OSCE Centre helps police academy address multi-ethnic policing

BISHKEK, 4 July 2011 – An OSCE-supported course for police trainers from Kyrgyzstan's police academy, on policing in multi-ethnic societies, ends in Bishkek today.

The four-day course for 18 teachers, delivered by experts from the Agency of Social Technologies, an NGO, was organized with support from the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. It focused on a new police academy curriculum that devotes more time to multi-ethnic issues.

The updated curriculum includes new topics such as: international standards on the protection of ethnic minorities’ rights, Kyrgyzstan’s ethnic policy, the prevention of inter-ethnic conflict and also looks at inter-ethnic hate crimes. The police trainers received guidance on elaborating their own programmes for their students.

“Police in Kyrgyzstan, as in most countries, operate in a multi-ethnic society. Police officers must therefore have skills to work in such diverse environments. The new curriculum and the course are designed to help the Police Academy teach these crucial skills,” said Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek

Aslan Kulbaev, Police Academy Deputy Chief on Educational Issues, added: “A special focus on the inter-ethnic aspect of police work is crucial for Police Academy cadets, considering Kyrgyzstan’s multi-ethnic nature, and that police officers deal with different communities in their everyday work.”

The new curriculum will be introduced in September 2011.