Some 1,000 police officers in six police districts in Aceh have
received training in Community Policing and Human Rights through an
IOM project funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta and
the European Union.

The project, which has also established 15 Community Police
Forums with some 1,050 members of the public, has also trained a
first batch of 40 trainers who are already training colleagues in
the six districts under the supervision of experienced
officers.

The Aceh project, which plans to train some 8,000 Aceh police
officers over the next two years, is the latest phase of a
Netherlands-funded programme established by IOM and the Indonesian
National Police (INP) that has successfully implemented
international human rights and community policing training in six
Indonesian provinces and at national level over the past three
years.

The Aceh project followed the Helsinki Peace Agreement, which
brought peace to the province following years of conflict and the
massive destruction wrought by the Asian tsunami in December
2004.

"Good police community relations and adherence to the rule of
law and human rights are the basic ingredients for success....and
can only foster good governance, police reform, and keep the peace.
Therefore the Aceh police needs to be trained and must adhere to
human rights principles," says the Aceh Chief of Police, General
Bachrumsjah Kasman.

"The Aceh peace can only be successful in an environment where
law enforcement is conducted in a framework of mutual trust and
respect between the law enforcement institutions and the community
they serve. Only then can we expect previously divided communities
to start trusting their local police officers as individuals and as
an institution," says IOM Indonesia Chief of Mission, Steve
Cook.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Norton

IOM Jakarta

Tel. +62.811895651

E-mail: "mailto:pinorton@iom.int">pinorton@iom.int