The Danish Minister of Development Cooperation visits the human rights work in Niger

Flemming Møller Mortensen visited among others the police academy in the capital city Niamey. Here, he saw how the police are trained to be well-equipped in respecting human rights, when fighting terrorism and other serious crime in the country plagued by unrest.

Eva Grambye, deputy director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights is glad to see the ministerial visit from Denmark:

“It is good to see the support for the long-term work with human rights. Denmark can take on a special role, when it comes to creating lasting improvements and building democratic institutions, even in difficult circumstances. One of the key aspects is to work together with both authorities and civil society organisations – and to promote dialogue between them”, she says.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights has worked in Niger since 1997. The effort contributes to ensuring that respect for human rights becomes a natural and fundamental part of the authorities’ work in the country. The training of the police is one of the important elements of the work. Local partners include the National Human Rights Commission of Niger, the National Guard, the Gendarmerie and Niger’s Ministry of Justice.

“The work in Niger is very much about creating trust between the people and the authorities that are supposed to protect the citizens. You can’t protect someone who doesn’t trust you,” said Christelle Zafiryadis, head of the Danish Institute for Human Rights’ efforts in the Sahel region.

The Institute’s work in Niger receives support from DANIDA and the EU Emergency Trust Fund for the Sahel. The Institute has similar activities in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.