Pacific, Timor-Leste, and Australian Police Complete UN Peacekeeping Program in Brisbane

A group of 54 police officers from the Pacific region, Timor-Leste, and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have graduated from a five-week United Nations Police Peacekeeping training course held at the AFP's Pinkenba Hub in Brisbane, Australia.

The residential training curriculum covered subject areas such as the principles of UN peacekeeping, command in a UN context, child protection, sexual exploitation and abuse, and intelligence-led policing and reporting. According to the AFP, the class achieved an 83 per cent pass rate, improving upon the 73 per cent pass rate recorded by the inaugural class the previous year, from which some officers have already been deployed to South Sudan.

Women accounted for 40 per cent of this year's participants. Enrolled officers represented police services from Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Naoero, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Australia, with four AFP officers among the graduates. The instructional cohort included trainers from Australia, Fiji, Ghana, and Italy.

AFP Acting Commander Pacific Elias Petropoulos stated that the program reflects a shared commitment among partner nations and agencies to enhance readiness and support UN international peace and security efforts.

United Nations Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar noted that the participation of officers from the region demonstrates a dedication to global security, expressing appreciation for the AFP's partnership in preparing personnel for peacekeeping deployments. UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who opened the program with AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett, highlighted that UN policing plays an essential role in conflict prevention, civilian protection, and institutional support.

The course was established by the AFP following requests from Pacific police chiefs aiming to build a Pacific-led UN peacekeeping capability, while also responding to UN efforts to develop streamlined peacekeeping training models.

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