BiH Peacekeepers Deployed to Haiti

11/01/2005

Bosnia and Herzegovina police officers have proven to be successful peacekeepers in East Timor, Liberia and now Haiti. The country's latest peacekeeping mission is taking place at a time when police reform in BiH has entered a crucial phase.

By Antonio Prlenda for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo – 11/01/05

The BiH group will join the MINUSTAH peacekeepers now that they have finished their training. [MINUSTAH]

Members of the first contingent of peacekeeping police officers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) finished their basic training last month and joined the operation of the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The 12 BiH peacekeepers are among MINUSTAH's 6,060 uniformed personnel, comprised of 4,790 soldiers and 1,270 civilian police. Their mission is to assist the Haiti transitional government in monitoring, restructuring and reforming the Haitian National Police (HNP) in line with democratic policing standards. Among other things, MINISTAH is helping with the vetting and certifying of personnel, advising about reorganisation and training, and mentoring HNP members.

The BiH contingent will be on site for one year. It includes police officers from both of the country's entities -- the Federation of BiH (FBiH) and Republika Srpska. Three female police officers are among them. The leader of the contingent is Jasminka Imamovic, from Tuzla Canton in the northeastern part of FBiH.

The officers have expressed strong satisfaction with their acceptance by the UN Selection Assistance Team at the Sarajevo Police Academy. "It is a great reward to be a member of the UN peacekeeping mission,” said 28-year-old officer Jasmina Nedic from Lukavac. "It is also a great honour to be among chosen ones who will represent our country. I am glad that we will have opportunity to relay our police experience to colleagues at Haiti."

Participation in MINUSTAH is taking place during a crucial phase in BiH police reform. Officers from BiH have been serving as peacekeepers in the UN missions at East Timor and Liberia for several years, and the UN reportedly has proposed that BiH participate in the peacekeeping mission in Sudan. The BiH security ministry co-ordinates their deployment with their entity's ministries of interior.

"The UN authorities are highly satisfied with the way police officers from BiH perform their peacekeeping tasks," said BiH Minister of Security Barisa Colak. "The fact that extension of their mandates at East Timor and Liberia have been authorised multiple times proves that in the best way."