23 April 2010 - A group of 34 Guinea-Bissau Police agents selected for deployment at the first country's model police station today completed their initial module of training.

The three-day workshop was organized by UNIOGBIS in partnership with AMI, a Portuguese NGO and focused medical care issues. Additional courses tailored to these Public Order Police members will be organized in the next weeks with the support of the UN in Guinea-Bissau.

The country's Secretary of State of Interior Octávio Alves, co-chaired the closing ceremony, together with the UNIOGBIS Chief of SSR. The office Human Rights officer and UN Police staff also attended the ceremony.

The initiative is part of UNIOGBIS support to the country's SSR program, with special focus in the security area. On 24 March, the UN office and Bissau-Guinean authorities have signed an agreement for the establishment of a model police station in one of the capital's most populated neighbourhood. The construction of the 'Bairro Militar' model police station, whose ground-breaking ceremony on 13 March was chaired by Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister, Carlos Gomes Junior and by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, is estimated to cost around 165,000 dollars funded by UNIOGBIS.