We were pleased to welcome Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, and his colleagues Oleksandr Kononenko, Olga Strepochenko, and Mariia Ushchapivska to our Geneva office last week. We discussed how Ukraine has adapted to challenging times and what it takes to ensure effective oversight of the security sector amid conflict. At the start of the war against Ukraine we adjusted our longstanding support to the country to be on-call to meet emerging needs. That has included advising on strategic communications regarding war crime investigations and providing evidence-based inputs to a policy debate on the (re)establishment of the military justice system.
20 Mar 2023This week we were pleased to host over 100 officers from the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Defence Studies for a day long workshop focused on the trends and challenges of security sector reform. The officers, representing over 50 nationalities, undertook a series of tabletops exercise to examine the design and implementation of reform processes. The College prepares senior officers and officials of the United Kingdom and other countries for leadership by developing their analytical powers, knowledge of defence and international security, and strategic vision.
17 Mar 2023This week Captain Ibrahim Traore, President of the Transition, Head of State of Burkina Faso, opened the regional conference on citizen’s participation in financial oversight of the security sector. Supported by DCAF, the conference in Ouagadougou brought together defence and security actors and civil society representatives from Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. They learned about international norms and standards for financial transparency and accountability and their critical importance in the security sector’s ability to build trust with citizens. Participants shared their national experiences and discussed forms of collaboration between administrative and legal bodies responsible for the fight against corruption.
16 Mar 2023The Gambia Immigration Department, in partnership with DCAF, convened a two-day national stakeholders' workshop to review and validate the country’s new Immigration Bill and a related Code of Conduct. Migration is a hot topic in The Gambia as the country is a key source of irregular migration. The event attracted state officials, civil society organizations, academia, and others working on migration-related issues. The workshop is part of our long engagement supporting the Gambian government with the security reform process it launched in 2017.
15 Mar 2023Last week our team met with officials from the Strategic Communications Department of the Honduran National Police to show them the results of a project that we did with the Colombian national police on civilian oversight. The project worked with police, journalists, and civil society leaders to improve their understanding of their different roles in successful police reform efforts, and build mutual trust and appreciation. This project is possible due to the generous support of Germany.
13 Mar 2023