SSR in Practice

ISSAT supported the preparation of the design and implementation strategy for the programme and advised on the preparation of the technical background documents in support of the EU delegation.

The design document will assess the needs and implementing strategies on the following topics :

• Judicial and correctional mapping
• « Etats généraux » of the Justice sector (socio-political consultation process)
• Support to the establishment of the High Judicial Council
• Trainings of judicial and correction civil servants
• Establishment of a permanent council to coordinate actions supporting the justice reform (subgroup of a national SSR Committee) 

A regional seminar was organised in Minsk by the OSCE Secretariat in co-operation with the host country Belarus and the donors of the project, Switzerland and Austria.This project has been coordinated with Operations Division and will be implemented by LAD.

The Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, adopted in 1994, is one of the main normative documents in the OSCE politico-military dimension. Through the Code of Conduct the participating States, inter alia, reaffirm the Helsinki Final Act and agree to apply the principles of democracy and rule of law to the national security policies and doctrines. In 2008, the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation adopted FSC Decision 01/08 to promote awareness raising and outreach of the Code of Conduct.

This three-day seminar brought together representatives from Belarus, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Poland and Ukraine, as well as, Baltic Countries. Other OSCE participating States were invited as observers. The participants included representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior and Justice, in addition to Parliamentarians and senior military, police and national security service personnel. Also attending were a number of experts from international research institutes, donor countries and the OSCE Secretariat.

As a follow-on from the recommendation of the UNSG’s report for the development of rosters of experts, the UN Inter-Agency SSR Task Force has initiated the development of a UN Roster of SSR Experts. 

The SSR Unit, on behalf of the UN Inter-Agency SSR Task Force, has requested DCAF/ISSAT to support them in facilitating part of a 2-day Induction Workshop of the UN Roster of SSR Experts. 

The participants were SSR consultants, widely acknowledged as leaders in this field, have solid SSR experience and are available for deployment into UN areas of operation.

The mapping and assessment of police and other Law Enforcement Agencies, and justice and corrections institutions are important tools in planning, implementing and evaluating mandates of UN peace operations designed to advise, assist and support the host-state authorities in ensuring security and strengthening the rule of law.

To date, the rule of law sector in most post-conflict contexts has been mapped and assessed in an ad hoc manner, with varying results.  In order to ensure that mapping and assessment activities are carried out more methodically and effectively, DPKO OROLSI (Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions) seeks to develop guidelines for mapping and assessing police and other law enforcement agencies, in addition to justice and corrections institutions, in post conflict settings.  The drafted guidelines will set out basic principles and provide a step-by-step methodology for mapping and assessment exercises including their planning, implementation and follow up.

The draft guidelines will be developed by ISSAT under the overall guidance of OROLSI.

The Level One SSR training was a two-and-a-half day course, aimed at practitioners engaged in SSR activities. Its main objective is to offer an overview of the key SSR policies, principles and actors. The course also dealt with the highly political nature of SSR, highlighted some of its key challenges on the ground and propose some solutions. Key topics covered include: introduction to SSR policies, principles and actors; SSR in different contexts; who’s who in the security sector; oversight and accountability; coordinating SSR programmes etc.

The training took place in STANS, Switzerland, in partnership with ISSAT. It targeted a broad, "Whole of Government" participation, the courses included participants from different backgrounds (e.g. Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Development Agencies), particularly middle management or desk-officer level with responsibilities on SSR issues. 

The Austrian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence organised a training course on “Whole of Government Approach" to Security Sector Reform (SSR)”, in Vienna in partnership with DCAF/ISSAT. Some spaces on the course were made available for other ISSAT Governing Board members who may have wished to send their personnel.

Aimed at a broad, whole-of-government audience, the courses included participants from different backgrounds (Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior, Justice, Finance and Development Agency). The course targeted particularly participants holding positions at middle management or desk-officer level with special responsibility on SSR issues.

The main objective was to offer an overview of the key SSR policies, principles and actors. The course also dealt with the highly political nature of SSR, highlighted some of its key challenges on the ground and proposed some solutions. Key topics covered include: introduction to SSR policies, principles and actors; SSR in different contexts; who’s who in the security sector; oversight and accountability; coordinating SSR programmes etc;  Whole of Government approaches to SSR; and the role of civil society etc.

In the framework of the Swiss SSR programme running in Juba, supporting the Government of South Sudan, Switzerland has requested ISSAT to provide ongoing support for its project staff based in Juba on strategic planning, programme design and coaching on fulfilling advisory roles.

ISSAT’s support and coaching includes periodic missions to southern Sudan, providing on the job support. In addition, continuous assistance is ensured through regular phone and virtual contact.

ISSAT provides coaches drawn from its core staff, backed-up by other members of the ISSAT team. Initial conversations with staff in Bern and Juba have outlined roles and responsibilities between ISSAT and the Swiss project team.

On behalf of the UN SSR Inter-Agency Task Force, the SSR Unit in DPKO requested ISSAT’s assistance to support the implementation of the upcoming UN Inter-Agency Senior SSR Practitioners Workshop.

The objective of the 2010 workshop was to conduct the first round of consultations with field colleagues on the applicability potential of the draft interim Technical Guidance Notes, currently under preparation.

The SSR workshop was hosted and chaired by DPKO on behalf of the UN SSR Inter-Agency Task Force. ISSAT provided facilitation support during the following sessions.

Day one:

AM session: Welcome and introduction, followed by facilitated discussions on priorities and expected outcomes for the workshop.

PM session: Presentations of the 2010 UN Inter-Agency programme report, followed by discussions on priorities and implementation strategies for 2010/2011.

Day two & day three:

AM session: Presentations, by lead agencies, on the status of guidance notes and challenges that they are facing, followed by facilitated discussions.

Day four:

Discussions of conclusions and the way forward.

Following a request from DPKO’s SSR Unit on behalf of the UN SSR Inter-Agency Task Force, ISSAT has been requested to support the design and roll-out of a one-day course for UN personnel from different departments and agencies based in Vienna.

This request follows up on the support provided by ISSAT to the Senior SSR Practitioners Workshop (July 2009), where a sensitisation course was offered to all UN missions and country teams.

The sensitisation workshop aims to further develop the UN’s capacity on SSR by targeting middle and senior level personnel working on SSR or related activities within the various agencies of the UN. Key objectives of the training include:

• Increase participants’ awareness and understanding of Security Sector Reform (SSR), and the United Nations’ emerging approach to SSR.
• To enhance system-wide capacity to “deliver as one” as an effective and holistic support to national SSR efforts.
• To foster and develop the United Nations inter-agency SSR Community of Practice (COP) by promoting active membership across the United Nations system.

Following a request from DPKO’s SSR Unit on behalf of the UN SSR Inter-Agency Task Force, ISSAT has been requested to support the design and roll-out of a one-day course for UN personnel from different departments and agencies based in Vienna.

This request follows up on the support provided by ISSAT to the Senior SSR Practitioners Workshop (July 2009), where a sensitisation course was offered to all UN missions and country teams.

The sensitisation workshop aims to further develop the UN’s capacity on SSR by targeting middle and senior level personnel working on SSR or related activities within the various agencies of the UN. Key objectives of the training include:

• Increase participants’ awareness and understanding of Security Sector Reform (SSR), and the United Nations’ emerging approach to SSR.
• To enhance system-wide capacity to “deliver as one” as an effective and holistic support to national SSR efforts.
• To foster and develop the United Nations inter-agency SSR Community of Practice (COP) by promoting active membership across the United Nations system.