Participation of EUROGENDFOR in EUAM Ukraine public order training

As part of a training session organised by the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine, around 170 officers of the National Police of Ukraine put some of the theories they are being trained in into practice on 28 January in Kyiv in the presence of Acting EUAM Head of Mission Hugues Fantou, European Gendarmerie Force Commander BGen Philippe Rio and the Deputy Head of the NPU/Head of the Patrol Police Oleksandr Fatsevich.

The public order training – organised by EUAM and carried out by four officers of EUROGENDFOR — aims to share best practice in managing large crowds peacefully and avoiding violence. The training is grounded in the democratic right of citizens to assemble peacefully, including the right to air grievances. This right has to be exercised in such a way that public order is maintained whenever large groups of people gather.

“The idea of public order that our training tries to convey is that you should not disturb the rights of citizens,” said Alain Scolan, Head of Strategic of EUAM’s MoIA Advisory Unit. “At the same time however, you should protect citizens from violence.”

Public order is one of EUAM’s key priority areas and the four EUROGENDFOR officers invited to provide training to the NPU started their work in Ukraine on 11 January 2016. They started by training 29 NPU officers. These 29 officers then trained 170 of their colleagues under EUROGENDFOR supervision. They will be expected to continue their training of other NPU officers in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine now that the EUROGENDFOR trainers have finished their one-month work.