Last week, DCAF held its first-ever Gender Focal Points retreat in Geneva. The internal Gender Focal Points network was created to support increased gender mainstreaming throughout our programmes and projects, from design to implementation to evaluation. All DCAF entities and some regional offices now have a focal point to help build the capacity of their team and ensure that gender equality is embodied in their work every step of the way. DCAF's Director, Nathalie Chuard, is an International Gender Champion and the focal points network is the realization of one of her 2023 commitments to improving gender equality.
06 Dec 2023DCAF has been engaged with the Global Compact since 2012, and we are thrilled to now be part of the formal network that supports, promotes, and implements the Compact’s ten principles for companies in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption. Among our efforts as part of the Compact, we will aim to influence Swiss and Swiss-based companies to implement more effective and accountable security management and human rights due diligence in complex environments, including through our strategic partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
05 Dec 2023Recently we worked with the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to bring members of Western Balkan Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) to Germany. They met with federal entities such as the Office for Information Security, and the ministries of Defence and Interior, to exchange insights and knowledge on cybersecurity. This was the fourth peer exchange we have organized between Western Balkans CERTs and their EU counterparts as part of our cybersecurity governance programme.
04 Dec 2023An important milestone was achieved last week with the official signing of the Joint Undertaking between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Lebanese Armed Forces for phase two of the project “Support to the Lebanese Armed Forces to Strengthen Civil Military Relations”. Led by Ambassador Hans Peter van Der Woude and Lebanese Commander in Chief General Joseph Aoun, this event marks a strong commitment to effective communication and coordination between the Lebanese people and the Armed Forces which, in turn, helps to build citizens’ confidence in authorities and bolster national security.
04 Dec 2023Last week DCAF was at the International Police Training Centre in Devinska Nova Ves, Slovakia to lead a workshop tailored to police officers who will serve on peacekeeping missions. Participants learned the main concepts of security sector reform and how to ensure effective oversight and accountability of police forces, and explored the differences between state and people-centred security. The workshop was done in cooperation with the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation and the International Police Cooperation Bureau of the Slovak Police Presidium.
01 Dec 2023