Projects

Integration Of Permanent And Compulsory Courses On The Rights Of The Child Within The Police Force Of The Republic Of Yemen

Crédit photo IBCR – Yémen 2014

Project duration  : 2013 - 2015

More than ever, with armed violence raging in Yemen, the protection of children’s rights has become a major concern in the country. In fact, since 2012, the country has been engaged in a process to reform justice for children that is based in large part on strengthening the capacities of police personnel. In May 2013, the IBCR, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, UNICEF Yemen and the Yemeni NGO SOUL  for Development, launched a project aimed at training the National Police on the rights of the child. In the context of violence and instability affecting Yemen, the project took a special turn as it was becoming necessary, more than ever, to make security forces aware of the importance of their role and practice within the child protection system that must be adapted to the emergency situation

Our goals:

Through this two-year project, the mission of the IBCR and its partners was to develop two training toolkits intended for new police recruits, but also for current police personnel working directly with children.

First, some 50 documents gathered over the course of field missions were consulted analysed for the purposes of drafting an inventory of the situation of children in Yemen. Furthermore, the members of a working group conducted interviews with children in contact with the law, as well as with representatives from law enforcement and organisations in the justice for children sector. Their testimonials proved invaluable to the understanding of local issues concerning the protection of children’s rights

This was followed by the participation of a Yemeni delegation in the Amman workshop (rapport atelier Initiative régionale Moyen Orient), organised by the IBCR in September 2013 in collaboration with the UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa. Participants took stock of the capacity strengthening strategy of the Yemeni specialised police and compared their action plan with those of eight other delegations from the region. Furthermore, a Yemeni case study prepared by the IBCR and the delegation was presented to workshop participants.

The preparatory and strategic research resulted in the development of an initial training toolkit for police officers. The educational tools contained in the kit include pertinent information about children’s rights and indicate the best practices to follow for the initial contact between police officers and boys and girls under 18 – the goal being, ultimately, to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of police officers receiving the training.

A specialised training toolkit was also created. Intended for police officers in continuing training, it outlines procedures for caring for minors, and presents interview techniques adapted to children, whether they are victims, witnesses, or alleged offenders.

Once the toolkits were finalised, training sessions were organised for trainers: around 20 trainers from the police received the initial training, while 35 police offers took part in specialised training.