From 3 to 7 August, 2015, the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Mali (EUCAP Sahel Mali) conducted with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) a first joint training in favor of 15 senior officers of the gendarmerie coming from all districts of Mali
For EUCAP, this training was provided by Sergio, an experienced Italian Carabinieri NCO deployed in the Mission in the framework of the EUROGENDFOR contribution.
He prepared and conducted the course with two gendarmerie officers from MINUSMA: a Cameroonian Lieutenant Colonel and a Senegalese Captain.
This first EU/UN training paved the way for an enduring cooperation between the two missions, with a second cooperation of that kind as soon as September 2015, when eleven members of the Malian National Guard got a joint VIP protection training.
A lively training
In June 2015, Sergio and his two MINUSMA counterparts were assigned the task of organizing and preparing a one week training course on a sensitive topic: “the treatment and assistance towards the victims of both minor and major crimes, and how to properly complete a police report on such matters”.
The course was designed along 3 main issues: the reception of the victim, the assistance given to him/her, and the completion of a report. A long period of preparatory works was necessary to develop this training in order to get it fully adapted to the Malian situation and requirements and to trigger the required sharing of knowledge and experience through real cases scenario.
A lively closing ceremony
This ceremony was managed in the same spirit of “real life” example. The case study of “Amadou’s bicycle” was developed and simultaneously shown on a screen to the journalists, VIPs, military and civil, who were all attending the closing ceremony of the training, on Friday 7th of August.
This short scenario focused on a young boy from LAFIABOUGOU, an overcrowded district of Bamako, whose bicycle was stolen. It perfectly illustrated the importance to deal professionally with all the victims and with their cases, including for petty crimes, in order to develop the population’s confidence and faith in the police forces.
As stated by the Police Commissioner Abdounasir AWALE, UNPOL Chief and H.E. the Ambassador Albrecht CONZE, Head of EUCAP SAHEL Mali, such a story is neither an insignificant nor a simple one. On the contrary, it underlines the necessity for the Malian citizens to fully trust capable, reliable and professional Security Forces.
This first EU/UN training paved the way for an enduring cooperation between the two missions, with a second cooperation of that kind as soon as September 2015, when eleven members of the Malian National Guard got a joint VIP protection training.
Portrait of a EUROGENDFOR Trainer
Sergio, a 44 years old Italian Carabinieri Warrant Officer, is usually performing community policing and Criminal Investigations duty in Genova (Italy). In addition to this broad professional experience as a police officer, he already participated in 4 different missions abroad from 2003 to 2012: twice in Kosovo as liaison officer and as chief of Operation Center, in Bosnia Herzegovina as chief of info production of the Italian Integrated Police Unit intelligence cell, and in Iraq as Security Sector Reform Department trainer.
In September 2014, Sergio was selected for a 3-day pre-deployment training course being held at the EUROGENDFOR Headquarters in Vicenza. He then passed successfully the interview for selection to the EUCAP SAHEL Mali Mission and was selected for the post he was applying for.
Once he arrived in Bamako, as a criminal investigation and counter terrorism trainer, he immediately found his place and managed to perform well, alongside his new European Police and Gendarme colleagues.
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