2018’s UN Female Police Office, Supt. Phyllis Ama Tebuah Osei, says she felt happy when she was told she was the recipient of the award and made her feel that the work she did in Somalia had gained recognition. Adding that, “the award means hard work, thus puts a lot of pressure on her to work harder with high expectation to complete most of the task that she has started.”
She disclosed on GBC’s ‘Uniiq FM Woman-to-Woman Show’, that it was a great honor to work for UNSOM. During her time in Somalia, she helped the local police in Jubaland to tackle issues of justice and Human Rights. She also assisted in strengthening activities on gender and child related issues.
She encouraged that more female peacekeepers should be deployed for UN Peacemaking missions because women bring a different dimension to peacekeeping. There will be a lot of good feedback on peacekeeping missions if we balance the gender according to the UN Secretary General’s Gender Parity initiative.
“Women bring different dimension to peacekeeping. They are able to bring the survivors together. They are able to let them feel belonged, open up and able to share intimate things they will not tell a man. The Children find motherly figure in women. I Think that if we are 50-50, we are able to balance each other strength and weaknesses. If I am a woman and I’m falling, and a man is doing well, we balance it. At the end of the day, it’s the beneficiary of assistance that we want to help. Anywhere that you find yourself as a UN Peacekeeper, it is about you, it about the people,” she encouraged.
She urged the Police force in Ghana to engage the community and have a good professional policing.
“Policing is changing. It is now intelligence led and community-oriented policing. The face of crime is even changing. To use Physical strength is no more productive,” she ended.
The annual United Nations Female Police Officer of the Year Award (formerly known as the International Female Police Peacekeeper Award), was presented November 19 in New York. It was co-hosted by the UN Police Division and the Permanent Mission of Canada.
This year’s Award goes to UN Police Officer Ms. Phyllis Ama Tebuah Osei, from the United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). Ms. Osei, a Superintendent of Police from the Ghana Police Service, was selected for the Award as her policing work, directly and positively impacted the community and the host state police in Jubaland, Somalia.
