Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs

One of the priorities of the ISSAT is the development of SSR capacity, both of ISSAT members but also the wider international community and civil society.

One of the main vehicles towards developing a standardised approach to SSR education and training, has been the development of the Association for SSR Education and Training (ASSET), which brings together training organisations and institutions that support the development of SSR capacity within governments, donors, security sector institutions, parliaments, civil society organisations and international/regional organisations.

The ISSAT was one of the founders of the ASSET, together with the GFN-SSR, FBA and SNDC. ISSAT also Chairs the coordinating committee. Through supporting the 2^nd Annual General Meeting the objective is to push forward the fulfillment of ASSET’s 2008-9 programme of work, which includes the development of SSR training tools and the development of a more standardized approach to SSR education and training.

Standardisation and support to regional organizations and the UN was one of the main topics of the AGM. The AGM was hosted by ACCORD in Durban, South Africa in March 2009.

This briefing aimed to provide participants with an overview of SSR policy and practice. It charted the development of the evaluation of the SSR concept, outlining the different international approaches that exist including the UN, OECD, EU and the emerging ECOWAS approach. The briefing included a discussion on the question of whether Norway currently has the right capacity available to support SSR both multilaterally and bilaterally.

Assistance with the development and input to an SSR paper.

Pakistan's policing services continue to be in need of reform, in particular regarding police services that are community responsive, while utilizing modern policing strategies and techniques to solve crimes. A report by UNODC in 2010,"Policing in Pakistan: an overview of institutions, debates and challenges"noted a growth in organized criminal activities in the Punjab. The report also listed several areas where reform should be concentrated, including improving relations with communities; crime intelligence; investigation and evidence handling; personnel management and skills/capacity building. UNODC Pakistan, as part of its Country Programme (2010-2015) is providing support to police departments across Pakistan, including training to build capacity of law enforcement personnel to manage crime scenes and process the collection of evidence. In addition, a programme to promote cooperation between police and prosecutors is being rolled out.

UNODC and representatives of the Embassy of Norway Pakistan have met with the Inspector General (IG) of Police Punjab and his executive staff.  The IG has acknowledged the need for improvement in the law enforcement capacity of the Department.  However, he also noted that while the instances of training support provided by the international community (including UNODC) are welcomed, it does little to reach the vast number of the department.  As a result, he has requested Norway and UNODC to design a more comprehensive approach that will reach a larger segment of his Department’s personnel.  The suggested approach involves the following tasks:

1) Undertake a comprehensive assessment of training in all police colleges and training centres to include specialized training offered to the current police corps.

2) Using the results of the assessment, undertake a revision of the training platform offered to police personnel in these training institutions to include specialized training offered to senior officers.

3) Assist the Department to implement this revised training platform

4) Provide specialized training to develop the investigative capacities of investigators to include the collection, preservation and use of forensic evidence to identify and prosecute perpetrators of crimes.

5) Implement the recommendations as outlined in the report by NCIS (2013).

Scoping Mission

At a meeting in Oslo on 14 February, where also UNODC was represented, there was agreement across the Norwegian Government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Police Directorate, and the Norwegian Police University College (PHS)) that a scoping mission should be carried out to assess the feasibility of a more comprehensive assessment (Task 1 above).

The 3-day training will focus on the fundamentals of SSR including key characteristics, actors and the international policy framework. It will also focus on SSR in post-conflict contexts and linkages with peace support operations. Cross-cutting issues such as gender, governance and coordination will also be addressed. 

The main purpose of the review is to provide guidance to the NORLAM programme, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Norwegian Ministry of Justice as to whether this assistance should continue beyond 2016, and if so, what should be the scope of the work and how it should be organized in the future.

This planned assessment of NORLAM should also keep in mind a later assessment to be done with a view to assess the Judicial Crisis Response Pool as a tool for Rule of Law development.

The conclusions should indicate the major strengths and weaknesses of NORLAM, outlining major developments since the review in 2009. The lessons learned should present the assessors’ impressions of the major achievements and successes together with the principal failings and reasons for the latter. The recommendations should suggest adjustments and/or improvements, as well as provide guidance as to the future activities of NORLAM and other bilateral teams.

It is anticipated that ISSAT will support the review with 3 to 4 experts and will include a 2 week deployment in Moldova. 

The Norwegian and Irish governments requested ISSAT’s support in the organisation of a Security Sector Reform training for civil society organisations in Timor Leste. In collaboration with a local partner -Fundasaun Mahein - ISSAT conducted a three-day training programme in Dili, Timor Leste in late September. The training brought together civil society representatives from Timor Leste and the broader South-East Asian region.

Overall objectives of the training programme included:

• Increased SSR capacity for civil society organisations;
• Dialogue and discussion among various civil society actors;
• Greater understanding on the purpose, goal, processes and principles of SSR.

The target audience for the training were Timorese civil society organisations and personnel with direct and indirect involvement in security sector development.

In 2007, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security established the Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova (NORLAM). The programme, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has deployed active justice practitioners from Norway to provide advisory support to Moldova in various aspects of criminal justice system reform. The NORLAM team composition has usually included judges, prosecutors, probation officers, defence lawyers and corrections officers supported by Moldovan legal advisors. While the programme components have changed over time, notable focal areas of work have included commentary of draft laws, supporting development of a juvenile prison (Goian), pre-trial detention, and various aspects of juvenile justice reform. The programme with its holistic approach to the criminal justice chain remains a unique example in global justice and security sector reform practice.

A decision has been taken to close down all programme components and activities of NORLAM by 30.06.2017.  Norwegian experts (2) and local staff will be present on the ground until end of June. Given the important role of NORLAM in supporting justice sector reform in Moldova for a decade, the Norway is seeking to develop a structured transition strategy that will promote sustainability of NORLAM reform efforts, ensure continuity of work, and reduce the potential risks associated with the eventual closure of the programme.

Norway and Sweden have requested ISSAT support to carry out an SSR Assessment in Liberia with a view to providing  recommendations on how these two countries can best contribute to the SSR process in Liberia. 

The assessment focused on two key aspects:

1. Potential areas/sectors for Swedish/Norwegian support.
2. Funding mechanism s in place that could potentially be used by Norway and Sweden to support Liberia’s SSR efforts.

To address these two issues, ISSAT considered the following sub-questions:

1. What are the challenges and opportunities for SSR in the short term (2012-13), medium term (next 5 years) and long term (10-15 years)?
2. To what extent are current donor engagements, including Norway’s and Sweden’s, addressing the above challenges and opportunities?
3. How can additional support complement and strengthen ongoing initiatives?
4. Are the funding mechanisms in place in Liberia efficient, and do the activities they support sufficiently address the Liberian people’s needs for access to security and justice?
5. How can the joint collaboration between Norway and Sweden in SSR bring about synergies and maximize resources/results?