01
Improving security in the country
// Afghanistan
Rebuilding the police force
| Since the end of 2014 the
Afghan National Police has been fully responsible for security
in Afghanistan and for protecting the Afghan people with-
out international assistance. Sever years ago the German
Federal Foreign Office commissioned GIZ to help develop
the capacity of the police force in Afghanistan.
The necessary infrastructure first had to be put in
place. Since 2008, the headquarters for the riot police and
traffic police have been built, along with a logistics centre for
the Ministry of Interior Affairs in Kabul. An office for the
border police has been established at Kabul Airport. Train-
ing centres, police academies and control stations have also
been constructed. Since local building contractors were used,
this work has also revived the regional economy. Parallel to
the building work, staff were also trained to maintain the
buildings.
The focus of GIZ’s engagement is now on education,
however. More than 40,000 police officers, including
women and many trainees, have been given basic legal train-
ing to familiarise them with the new legal foundations of
their country and to show them how they should be applied.
Almost one third of the participants first had to learn to
read and write. Courses have been held in all 114 districts of
the nine northern provinces in which the German Govern-
ment was engaged as part of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF). Almost all police stations in the
towns and a large number of special units were thus reached.
As of 2013, GIZ rolled out the courses in other parts of the
country in close consultation with the Afghan Ministry of
Interior Affairs.
In a measure financed by the Government of the
Netherlands and in collaboration with the European Union
Police Mission (EUPOL), GIZ is also working to improve
cooperation between the police, public prosecutors, defence
lawyers and the courts. Across the country, more than 800
public prosecutors and police officers have been trained in
cooperation in criminal investigations based on rule-of-law
principles.
Part of GIZ’s police programme involves an entirely
different and more entertaining form of ‘investigation’. In a
40-part television series financed by the German Federal
Foreign Office a female detective Malalai and her colleague
Amanullah track down criminals in line with rule-of-law
principles – and also show how the police force
can be an attractive job option for women.
When the victims of crime are women,
having a larger number of women police
officers is very important in ensuring
that cases are successfully investigated
and resolved.
//
Contact:
christian.schnurre@giz.de//
www.giz.de/afghanistan-securityBMZ strategy paper ‘Human Rights in German Development Policy’:
www.bmz.de/en/publications/topics/human_rights/Strategiepapier305_04_2011.pdfGIZ orientation on human rights:
www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2012-en-giz-and-human-rights.pdfContact:
humanrights@giz.deStaff safety and security:
http://www.giz.de/en/aboutgiz/staff_safety_and_security.html// Worldwide
Local acceptance enhances staff safety
Ensuring the safety and security of our staff
| In countries
where the security situation is critical, our top priority is
to ensure the physical safety and psychological wellbeing
of our staff. In Afghanistan, for example, GIZ has put in
place an extensive security system. Special risk manage-
ment offices in Kabul and in the provinces constantly gather
information that allows them to assess the security situa-
tion at any given time. On this basis, they provide staff with
binding rules of conduct. GIZ maintains close contacts with
the local people, ensures that security measures are trans-
parent and gets people involved in the projects and pro-
grammes. This feeling of involvement and the acceptance of
our projects among the local people are important factors
in ensuring the safety of our staff.
Our security concept in Afghanistan is part of a policy
that lays down minimum security and risk management
standards throughout the company for assignments outside
Germany. In partner countries, teams are in place to provide
systematic risk analyses, undertake regular security checks
and implement technical protective measures. Security
training and self-management and stress management
courses are also part of our package. In Germany, the crisis
desk, manned by a crisis officer, and a special psychosocial
counselling unit are available round the clock. And if it
becomes impossible to work in partner countries, projects
can be coordinated temporarily from neighbouring countries
or from Germany. With this tried and tested concept, GIZ is
now assisting 14 other German organisations with their own
security management through a programme financed jointly
by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Foreign Office.
//
// Worldwide
A binding standard
Human rights
| As a federal enterprise GIZ upholds all the human rights commitments entered into
by the Federal Republic of Germany, particularly the United Nations covenants and conventions and
the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2012 the Management Board adopted the ‘GIZ orientation
on human rights’, which is binding for all GIZ employees. It lays out the standards for action on
human rights issues. In the commissions we implement for the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ) we comply with the requirements laid out in the BMZ strategy
paper ‘Human Rights in German Development Policy’ (2011) and the 2013 ‘Guidelines on incorporating
human rights standards and principles, including gender, in programme proposals for bilateral German
Technical and Financial Cooperation’. We also take our direction from these papers. A dedicated
email address is available at which you can inform us about any potentially negative impacts of
our actions on human rights. //
40,000
police officers given
basic legal training
GIZ Integrated Company Report 2014
20
21
Providing security