RAMALLAH, March 28, 2012 – A 5 million euro Dutch-funded program to support the Palestinian civil police was launched in Ramallah on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by EUPOL COPPS, one of the participants in the project.
Chief of the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP), Major General Hazem Attallah, launched the program together with Birgitta Tazelaar, head of mission of the Netherlands Representative Office to the Palestinian Authority, and Henrik Malmquist, head of mission of EUPOL COPPS.
“It is a great pleasure for me today to announce the launch of the Multi Sector Support Program 2011-2013 aiming to enhance the organizational structure and operational capacities of the PCP,” stated Attallah.
“I would like to thank our partners for all the support provided to the police, but also for their contribution in the stability and the security sector which is not only important for us but for the region as whole” he added.
During the ceremony, Tazelaar officially handed over new equipment for the New PCP headquarters - furniture, information technology, kitchen and the mess hall - as one of the outputs of the 2010 Dutch PCP Support Program.
According to Tazelaar, the Netherlands is proud to have contributed to the new headquarters of the Palestinian Civil Police that will enable them to provide even more safety and security to the Palestinian people.
“The Palestinian police have achieved a lot in the past decade and the Netherlands, being one of the largest donors in this field, will stand ready to continue assisting their efforts, starting by officially kicking-off the Multi Sector Support Program which will contribute to the further professionalization of the police,” she said.
The 2011-2013 Multi Sector Support Program will focus on seven main areas: Human resources administration, guarding and protection administration, capacity of the District Coordination Office (DCO), juvenile police, radio system management and maintenance, operations rooms and patrolling, and construction of a police station near Beit Lid village.
The program is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), in close collaboration with EUPOL COPPS.
“The new Program we are launching today is an evidence of continued fruitful cooperation between long term partners working to further improve the delivery of police services to the Palestinian population,” said Malmquist.
“This Program strikes an excellent balance between PCP needs for hardware and training, while simultaneously addressing the continued organizational development of the PCP,” he added.
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