NGO trains 200 in human rights law

Police and government officials of the Republic of Congo were among more than 200 people trained since May in human rights law by a national NGO, the Association panafricaine Thomas Sankara (APTS). APTS president, Cephas Germain Ewangui, told IRIN on Thursday that training sessions were conducted in four regions of the country. Human rights, democracy and good governance were among the topics covered, he said. "We have just finished the next-to-last stage of our Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance project and we are very pleased with the level of participation we have had in all regions," Ewangui said upon his return from a recent campaign in Ouesso, capital city of the Sangha Region. "In Ouesso, the need for such training was particularly tangible among the police and gendarmerie," he said, adding that this could be explained by the fact that many police and gendarmes have been recruited since the country came out of years of turbulence during which there was a "total" lack of such training. Ewangui said the NGO gave special priority to the training of police forces. Similar training sessions were held in the regions of Brazzaville, Kouilou, Niari and were attended not only by police staff but by government officials of all levels. Among the themes addressed in each of the training sessions were "ethnicity and democracy", "human rights, foundations of peace and democracy", "Congo and international conventions", and "Human rights and good governance". "Congo is in the midst of a reconstruction phase, and efforts must focus on more than just the rehabilitation of infrastructure," Ewangui said. "They must also be focused on human rights and fundamental liberties which constitute the foundation for a State of law and good governance," he added. A final round of training for 50 participants is planned for Djambala, capital city of the Plateaux Region. The project has been supported by the government of Germany via the UNESCO office in Congo.