AUST: Andrew Hughes appointed top UN cop
Updated
Fiji's former Police Commissioner, Australian Andrew Hughes, is to become the United Nation's top cop. Mr Hughes is one of Australia's most highly regarded police officers and will take up his new position next month as Police Advisor with the U-N's Department of Peace Operations.
Presenter: Fran Kelly
Speakers: Andrew Hughes, former Fiji Police Commissioner
HUGHES: Well I think towards the end we were certainly feeling the heat, it was not a pleasant place to be. But look we did what we could, big lesson out of that is the importance of the rule of law, enforcing the rule of law, we came very close to preventing that coup, but through circumstances outside of our control, that is the police control we weren't able to prevent it. But we certainly did have briefs of evidence on the Commander, and I think the state that Fiji's in at the moment speaks volumes about whether it was the right thing to do, I mean if we'd have prevented it Fiji would be on a different trajectory to what it is now.
KELLY: From your record of achievement you've been very much involved on the ground, at first hand, on the front line I suppose of these places in Fiji, in Cyprus, in East Timor. The UN post will be very different from that, you'll be a long way from the action, you'll be overseeing the work of ten-thousand other officers on the ground. Do you look forward to that or do you regret being moved away from the action?
HUGHES: Well certainly in Fiji I was very much on the front line, but Australia's contribution, police contribution to peacekeeping missions I've been more involved in the strategic oversight which is primarily what the role would be in New York, rather than being on the front line I have had that role in the past, so I think that will serve me in good stead in New York.
KELLY: The Australian Federal Police we're seeing more and more involved in international theatres, we've got a very good reputation, our police have a very good reputation for the work they did in places like East Timor, in the Solomons. Does that record, is that reflected in the work and the achievement and the reputation of most of those UN police forces that are around the world and deployed to these 19 UN missions, or are there difficulties in the behaviour of some of these police? Is that something you're going to have to confront?
HUGHES: Well certainly you're right, the AFP does have a very good reputation internationally and I firmly believe that it was a very significant element in my selection for this particular role. But you're right, as well the peace operations missions are drawn from a variety of countries and paradoxically that's its greatest strength but also at times its greatest weakness because you do have a very diverse mix and the challenge for anyone involved in leadership in that sort of mix is to ensure that you build on the strength of each of the contributing groups and work towards overcoming any gaps there may be in terms of professional standards.
KELLY: Sounds like you're going to have to get across a very difficult brief very quickly. Just briefly and finally Andrew your predecessor at the UN says one of the main challenges for UN's policing is attracting more female officers. How important is that and why is it so difficult?
HUGHES: Oh look I couldn't agree more, it's really important. When you consider the role of peace operations which is diffusing conflict I think women bring a special skill to that. They're very good negotiators, they add an extra dimension in strategic thinking so I'm certainly in favour of that.
KELLY: And it's difficult, why, to get enough women?
HUGHES: Well I think in policing generally it's been hard historically to attract the numbers we would have liked. Certainly a lot of work has been done in Australia and indeed I did in Fiji, but we still struggle at times to get the right numbers to get women into senior leadership positions and that's a challenge for policing globally, but it's just another stage or step in that process when I get to New York.
