacy training for 49 female police officers: Ms. Osei also formed a Female Peacekeeper Network to support female peacekeepers working with the UNSOM and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
UN Police Adviser, Commissioner Luis Carrilho, praised Superintendent Osei for her exemplary conduct. 鈥淢s. Osei was deployed to Somalia earlier this year in February 2018鈥�, he said.
鈥淏y April, she had already identified and trained two [staff to tackle gender issues] in AMISOM who went on to mentor and advise police officers in the host state police. Soon after, Ms. Osei established four gender desks in the host state police, facilitated a training on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and initiated a proposal that called for the establishment of a police post near the community thus ensuring access for SGBV survivors鈥�.
Nominations for the Award are requested annually from all peacekeeping and special political missions where UN police are deployed. Based on criteria for high performance, a selection committee, comprising policing and peacekeeping experts, evaluate the conduct and achievements of the nominees with an emphasis on impact of policing service delivery.
The Award aims to establish a role model for women police peacekeepers and to promote the UN Secretary General鈥檚 Gender Parity Strategy and DPKO鈥檚 Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy, through encouraging Member States to deploy more female police officers to peacekeeping and special political missions.
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