"The Future of Arab Policing"

Details

The international conference gathered more than 25 senior police officers, academicians, experts and law enforcement practitioners from the MENA region and Europe.

(f.lt.r.): Jonathan McIvor, CEO of Siren Associate, Beirut; Dr Canan Atilgan, Director of the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean, Tunis; Florence Gaub, Deputy Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, Paris; H.E. Khatia Dekanoidze, Former Georgian Minister and former Chief of Ukrainian National Police; and Mohamed Ghanmi, Senior Police Commissioner, Tunis

H.E. Khatia Dekanoidze, former Georgian Minister and former Chief of Ukrainian National Police, sharing lessons learned from police reform in Georgia.

The two-day conference gave room for exchange of best practices through the sharing of successful experiences implemented in the region.

Wiem Jrad, President of the Tunisian National League of Police Women, talking about opportunities and challenges for police women in Tunisia.

(f.l.t.r.): Colonel Tamer Al Maaitah, Director of planning and international cooperation Department, Jordanian Interior Ministry, Amman; Omar Al-Rafie, Consultant, Ret. Brigadier Jordan Public Security Directorate,l Amman; M.G. AbdulKareem Mezaal Al-Ameri, Iraqi Ministry of Interior, Baghdad; Oraib Al-Rantawi, Director, Al Quds Center for Political Studies, Amman; Belal Barghouthi, Legal Advisor, AMAN (Transparency International), Ramallah

(f.l.t.r.): Karin Delin, Siren Associates, Beirut; Vitali Ramanouski, Analyst, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Baghdad; Omar Al-Rafie, Consultant, Ret. Brigadier Jordan Public Security Directorate,l Amman

(f.l.t.r): Major Moustafa Arabiat , Jordanian Interior Ministry, Amman; Ayman Khalil, Director of the Arab Institute for Security Studies, Amman; Nabil Smida, Researcher at the Tunisian Observatory on Global Security, Tunis.

Following the first successful kick-off in Tunis, KAS and EUISS kept up the momentum and organized a second event in Amman, Jordan. Gathering experts, academics and law enforcement practitioners, this second edition on “The Future of Arab Policing” enabled to bring about a comprehensive panorama on the major challenges police institutions are facing in their modernization and reforming process. From the difficult working conditions of police officers to the lack of transparent oversight including the complex relationship between citizens and police institutions, our participants highlighted many bottlenecks that delay police institutions in their reform processes. 

Another dimension of the conference was focused on exchanges of best practices through discussions of successful initiatives that were implemented in the MENA region. Put in place by several organizations such as the European Union, UNDP as well as local police institutions, our participants discovered several initiatives focused on changing police forces to more service oriented state institutions. Despite different contexts, a recurring observation was that, for instance, a more horizontal decision chain with a multiplication of decision making points on the field clearly improved the relationship with citizens and tends to create a more trustful environment.

The overall product of the Tunis and Amman conferences will be used as a central input into the EUISS Challiot Papers on the future of Community Policing in the Arab World.