The International Centre for Safe Migration (ICSM) under its frontline capacity Building Project has begun a three week capacity building work­shop on Community Engagement and Policing (CEP) for officers at Aflao in the Volta Region.

It is being held in collaboration with the Public Affairs Department of the Aflao Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) with 150 participants in attendance.

With support of the United Nations (UN) – Africa Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), the workshop is aimed at equipping the participants with the requisite skills that would help address issues of mistrust between GIS officers and border community members by enhancing communication between the GIS personnel and border residents.

Speaking at the opening cere­mony at Aflao in the Ketu-South Municipality of the Volta Region, the Head of Projects of Interna­tional Centre for Safe Migration (ICSM), Mr Peter Assanful, said the programme would help the GIS to build a mutually beneficial relation­ship with border communities as well as resolve conflicts amicably with border residents.

Mr Assanful stressed that the CEP model was a security tool designed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to strengthen safety and security of communities, shift towards a people centred proactive approach and preventive approach in polic­ing centred on promoting human rights and rule of law.

He mentioned that the training programme became necessary to enable officers of the GIS to adopt to the new approach of policing that would respect international human rights of people, promote community participation in border security management, encourage cultural tolerance and religious sensitivity as well as gender responsiveness to border security management.

Mr Assanful said equipping personnel with modern skills of policing and border community management was crucial in making the GIS a model service, which would contribute to national security, while promoting the global concept on safety, order and proper migration to identify and mitigate risks at the Aflao border.

Moreover, he stressed the need for frontline border officials to be abreast with modern trends and dynamics in immigration manage­ment that would enable border community members to appreciate and support personnel in the dis­charge of their mandate.

The Aflao Sector Commander of the GIS, Assistant Commission­er of Immigration (ACI) Mr Fred­erick Baah Duodu, expressed joy about the intervention in training of personnel, which he said would definitely help in re-orienting the minds of officers towards a more human-centred approach to securi­ty management at the border.

ACI Duodu said the vital role community engagement played in ensuring peace and harmony between members of border com­munities and officers of the GIS in the discharge of their mandate at the border could not be over­emphasised, and urged workshop participants to take their lessons se­riously in order to ensure that their new skills would impact positively on activities at the border.

The workshop is being facilitated by Deputy Superintendent of Im­migration (DSI), Mr Justice Kudzo Normeshie, the CEP Focal Person and the officer in charge of the Public Affairs Unit of the Aflao sector of the GIS, DSI Genevive Sam-Orleans, Assistant Superin­tendent of Immigration (ASI), Mr Divine Jethro, ASI Umaru Musah, Inspector Mr Edward Donkor, Inspector Mr Richard Tetteh and Inspector Mr Mohammed Halid.