Switzerland

Switzerland has requested ISSAT to support the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in their process of developing human rights risk mitigation guidelines. 

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has been involved in citizen security projects for almost two decades, in response to the clear and significant impacts that poor levels of citizen security and justice provision have on economic outcomes. Despite these long term citizen security efforts, the IDB has not yet completely integrated these projects into country and regional approaches, and has faced challenges in developing the required knowledge, expertise, and risk management processes to support such programming. A 2014 evaluation of the IDB’s citizen security remit concluded that one of the key elements of sustaining competitive advantage in citizen security was the development and implementation of risk mitigation guidelines. 

Switzerland is a strong supporter of the work of the IDB in Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular in Honduras where SDC is working with the IDB through its programme Integrated Security Sector Reform and Violence Prevention in Honduras.

Switzerland has requested ISSAT to support the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in their process of developing human rights risk mitigation guidelines. 

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has been involved in citizen security projects for almost two decades, in response to the clear and significant impacts that poor levels of citizen security and justice provision have on economic outcomes. Despite these long term citizen security efforts, the IDB has not yet completely integrated these projects into country and regional approaches, and has faced challenges in developing the required knowledge, expertise, and risk management processes to support such programming. A 2014 evaluation of the IDB’s citizen security remit concluded that one of the key elements of sustaining competitive advantage in citizen security was the development and implementation of risk mitigation guidelines. 

Switzerland is a strong supporter of the work of the IDB in Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular in Honduras where SDC is working with the IDB through its programme Integrated Security Sector Reform and Violence Prevention in Honduras.

ISSAT/DCAF has been mandated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to continue providing support to their office in Honduras for Phase 2 (2016-2017) of their programme Integrated Security Sector Reform and Violence Prevention in Honduras. The main goals of the programme were: improved effectiveness of the National Police, greater proportion of committed crimes are investigated and sanctioned, and improved local citizen security and peaceful co-existence. The target audience of the programme included the Secretary of Security, the National Police, Police training and integrity institutions, and 3-5 local municipalities with high indices of violence crime.

Backstopping to SDC continued in the areas of justice and security sector reform, policy dialogue in the program steering mechanism, and in liaising with other donors. As well as advising and supporting SDC in incorporating security, conflict and peace in other parts of SDC’s development program using conflict sensitive program management and related analysis.

The support also helped identify programme entry points for issues regarding human rights, youth opportunities/social prevention and democratic governance. In this regard, support to the SDC focused on their Chairing the Donor Group on JSSR and Human Rights (MSJDH) in Honduras in 2016 and their capacity to offer more tools for strategic orientation to the Donor Group in accordance with international norms.   

Notwithstanding the contested political environment, the Zimbabwe Peace and Security Programme (ZPSP) successfully developed the pillars of an inclusive, politically resilient and locally owned security sector transformation process over five years. Despite the closed environment for debate around SST/R, the ZPSP were able to carve out the necessary political space where state and non-state actors can discuss issues around security sector transformation. This was achieved through ZPSP engaging in dialogue a wide variety of SSR stakeholders, in order to build their knowledge and information on SSR, demystify the notion of SSR as regime change (as has been patent in the internal political discourse), and to promote consensus on the way forward in terms of security reforms’ thinking in the country. This was achieved through ensuring a Zimbabwean owned and transparent process, and by utilising mediation as a methodology to ensure buy-in by all stakeholders.

The aim of ZPSP was to contribute, through impartial and professional technical assistance, to the effective and sustainable modernisation and transformation of the security and justice sector in Zimbabwe, in order to enhance democratic governance, peace and security and the national sovereignty of the people of Zimbabwe.  In order to accomplish its mission in a difficult political environment, the ZPSP engaged in a very innovative process. As a result and at the request of the EU and the Government of Switzerland, ISSAT undertook a review to document the trajectory of the ZPSP with a view to identifying lessons and mapping potential good practice, which is still greatly absent from the growing academic and policy production on SSR experiences in Africa. The results of that review can be seen in http://issat.dcaf.ch/Learn/SSR-in-Practice/Case-Studies/Zimbabwe-Peace-and-Security-Programme

Following on from this, the ZPSP entered the third phase of its programme, which included the development of a three year national security sector transformation plan with a host of stakeholder from the state sector, academia, civil society (including the strong participation of women’s group who have developed a gendered SST strategy), traditional leaders and parliament. It also included continued SST capacity building across these sectors and in particular with the parliament, civil society, national and non-state actors. It did so in a context of limited financial support, with uncertain prospects for future funding, which required an adaptation of ZPSP institutional structures and the design of new funding modalities (project funding).  

ISSAT’s support was requested to both advise and enhance the capacity of the ZPSP in the planning, designing and implementing of the third phase of programming, which included the provision of support in developing a plan for phasing out the programme and transforming it into a state-managed unit. ISSAT’s generalist support was particularly required in the 1^st quarter of 2016, period during which ZPSP concluded its second phase of programming and plan for the third phase, while adapting its institutional structure and seeking funding to implement its activities. In subsequent quarters, specialist support (Policing, Parliamentary training etc) was required.

The Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) is an inclusive, state-led network created in March 2013 by States and NGOs joining together to engage in the prevention of atrocities.

The meetings organized by GAAMAC provide a platform for exchange, dialogue and dissemination of learning and good practice in prevention. GAAMAC supports States in building their capacities to prevent mass atrocity crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and ethnic cleansing), as well as, in developing and implementing national prevention strategies. It serves as a space for exchange and sharing among different communities of practice and stakeholders.

The objective of GAAMAC II is to convene representatives of interested governments, regional organizations, NGOs, and relevant UN offices to discuss and identify the challenges and ways to develop national architectures and policies for the prevention of atrocity, and to strengthen the capacities and strategies of states and governmental organizations in this field. This meeting is organized jointly by the Governments of the Philippines, as a host country, and Switzerland, current chair of GAAMAC, as mandated by the GAAMAC Steering Group1.