Earlier this month I looked at
some of the permanent artwork on display at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Tonight I was lucky enough to attend the launch of a temporary exhibition of photographs entitled
50 Years of Australian Police in Peacekeeping, and it was held in the lobby of the UN Secretariat Building (that tall, skinny one in all the UN photos you see).
It is great that the UN makes it possible for countries to host exhibitions like these in New York, even though they don't have a dedicated gallery space in which to do it. Just glancing at the photos as you walk by, you get to consider something you might not otherwise think much about.
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Cute kids and a cute
man in uniform. Art. |
The photo exhibition that opened tonight focuses on the contribution that Australia has made to the mix of police operations and UN peacekeeping Missions since 1964, starting in Cyprus and then continuing in countries such as Timor Leste, Sudan, South Sudan, Cambodia, and Somalia.
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Australian police meet former
UNSG Boutros Boutros Ghali |
The UN deploys police officers and peacekeepers overseas predominantly to respond to situations of unrest, instability or disaster. And when they get to their destination, their mission is anything but ordinary. Among a range of humanitarian responsibilities, they're on-site to maintain public order, to keep people and infrastructure safe, and to work with local law enforcement to strengthen their own skills. But the world has changed since UN Police first went into the field. Weapons have become more sophisticated, conflicts are more complicated, and peace negotiations are often protracted and frustrating. UN Police has had to adapt to all these realities.
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Earning the trust of the locals
is critical to success |
There were a couple of photos in the exhibition that were operational, showing activities like weapons clearances and patrols at border crossings, but my favourites were the candid photos of the police talking with locals. Verbal language may sometimes be a barrier, but body language is universal. I could plainly see the stress and fatigue on the faces of the locals in some photos, counterbalanced by the expressions of calm authority worn by the police officers standing by them. In other photos, both the locals and the police were sharing a laugh, and I was glad the photographer had captured that brief moment of levity.
Some of the photos made
me laugh out loud too, particularly the ones from the early 1970s. Back then, Australia's police were sporting handle-bar mustaches, short shorts, and long socks. The irony of policemen committing crimes (against fashion)!
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The world's first Pre-Deployment
Training Village in Canberra |
One photo subject that I found really interesting was the Australian Police's training facility located in Canberra, the capital city of Australia.
The facility includes a Pre-Deployment Training Village that simulates a realistic overseas mission. It must be really scary to land in an unfamiliar and dangerous place, not knowing what kind of reception you're going to get. So the village includes a town hall, police station, shops, homes, and even a UN office - all the kinds of places that the police officers are likely to encounter when they are deployed. As they go through tactical exercises, they also do scenario-based training that sharpens other skills like team-building, cross-cultural negotiations, and how sensitive they are to gender and cultural differences. The Pre-Deployment Training Village was the first of its kind in the world (when it was built) and it has been a great success.
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| Passing on forensic skills |
This photo exhibition really captured the diversity of Australia's contribution to UN policing over 50 years of overseas operations and peacekeeping missions. I liked seeing the evolution of the police force and the mix between on-the-ground operations and working directly with members of the community. It gave me a great insight into the legacy of peacekeeping (and the peacekeepers) and the courage it must take to do that job.
