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News

Building SSG/R skills among donor and development professionals

We were happy to team up recently with the Hague Academy for Local Governance to deliver hands-on SSG/R training for civil servants, practitioners, and professionals from donor and development organizations around the world. The training covered theory and best practices in police use of force, community policing, and how to design and implement security sector reforms in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Thanks to everyone who shared their experience from the field and helped bring together the ideas of policy and the realities of practice.

30 Nov 2023

Geneva meets New York at Peace Week 2023

DCAF’s Director Nathalie Chuard spoke this week at the opening plenary of Geneva Peace Week in New York, alongside Pascale Baeriswyl, Ivan Šimonović, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, and moderator Annyssa Bellal. They discussed how investments in the accountability and effectiveness of the security sector can result in improved trust between the government and the population, and help to prevent violent conflict. The GPW in NYC event is feeding into preparations for the Summit of the Future 2024, and the review of the Peacebuilding Architecture in 2025.

29 Nov 2023

Ombuds oversight of intelligence services in North Macedonia

As part of our ongoing intelligence sector reform programme in North Macedonia, we co-organized a conference in Skopje that included everyone from President Pendarovski to parliamentarians, the media, and civil society groups. Discussion centred on strengthening the role of the national ombudsperson's in oversight of the intelligence and security sectors. Panelists discussed effective ombuds oversight approaches within the region and beyond, and compared these to a variety of oversight forms and practices. DCAF’s multi-year programme in North Macedonia supports stronger legal and institutional frameworks that lead to more accountable and effective intelligence and security services.

24 Nov 2023

Is there still a role for security sector reform in the Sahel?

The successive coup d’états in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have signaled a failure of basic security sector governance norms and questioned the effectiveness of reforms in these states. At the same time, they raise new questions about the way forward: is SSR possible under military rule following a coup? How can governance-supporting organizations, like DCAF, navigate in such contexts marked by a primacy of military actors over civilian ones, a fundamental questioning of democratic norms, and shrinking civic space? These are questions we must ask ourselves. Read more in à propos.

24 Nov 2023

Welcoming our French government partners in SSG/R

Last week, DCAF was pleased to welcome representatives of France's Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of the Armed Forces. In this annual bilateral meeting, we review DCAF’s current projects financed by France, and look at priorities and projects for the coming year. Discussion touched on Western Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia, and the Pacific island countries, as well as themes like civil protection and security, private security regulation, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence in governance. France is one of the founding members of DCAF’s Foundation Council, and a member of our International Partners Group.

20 Nov 2023