Switzerland

The Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport has requested ISSAT’s support to carry out an introductory training on peace support operations and SSR for the Peace Support Operations Training Centre (PSOTC) in Bosnia Herzegovina. This training is part of the Swiss Government’s 3-year progressive strategy to build PSOTC capacity to conduct SSR trainings. PSOTC trainers will be involved in designing and delivering the training in collaboration with ISSAT’s training team. It is hoped that PSOTC staff will be able to take over and conduct the SSR training at the end of the 3 year strategy. The training will bring together approximately 20 senior level participants essentially from the BiH armed forces, Ministry of foreign affairs and the Ministry of Security as well as civil society representatives including the Centre for Security Studies. Some participants from regional countries are also expected to attend the training.

The course aims to build both SSR knowledge and skills within the framework of Peace Support Operations. Through an interactive and practical training approach, this course will help participants to:

• Better understand the concept and evolution of SSR, including actors, concepts and principles;
• Understand the political nature of SSR and the challenges faced when ‘supporting’ SSR processes in post-conflict contexts;
• Understand synergies and complementarities between peace support operations and SSR;
• Identify the common challenges and opportunities for both PSO and SSR;
• Use concrete cases to build on lessons learned and apply concepts to practice;
• Develop the capacity of PSOTC to enable integration of SSR into PSOTC training curricula.

The Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport has organised an SSR workshop as part of the Swiss UN Military Observer Course (SUNMOC).  ISSAT has been invited to support this workshop for one day.

The target audience was a multinational group of military officers who are candidates for UN monitoring missions.  Rank range was from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel. Participant group was between 25-30 people.  

The main objectives of this workshop included:

• Better understanding of the concept and evolution of SSR, including actors, concepts and principles;
• Develop the basic knowledge required to support SSR in post-conflict environments;
• A comprehension of the linkages between PSO & SSR
• Use concrete case studies to build on lessons learned and apply concepts to practice

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has requested ISSAT support for a training/workshop on Development, Justice and Security Sector Reform (JSSR) to be organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for its personnel.

The 3 day training aimed to build capacity within the African Development Bank and to gain a better understanding of JSSR and its role in helping to create a conducive environment for broader, long-term development.

The main objective was to offer an overview of the key JSSR policies, principles and actors. The course also dealt with the highly political nature of JSSR, highlight some of its key challenges on the ground and propose some solutions. Key topics covered included: Introduction to the concept of JSSR; mapping the justice and security sector; Gender and SSR; programming for SSR in fragile and post-conflict states, and the role of non-state actors in JSSR.

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.