Fiji Police Commissioner Plans Peacekeeping Training Centre

Fiji's Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu, announced plans to establish a dedicated Peacekeeping Training Centre. This new facility will operate as an extension of the Fiji Police Academy, aiming to significantly strengthen pre-deployment training for officers heading to regional and international peacekeeping missions.

Tudravu highlighted the current lack of a specialized facility solely for police peacekeeping deployments. He explained that while the military uses Black Rock for joint deployments, a dedicated police facility is needed for their specific training needs. The proposed center will utilize existing buildings at the academy or the police mobile force.

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We don’t have a special facility for that. For Black Rock, where the military is assisting, that is for deployment with the military. But solely for police deployment, there’s none. So it’s just an extension of the current buildings while at the academy or up at the police mobile force, just to get a facility for pre-deployment purposes.

The initiative is expected to create more opportunities for officers, including women, to participate in peacekeeping missions. Defence Minister Pio Tikoduadua confirmed that Fiji is reviewing its commitment to these international and regional efforts, emphasizing the need to ensure both policewomen and soldiers are well-supported.

Since 1989, over 1,650 police officers, including 149 women, have served in United Nations and regional peacekeeping missions, often in joint deployments with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces.

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So we’ve got to make sure that our women, our servicewomen, both policewomen and soldiers, are looked after well to do their work well here in Fiji, particularly in these new challenges that we face.