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Brussels, 14 June (AKI) - The European Union
mission for training Iraqi magistrates and senior
law enforcement officials is set to begin on 1 July.
The proposal was approved by the 25 EU members
states in February, but the office of foreign policy
chief Javier Solana has confirmed they have now
received an official request from Baghdad. The
request was made during a visit by three leading EU
officials, including Solana, to Iraq last week.
Solana's counsellor Pieter Feith said the objective
of the Eujust Lex mission is to train 770
magistrates, senior policemen and prison officers
within the year. "This will mean we reach [with the
training programme] around 50-60 per cent of the
total," he said.
A coordination office will be established in Baghdad
and also in Brussels, but the actual training will
be carried out in 20 EU nations.
All 25 EU member states are funding the mission,
which involves around 20 European staff, for a total
of 10 million euros.
"Unfortunately the security situation is not what we
would have hoped for, so at the moment, training
will take place outside Iraq" said Feith. Given the
impossibility of holding the courses internally, the
authorities in Baghdad had requested that the
training be done in EU member states rather than in
other countries, especially in the Middle East
region. However Feith did not rule out that some
training could take place within Iraq if the
security situation allows it.
For security reasons few details of the training
programme are being released. However the head of
Eujust Lex, Stephen White, a former British police
officer in Northern Ireland, explained that they
will hold 20 courses, each a month long and of two
different types.
The first will be management and administration
courses for 520 judges, investigating magistrates
and senior police and prison staff. The second will
deal specifically with investigation techniques and
will involve some 250 investigative magistrates and
police chiefs.
Precedence will be given to the practical experience
gained by magistrates and police in democratic
countries. "It will not be about giving lessons and
handing out text books," stressed White.
"The direct involvement of the Iraqis is essential,"
he added. "They will indicate what are their most
pressing needs in which they most urgently need
support."
The programme is also intended to enhance
cooperation between various sectors, boost skills
and provide a sound training on the respect of human
rights during police operations and investigations.
"That is a crucial aspect for us," added White.
The EU participants are well aware that a four week
course will only provide the bare bones of training.
"But it is the Iraqi authorities who have insisted
on this duration," said Pieter Feith. "We will
respect this. We realise that precisely because of
the difficult situation of the country we cannot ask
senior officials to stay away for long. For this we
need to set out clear priorities in these courses,"
he added.
The trainers are well aware that they will have to
overturn a culture that has become ingrained during
years of dictatorship and oppression, Feith noted.
"Obviously, it will take time, but we must get
started. For us, the January elections have in a way
demarcated the past."
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