SSR Advisors

Bgen(ret) Bernard Bélondrade- Senior SSR Advisor (Police) 

Seconded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bgen Bernard Bélondrade is essentially in charge of strengthening the links between France and ISSAT, as far as SSR is concerned. He also devotes himself in putting his personal experience of gendarmerie policing at the disposal of ISSAT. 

Bernard served 37 years in the French Gendarmerie; he ended his military career with the rank of Brigadier General as reserve advisor of the Gendarmerie Director.

All along his career he was in charge of different field  police responsibilities, along with the command of the South Indian Ocean Gendarmerie’ s forces in the Reunion. 

He also held several Staff Officer positions in Paris, in the General Direction of Gendarmerie, principally in the human resources field. His last post in the area was one of Training and Recruitment Sub-Director. 

Bgen Bernard Bélondrade is also experienced in international affairs. As a Gendarmerie Attaché in the French Embassy in Buenos Aires, he was acting in parallel in Argentine and Chile. From the Reunion, Bernard was developing a technical and advisory relationship with the Malagasy Gendarmerie and the Mauritius National Police Force. 

Lgen (ret). Marc Caron - Senior SSR Advisor (Defence) 

Marc served 35 years in the Canadian Forces, culminating in the top position of Commander of the Army with the rank of Lieutenant-General. In that position, at the strategic level of the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defense, he contributed to the achievements of these organizations during one of the most important periods in recent times of operational commitment and transformation. Since his retirement he has served as international civil servant with the UN. Until recently he was the Special Advisor on Security Sector Reform to the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). 

Marc holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Ottawa, a Masters in Military Studies from the UK Royal Military College of Science and a Masters in Security Studies from the US Army War College. 

Renaud Galand – Senior SSR Advisor (Justice) 

Renaud Galand is ISSAT’s lead advisor on justice reform.  He is a lawyer with over 15 years of experience in the fields of justice reform and international law. As Director General of RCN Justice and Democracy, Galand developed and managed rule of law, justice reform and access to justice programmes in fragile and conflict affected environment.  His stint as Director of the International Department of the Belgian Red Cross lent depth and reality to his understanding of international humanitarian law.  Over the years, Galand has worked with other non-governmental organizations such as Avocats Sans Frontières, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), as well as multilateral organizations such as the OSCE or the United Nations (he served as a legal advisor in the Judicial Affairs and Institutional Building Section of MICIVIH in Haiti). Galand’s programme management experience  spans the entire cycle from needs assessment to evaluation in sub-Saharan countries, but also in North Africa, Eastern Europe and South East Asia.

Victoria Walker - Senior SSR Advisor (Governance)

Victoria joined the International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT) in June 2008 and is a senior SSR advisor (governance). Her main focus areas within ISSAT include governance, community policing and developing operational guidance tools for security and justice assessments, based on good practice and lessons learned. She has 15 years of field experience in assessments, conflict resolution, security and political analysis and rule of law missions in Europe, Asia and Africa. 

Prior to joining the team, Victoria was a political advisor to the Head of the Planning Team for the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, covering police, justice and customs functions. She provided analysis for the 2005/2006 EU-led Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), Indonesia, covering conflict management, peace processes and DDR. From 2002-2005, she was the Head of Mission Office for the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Albania, which provided analysis and early warning for the European Union on areas relating to politics, good governance, the security sector and rule of law.

Victoria also held a commission in the British Army. She has a degree in Law from King's College London, an MSc in Development Management and an MA in Social Sciences from the Open University, UK, and a post-graduate diploma in Security Sector Management from Cranfield University (UK).

Mpako Foaleng - SSR Advisor 

Mpako is SSR advisor with International Security Sector Advisory Team of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. Her current responsibility includes civilian oversight of security and justice sector reform and the development of the ISSAT approach to monitoring and evaluation of SJSR activities.

Prior to joining Mpako has worked with Refugees International as an Advocate leading assessment missions Africa (west and central) on the protection of civilians affected by armed conflict and developed policy recommendations for humanitarian, development and political actors. At the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee Council where she worked for five years as a country analyst, Mpako monitored and researched conflict induced displacement crises in many African countries and led missions to evaluate response to humanitarian and protection and reintegration needs.

She has a strong interest in conflict and security issues and state building processes. She has published on private security companies and mercenaries in Africa.

She has a Masters and a PhD in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies of Geneva, and a Laurea in Political Science from the University of Perugia in Italy. Mpako also studied at the University of Yaoundé II. She is a citizen of Cameroon and is fluent in English, French, and Italian, with a basic knowledge of Spanish.

Teohna Williams - SSR Advisor

In her role as SSR Advisor with ISSAT, Teohna brings knowledge and direct experience from post-conflict and fragile states in such areas as conflict prevention and management, policy and programme development, fostering local ownership, and governance. She contributes to the development of ISSAT training and supports all SSR initiatives for ISSAT in the Republic of South Sudan.

Immediately prior to joining ISSAT Teohna was Advisor to the Minister of Interior in the Government of the Republic of South Sudan on Security & Stabilisation, supporting at central and local level the government’s development of conflict mitigation & stabilisation plans. Prior to this she worked as a Community Security & Peacebuilding Project Manager for UNDP in Haiti, Papua New Guinea, and South Sudan. Teohna has worked as a trainer and coach for more than 15 years, building government and civil society capacity to effectively manage conflict and has facilitated numerous senior officials in public sector institutions and NGOs to enhance their leadership skills. 

Teohna has a Masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor degree in Anthropology from Oxford Brookes. She is British born and of Guyanese and Romanian descent.