Kinshasa, 20 March 2009 - Alan Doss, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in the DRC took part in a ceremony in Kinshasa today, a presentation of certificates to 15 Congolese National Police (PNC) instructors who successfully completed a training programme organised by MONUC Police.

The training was part of a broader programme financed by Japanese Cooperation agency (JICA).

Alan Doss welcomed the support of the Japanese government and described the training as "evidence of the benefits" of an effective partnership between the DRC, its friendly countries and MONUC.

He also stressed the "paramount importance of the PNC in the maintenance of law and order and security, and especially for the protection of human rights.

He said that a police force that is well trained, equipped and paid is "one of the essential pillars of a modern and democratic state."

He completed his address by encouraging the national authorities to recruit more women within the police force, and "to reinforce this programme of police force reform in co-operation with international partners."

To date, MONUC police have trained almost 12,000 police officers, and from 2005 to 2007, with the financial support of JICA, it has trained 8,435 PNC personnel in Kinshasa and 560 others in Bas Congo province.

During first quarter of 2009, 1,600 police officers in Kinshasa and 1,400 in Bas Congo also received training in fields such as the maintenance and re-establishment of law and order, general intelligence, road traffic policing, and police justice.

Also in attendance at the ceremony were the vice-ministers of the Interior and Justice, the Japanese ambassador to the DRC and the PNC General Inspector.