From 14 to 20 April, the United Nations Office to the African Union supported the African Union’s Assessment of Operational Capability (AoC) of Ghana Formed Police Unit (FPU-5) ahead of its rotational deployment to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
The assessment was conducted in Accra by a Formed Police Assessment Team comprising representatives from the AU Peace Support Operations Division, AUSSOM and UNOAU. It reviewed individual and unit readiness, including personnel eligibility, professional competencies, medical fitness and operational effectiveness.
A total of 212 personnel, including 47 women, were assessed. Of these, 201 met the individual requirements for deployment. At unit level, Ghana FPU-5 demonstrated operational capability in command and control, communication, cohesion and adherence to AU policies and international human rights standards.
The unit also completed scenario based exercises on public order management, ambush response and hostage rescue operations, meeting the required operational benchmarks.
The assessment concluded that Ghana FPU-5 is operationally ready for deployment to AUSSOM, with recommendations to sustain pre-deployment training, increase the readiness of female officers and strengthen familiarization with AU peace support operation frameworks.
