A few weeks after the graduation of nearly 100 trainees from the ‘Darwish’ unit of the Somali Federal Police, trained by the EU civilian mission EUCAP Somalia, the head of this capacity-building mission, Lithuania’s Kęstutis Lančinskas, explained to Agence Europe its mandate and the challenges it faces. (interview by Camille-Cerise Gessant)
Agence Europe - EUCAP Somalia has existed for 13 years. How has it evolved over time?
Kęstutis Lančinskas - The mission was established in 2012 as EUCAP Nestor. It was a regional civilian mission mandated to work across the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, with a focus on counter-piracy.
In 2016, it was transformed into EUCAP Somalia and dedicated to the development of the maritime capabilities of Somalia, a country with more than 3,300 km of coastline.
Since 2022, our mandate has been enlarged to maritime security, land policing and promoting the Rule of law.
At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, the European Union, through EUCAP Somalia, developed and delivered a specialised training programme to prepare Federal ‘Darwish’ officers for deployment.
We have trained about 200 police officers since the beginning of the year. They are deployed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and gaining more experience in a less challenging environment. These officers will be deployed to newly liberated areas, where they will act primarily as a stabilisation force and carry out civil police tasks, including community-oriented policing. These areas will be quite challenging from a security point of view.
In the third batch of 120 trainees, which will complete its training by the end of this year, for the first time there are 20 women. By the end of the Mission’s current mandate, in February 2027, we aim to have trained at least double this amount of Federal ‘Darwish’ officers.
At the same time, we are working on Rule of law issues. Our experts are working with Somali and international partners for the development of different kinds of laws and legal procedures. We assisted to develop draft laws on the fight against piracy and on national police, but those documents are remaining as drafts and not discussed in the Parliament. Throughout all our activities, trainings and events, we actively focus on addressing human rights, gender and environmental issues.
As part of the EU Integrated approach, our Mission works with the military focused EU Training Mission EUTM Somalia, the European Naval Force Operation ATALANTA, the EU Delegation and the European Union Special Representative for the Horn of Africa.
Why is it still necessary to have this mission?
After a long-lasting civil war, Somali state institutions are still very weak and need assistance for development, especially on security because they are facing the threat of terrorist organisations.
From the European Union’s point of view, the Horn of Africa is a strategically vital region. It is important to maintain a presence and provide assistance, both for our security and our interests.
How do you train the police officers?
The Somali Police Force (SPF) selects future trainees. In collaboration with the SPF, EUCAP Somalia has developed a curriculum based on international standards, with a focus both on theory and on practical training.
Our Mission Police Officers train these Somali police recruits for several weeks in a row. Not only conceptual frameworks, skills and practical knowledge are important, but also how to plan, operate and act as a group, coherently. They are staying three months in a training facility built by our Mission, without the possibility to go out, and training in really hard conditions, 12 to 14 hours a day. They are gaining all necessary basic knowledge and the skills needed for Somali conditions.
Are three months of training enough?
I think so. Our Mission is, for the first time, training police officers on Somali soil. Before, all training for Somali police officers were given by the international community outside of the country using different training curricula. The Somali Police Commissioner and police management have said they have never seen police officers in Somalia trained to such a high level or quality. We are really proud of this.
Do you also train the trainers?
Yes, selected trainers from the Somali Police Force have followed a train-the-trainer course and now they are working hand in hand with the international trainers. They are learning how to train and prepare themselves for the future.
And what about the training of the Civilian Coastguard unit?
We are training several Somali maritime security institutions. We have two field offices, in Puntland (Bosaso) and Somaliland (Hargeisa, with regular travels to Berbera). These small offices are dedicated to the maritime domain.
What are the main challenges facing the Mission?
One is a security situation which is fragile in Somalia. We are living in a closed area, we have limitations of movement and perhaps the biggest challenge is to be closer to our partners and to have a better understanding of local reality and the local situation.
Another challenge is the lack of staff members, especially police trainers and maritime experts. Foreign policy changes and shifting priorities in Brussels can impact the interest of Member States to second staff to the Mission.
How many people work at the Mission?
We have in total with local staff more than 150 but because our Mission operates in a high-risk environment, a lot of staff members are dedicated to security support functions. Those who are delivering our mandate are only 85.
Some missions in Africa have faced issues with disinformation. Is this the case for you?
Not on a large scale.
The public image of the Mission is good, or at least neutral. We communicate publicly about the work we do, including in the Somali language.
Your mandate runs until February 2027. What are your ambitions for the rest of the mandate?
We plan to keep increasing the output of both our land and maritime police components. In practice, this means training and equipping more Federal ‘Darwish’ officers. We also aim to further operationalise Somalia’s Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre. Here, we focus on higher than minimum standards, in line with international obligations, and with more Somali maritime police being trained in Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information Systems, International Maritime Organization-compliant training for Search and Rescue (SAR) Mission Coordinators, SAR operational room exercises, and visit, board, search, and seizure activities.
How do you finance the equipment the Somalis need?
For the Federal ‘Darwish’, we have a dedicated budget for equipment we donate to our trainees. It is non lethal equipment, medical kits, personal protection gear, certain number of cars and so on.
Boats are the biggest challenge for Somalis and for us because they have very small boats. That’s why they will only be capable of conducting certain limited operations due to the lack of equipment. For sure, if we are talking about sustainability and further development, they need bigger boats and more capabilities.