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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-security

BMZ strategy paper ‘Human Rights in German Development Policy’:

www.bmz.de/en/publications/topics/human_rights/Strategiepapier305_04_2011.pdf

GIZ orientation on human rights:

www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2012-en-giz-and-human-rights.pdf

Contact:

humanrights@giz.de

Staff 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