Instruction for Police Forces for HIV/AIDS prevention in vulnerable groups of population: experiences from Kyrgyzstan

Aleksandr Zelichenko, Police Colonel, PhDVienna, July 2010

• In last few years Kyrgyzstan accumulated good practical experience in cooperation of police, governmental, non-governmental organizations and local communities in HR activities.

• But this active police involvement had been preceded by the decade-long educational campaign against “police illiteracy” in the problem that started in 1998 and still in developing.

• We addressed the training process to the specific nature of police officers. Law enforcement, as you know, usually responsive to orders. The idea was raised to develop “the Instruction for Police Forces for HIV/AIDS prevention in vulnerable groups of population”, and to approve it by Ministry of Interior order, so the Instruction should be subject for compulsory implementation.

Instruction was firmed up by the special order, laying down that police personnel must:

• Explain to VGP - representatives their rights and responsibilities in full accordance with correspondent chapters of national legislation

• To communicate with general population and VGP - representatives about ways of HIV invasion and preventive measures, to inform them about availability of post-contact prevention and provide them with correspondent contact information

• To inform VGP - representatives about current programs on harm reduction and HIV/AIDS prevention: needles/syringes exchange units, methadone therapy centers, specialized medical facilities, rehabilitation centers, social services, crisis counseling centers and hot-lines, peer-to-peer groups, and to recommend the contact addresses

• To provide available information materials and reference literature (posters, booklets, designed by the Republican Association «HIV/AIDS», NGOs, international organizations)

Police personnel, working with VGP, must:

• Avoid all types of discrimination and violation of rights of VGP, any actions and wording denigrating their honor and dignity, to treat them with politeness and sensitivity, to avoid any hostility demonstration, to keep order and self-control in all situations

• In approach to VGP to identify yourself with service ID, inform on your position, rank and family name, and about cause and goal of approach

• In presence of legal reason for VGP personal identification and documents inspection, to make a written report, to be careful with documents and hand it back to owner after inspection, to avoid any extralegal documents inspections and seizures

• To apply to VGPs the necessary procedural enforcement measures in full accordance with national Administrative and Criminal codes, to avoid any actions, violating their rights on personal privacy, to warranty the confidentiality of information, disclosed in course of official duties execution, never misuse the dependence of drug-users to obtain evidence or testimony

• To avoid unwarranted detention and personal search of VGPs and participants of Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS prevention programs

To avoid any actions, preventing Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS programs from normal functioning in the areas of these programs location

• Any deliberate disregard of this instruction is subject for disciplinary sanctions imposition

• In 2009 number of workshops focused on above-mentioned “Instruction” were carried out in 18 town/regional police stations.

• The group of instructors and facilitators were formed from specially trained police instructors, representatives of NGOs and drug-addicted people, commercial sex workers and people leaving with HIV/AIDS.

• For the first time ever, these diverse groups directly addressed a police audience.

• By the end of 2009 this experience had been extended on the all territory of the country.

• This year the Instruction was incorporated as an integral part of the in-service training for each police station.

• Thank you for your attention.

• Any questions???