The International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT)

A print-out version of what is available on our Service Lines webpage.

Overview of the year 2016 so far, given by Mark Downes, Head of ISSAT, at the occasion of the 16th Governing Board meeting in Geneva.

Provides a brief overview of our services and explains mechanisms for funding ISSAT.

Cette note conceptuelle décrit le contexte du Forum Afrique 2014 sur la réforme du secteur de la sécurité.

ISSAT's mid-year infographic showcases the year so far, including new areas ISSAT has supported, upcoming mandates and a financial overview.

Coordination has been widely recognized in both the SSR and international community as a crucial element to reform and development processes. Within the SSR context, coordination can improve effectiveness, credibility, management and sustainability of projects and programmes as well as minimize duplication efforts and unnecessary spending.

To further support coordination mechanisms, the international community conducted and produced a variety of high levels fora, conferences and policy documents. These include:

• The Rome Declaration for Harmonisation (2002)
• The Paris Declaration (2005)
• The Accra Agenda (2008)
• The Intergovernmental 3C Conference (2009)
• The Busan Agreement (2011)

This executive summary prepared by ISSAT will provide a brief overview of these policy documents.

How can a system-wide guidance tool grounded in international human rights norms and standards strengthen the holistic approach inherent to SSR? This second paper from the HRBA Working Group from ISSAT’s Methodology Cell explores international human rights norms and standards with jurisprudence set by the ECHR, IACHR and UN international instruments.

Read Paper 1: Rethinking a Human Rights-based Approach to SSR

For further information on the Working Group's research, please refer to the Rethinking a Human Rights-based Approach (HRBA) in Security Sector Reform blog

The rise in the number of armed conflict in recent years aggravated by other factors have led to an increase in the global flows of migration and forced displacement resulting in the worst humanitarian crises in decades. The issue of forced displacement has become a direct concern for the Security and Justice Sector Reform Community. In this briefing note, ISSAT outlines the push factors for forced displacement and provides some recommendations to address them. 

Security Sector Reform is increasingly perceived as the answer to the vast array of security challenges that beset post-conflict and fragile communities. It is hyped as the answer to the exit strategy dilemma faced by the international community. It is not the concept of SSR that matters, but the integrated approach it brings to police reform, defense reform, justice reform, governance reform and national security planning. It can also be the bridge that conceptually links the security-development nexus.

Input by: DCAF’s International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT)

This document explains how to apply the Capacity Integrity Framework to assess the capacity and integrity of a security institution. It lists the general question areas to be explored in each of the four areas of the matrix. 

See how we've progressed to 31 May 2015. 

Various tools including maps, tables and charts are contained in this document to establish service delivery gaps and overlaps between actors:

1. Geographical gaps and overlaps
2. Functional overlaps and gaps
3. Size of actors
4. Composition of senior personnel

DCAF-ISSAT's mid-year infographic showcases the year so far, including new areas we supported, increase in our justice mandates, our recent focus on certain themes and countries and a brief financial overview.

This document outlines comparative resource material on security, defense and interior parliamentary committees. The material is divided according to: established democracies, near and middle-eastern democracies, and post-conflict democracies. The "established democracies" category has quite a few committee Terms of Reference, including from the US, the UK, Switzerland, Australia and France; Also included are some rules of procedure, some of which outline more generally what committees do and how they function. Providing the broader context is generally very useful for an establishing parliament. The near and middle-eastern section sought to draw on Arab parliaments. Many of these countries do not have security-related committees, because oversight, particularly of the security sector, is not always sanctioned; some parliaments simply don't have websites; and a number are only in Arabic. Nevertheless, there are a few that are available, including from Turkey and Iraq.

There are also a few examples from post-conflict countries, given the sensitivities to security in such transitions. Here there is quite a bit, particularly from the Balkans. Also included are some secondary sources and case studies. A section on the "Role of Parliaments in Overseeing the Security Sector," is a collection of secondary sources that are very relevant to security-related committees. These include materials from DCAF, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), UNDP and a couple of others. There are some good case studies from Palestine and Iraq, among others. There is a book chapter about parliamentary oversight of the security sector in Afghanistan (DCAF publication), which has a focus on committees as well as a more general description of how parliaments can exercise oversight of the security sector.

The IPU is a particularly useful website with a comparative database of parliaments around the world and a webpage where parliamentary websites from around the world are made easily accessible on one page. IPU'  PARLINE database contains information on the structure and working methods of 266 parliamentary chambers in all of the 189 countries that have a parliament.

In February 2013, ISSAT celebrated five years of its establishment as a standing capacity in support of its Members’ security and justice reform programmes. Since its inception in 2008, ISSAT has completed 224 mandates as well as a growing number of advocacy and outreach activities. This has allowed ISSAT to refine its knowledge in terms of thematic areas, processes and contexts. In addition, ISSAT has developed firm partnerships, notably with the Africa Security Sector Network (ASSN), the Association for Security Sector Reform Education and Training (ASSET), Governance and Social Development Research Centre (GSDRC), le Groupe de Recherche et d’Information sur la Paix and la Sécurité (GRIP), and now has a fully established roster of additional experts, all of which extend the capacity of ISSAT to provide added value to its Members...

With the celebration of its fifth anniversary, as a standing capacity to support its Members’ security and justice reform programmes around the globe, ISSAT has established itself as a major contributor to international cooperation in the fields of security and justice reform. Having supported almost 300 activities and mandates throughout the years, ISSAT has developed and refined its knowledge and capacity across a variety of thematic and geographical areas, processes, and contexts. ISSAT has continuously developed and adapted its service lines to better suit the needs and requests of
Members.

Following on from the trend identified at the end of 2012 in the area of Advisory Field Support, ISSAT has seen an increase in its activities in regions in which it was previously not engaged. This has been the case in North Africa, with two missions in Libya to support the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), and in Latin America and the Caribbean, with multiple missions to support the European Union, the OECD and Switzerland. Another noticeable trend is the large number of mandates which have rolled over from one year to the next, for example support to the United Kingdom’s annual evaluation of its Security Sector Accountability and Police Reform (SSAPR) Programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNSMIL’s support in the Libyan Defence White Paper Process, and UNDP Somalia’s Police Programme and support for the Somaliland Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention. Similarly, Members have kept their tendency to use ISSAT support for multiple missions as part of a single mandate. This has, for example, been the case of the European Union (EU), which requested ISSAT to undertake field missions in eleven Latin American and Caribbean countries over a period of four months.

For the third year running ISSAT supported Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom to run their annual Senior Strategic Advisers’ Master Class on Police Reform (PMC) in an International and SSR Context, which was hosted by Switzerland. This recurring event is an example of a successful joint endeavour between five Members of ISSAT’s Governing Board.

The PMC is also an example of the increasing diversity of requests for ISSAT’s support in training and capacity building. The classic Level 1 SSR Course is now complemented with various other requests such as: the integration of SSR modules into other related trainings (for example peace-support operations, civil-military relations), new and different audiences (UN Standing Police Capacity, African Development Bank), e-learning modules available in several languages, and several Advanced Level 2 SSR Courses.

In the field of Knowledge Services, ISSAT has continued to build its global community of security and justice practitioners with an emphasis on exchange of information, knowledge and experiences. The Community of Practice (CoP) now has almost 1000 Members who can access a vast repository of policy and guidance documents, e-learning courses, cases studies, videos and other resources. Advocacy and Outreach activities have steadily increased and serve to support the work of the other three service lines. These activities tie together ISSAT’s efforts to ensure that Members and the wider SSR Community are aware of, buy into, and take ownership for application of international good practice in SSR support. To build upon the success of the 2012 Nairobi High Level Panel on SSR in East Africa, ISSAT is in the early stages of planning another high level discussion event for 2014.

With cost-sharing now firmly established for UN and EU requests, ISSAT has received 13 mandates from multilateral Members, which have entailed 25 missions in 21 countries. The multilateral Members which have requested ISSAT’s support include: EU, OECD, UNDP, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), UNSMIL, UN Standing Police Capacity (UN SPC), UNDP Somalia and the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (ONUCI).

In sum, another very productive year for ISSAT, with a total of 70 activities for 13 Members in the following 40 countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, EU Headquarters in Brussels, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, the UN in Italy, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Libya, Liberia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay*, and the UN’s Headquarters in New York. A full overview of ISSAT’s activities can be found at Annex A.

La Brochure de l'ISSAT offre un bref aperçu de l'Equipe Internationale de Conseil au Secteur de la Sécurité. Elle décrit brièvement la mission de l'ISSAT, son affiliation et les services majeurs (Conseils opérationnels de terrain, Formation et le renforcement de capacités, Services de gestion du savoir, Plaidoyer et la sensibilisation). Elle donne également une description rapide du Centre pour le Contrôle Démocratique des Forces Armées (DCAF) de Genève, ainsi que les détails permettant de contacter l'ISSAT, ou de demander des renseignements/devenir membre.  

Disponible aussi en English ou  العربية

La tenue du Forum Afrique sur la Réforme du Secteur de Sécurité (RSS) du 24 au 26 novembre 2014 a reflété l'importance et l'ampleur de la compréhension critique du domaine. Lors du Forum, plus de 200 experts, analystes et praticiens ont pu échanger bonnes pratiques et leçons apprises de leurs expériences, ainsi qu'explorer les potentiels moyens  d'améliorer l'efficacité de la RSS face à une myriade de défis auxquels sont confrontés de nombreux pays et régions d'Afrique. Ce résumé, rédigé par les partenaires d’ISSAT, compile des observations sur la pertinence de la RSS et sa reconnaissance en tant que processus politique; sur l'importance des mécanismes de monitoring et d'évaluation; sur la nécessité de recourir à une approche holistique; et, enfin, sur le rôle de l'Union Africaine (UA) et d'institutions subrégionales comme instigateurs et soutiens clés de la réforme des secteurs judiciaire et de la sécurité.

Over the past year, we have witnessed the first unanimous UN Security Council Resolution (2151) on SSR,  the tremendous interest and high level participation in the 2014 Africa Forum on SSR in Addis Ababa. There were also numerous high level debates on SSR throughout the year—such as at the GLOBSEC conference in Slovakia, the Alpbach Forum in Austria, and at the first GAAMAC meeting held in Costa Rica—showing that we are seeing a growing, if not reinvigorated, interest and commitment to SSR in the global policy discourse and development agendas. 

With 59 mandates and activities undertaken in 2014, the demand for ISSAT services has remained constant. 

International police assistance mandates have changed over the past two decades. Activities have become increasingly wide-ranging and complex, moving from monitoring host State police officers to supporting the reform and restructuring of police organisations. In a few exceptional cases, (most recently Kosovo and Timor-Leste) ‘executive’ police mandates involve substituting for inadequate or absent policing and law enforcement capacity. Both executive and non-executive missions have focused on building capacity of the host State police, a task complicated by weak governance, fragile institutions, community dislocation, rapid urbanisation and transnational criminal groups.

Input by: Tor Tanke Holm, Deputy Director of the Norwegian Police University College, and Mark Downes, Assistant Director DCAF and Head of the International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT)

The UN Common Understanding of a HRBA among UN Agencies (2003) was designed to provide guidance to UN mandates on incorporating human rights standards, norms and principles into all programming support components. The third paper from the HRBA Working Group from ISSAT’s Methodology Cell highlights the need for further study on Decentralisation of Security Governance (DSG) by providing brief examples of how Local Security Councils (LSCs), mechanisms of DSG, can help turn the principles of inclusivity, local ownership, accountability and participation into actionable outcomes in line with a HRBA.

Read Paper 1: Rethinking a Human Rights-based Approach to SSR

 & Paper 2: Interpreting International Norms for a More Impactful Human Rights-based Approach (HRBA) in SSR

For further information on the Working Group's research, please refer to the Rethinking a Human Rights-based Approach (HRBA) in Security Sector Reform blog

This document sums-up good practice identified by the ISSAT mission with the ZPSP, as part of the webpage dedicated to the programme, where you can also access fourteen videos illustrating each of the elements described.

This document is part of the ISSAT Case Study on the Zimbabwe Peace and Security Programme (ZPSP)

This mapping study provides an overview of the various ongoing or planned development partner efforts to support security sector reform in Nigeria since 2014. The mapping was jointly undertaken by the German Federal Foreign Office and ISSAT. The report tracks development partner support to all justice and security sector institutions in Nigeria. The elements of support were organized according to four categories: management reform, accountability reforms, capacity building/training and equipment/infrastructure support. Given the resource and time constraints facing the mapping team, the mapping only covered activities and programme interventions for the period of 2014 to 2016. All future programme activities that were identified were detailed under future support.

This report provides an overview of the strategic planning and management capacity in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova (MIA) in order to inform the design of a potential Swedish-funded programme to support development in this area. The information on which the analysis is based was gathered over the period May-June 2014. 

From the Introduction

With the celebration of its fifth anniversary, as a standing capacity to support its Members’ security and justice reform programmes around the globe, ISSAT has established itself as a major contributor to international cooperation in the fields of security and justice reform. ISSAT has continuously developed and adapted its service lines to better suit the needs and requests of Members.

Following on from the trend identified at the end of 2012 in the area of Advisory Field Support, ISSAT has seen an increase in its activities in regions in which it was previously not engaged. This has been the case in North Africa, with two missions in Libya to support the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), and in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), with multiple missions to support the EU, the OECD and Switzerland. Another noticeable trend is the large number of mandates which have rolled over from one year to the next, for example support to the United Kingdom’s annual evaluation of its Security Sector Accountability and Police Reform (SSAPR) Programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UNSMIL’s support in the Libyan Defence White Paper Process, and UNDP Somalia’s Police Programme and support for the Somaliland Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention. Similarly, Members have kept their tendency to use ISSAT support for multiple missions as part of a single mandate. This has, for example, been the case of the EU, which requested ISSAT to undertake field missions in eleven Latin American and Caribbean countries over a period of four months.

...

From the introduction:

The unprecedented number of high profile mandates, activities, and events that ISSAT has been asked to support in 2015 reaffirms that ISSAT is a well-established and an important contributor to SSR policy discourse, supporting bilateral and multilateral SSR programmes, and collating emerging good practice. Equally, the escalating global security and humanitarian crises, which impacted virtually every region and country and have been at the forefront of the international development and security agendas, further reaffirms that the work of ISSAT is well aligned to the contemporary priority needs of the wider international community.

Contents:

• Introduction by the Governing Board Chair
• Supporting Policy Dialogue
• Supporting Coordination: Forging Partnerships
• Filling a Growing Demand for Capacity Building
• Backstopping and Advisory Support
• Consolidating Knowledge: Refocusing on What Works
• Top 10 Lessons Identified from ISSAT Mandates
• Trends and Challenges
• Capacity and Human Resources
• Performance
• Financial Report
• Overview of Mandates

This is the first of the three Working Papers by ISSAT's Human Rights-based Approach (HRBA) Working Group that examine the common linkages between the impact and sustainability of SSR projects and the application of a HRBA as defined by the EU and UN. Working Paper 1 sets the base for the rest by presenting the state of SSR and describing how a HRBA can be reinforced.

For further information on the Working Group's research, please refer to the Rethinking a Human Rights-based Approach (HRBA) in Security Sector Reform blog

Read the next in the series - Paper 2: Interpreting International Norms for a more Impactful Human Rights-based Approach (HRBA) in SSR

DCAF-ISSAT aims to incorporate gender sensitivity throughout its work. This report on gender and SSR in DCAF-ISSAT's work for 2016 highlights how we have incorporated gender aspects in:

• our Member's national policy thinking
• partner country thinking on their national security strategy 
• programming 
• training
• advocacy and outreach
• knowledge products
• gender sensitive representation

This presentation was delivered at the September 2013 Workshop on Police Reform and Development held in Tripoli by the Libyan Ministry of Interior and UNSMIL.

Briefly covers the build-up to the 'Troubles', the 1998 Belfast Agreement, application of possible lessons from Northern Ireland to the Libyan context, and a useful graphical overview of the reform process.

Also available in Arabic.

Read ISSAT's short interim report, to get updated on ISSAT’s activities and key highlights over the last few months.  A full Annual Report for 2015 will be sent out in early 2016.

The table in this document provides an overview of frequently identified criminal justice needs, particularly in post-conflict and other fragile contexts, and typical institutional factors that account for why the actors directly cause the needs in question or why they do not meet these needs caused by others.

L'ISSAT, en coordination avec l'Allemagne, a développé une série de cartographies complètes relatives au soutien des bailleurs à la RSS au Mali. Celle-ci s'est penchée sur le système de justice pénale, incluant les mesures de transparence. Avec pour objectif de consolider les compétences allemandes en RSS, une équipe conjointe Allemagne-ISSAT a développé la méthodologie et réalisera les infographies.     

La méthodologie a été finalisée durant un séminaire d'un ou deux jours à Genève, et suivie par une phase de revue préparatoire et par des entretiens par téléphone, mettant à profit le réseau de l'ISSAT parmi les bailleurs bilatéraux et les acteurs multilatéraux. La réflexion se basera sur des ressources déjà existantes. Les résultats ont ensuite été consolidés au cours de deux missions terrain de dix jours dans chacun des pays qui inclura les bailleurs, les partenaires dans la mise en place de la RSS, ainsi que les institutions nationales des secteurs de la sécurité et de la justice, y compris les ministères correspondant. Les rapports ainsi produits ont été partagés par l'équipe conjointe Allemagne-ISSAT au bénéfice des acteurs de la communauté internationale présents dans ces pays à l'occasion d'un séminaire in situ qui a débouché sur des discussions sur la manière dont consolider le soutien international. 

These are a set of questions which were used to help build CSO capacity to understand Timorese laws applicable to the security sector. 

This narrative report explores how the ZPSP is fostering change in a context hostile to Security Sector Transformation (SST), and is part of the resources dedicated by ISSAT to the programme.

This document is part of the ISSAT Case Study on the Zimbabwe Peace and Security Programme (ZPSP)

Undoubtedly the highlight and challenge of 2012 was the organisation in Nairobi of the High Level Panel (HLP) on SSR in East Africa which brought together both policy makers and practitioners from the region and beyond. This high-visibility event gave ISSAT the opportunity to contribute to SSR in Africa, and to international SSR policy development.

With a slight increase in joint mandates and continuous support to long-term projects over the years, the pace of support to advisory services follows the trends noted throughout 2011. With changing political environments in North Africa, requests from Members have entailed mandates in new contexts and regions, as illustrated by the series of missions recently conducted to reinforce UNSMIL's SSR support in Libya. 2012 also saw two requests for advisory support in Somalia, showing the necessity of SSR processes in post-transitional stabilisation environments. Mandates have also led ISSAT to work in new environments, with current and upcoming missions taking place in Latin America. Having received 23 mandates and conducted 23 missions, it has once again been an extremely demanding and challenging year for ISSAT in the field of advisory support. The complexity of missions has grown significantly over the past 12 months, and the depth and variety of expertise required to support these effectively has considerably increased. To complement the capacity of core staff, the contribution of roster personnel has proven more essential than ever before.

Trends in the field of training have also evolved significantly in 2012...

This document contains some twenty lessons identified by the ISSAT mission with the ZPSP, as part of the webpage dedicated to the programme. The lessons are organised broadly on process and on programme management.

This document is part of the ISSAT Case Study on the Zimbabwe Peace and Security Programme (ZPSP)

From the introduction:

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of 2014 was the Africa Forum on Security Sector Reform (SSR), entitled ‘SSR as a Key Component of Stabilisation and Peace-building Processes in Africa’, held in Addis Ababa, 24-26 November 2014.

With 63 mandates and activities undertaken in 2014, the demand for ISSAT services has remained constant. Of particular note is the strong focus on police and justice-related issues. Ten Advisory Support mandates and four Training mandates have focused on police and justice, in addition to the forthcoming ‘Policing and Police Reform’ e-learning course to be launched in 2015. ISSAT has also expanded its geographical reach, working for the first time in Gabon, Moldova, Pakistan and Sierra Leone.

Furthermore, more rigorous internal and financial procedures have been consolidated throughout the year, bringing even greater transparency and more effective project management and operational efficiency to ISSAT’s work.

Following their presentations at the UN peacekeepers training in New Dehli in February 2018, ISSAT produced an A3 print-out aide memoire to help with remembering the key UN approach, background mandate, and measures to take to combat conflict-related sexual violence. 

You can access and download the infographic, Combating Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, by clicking on the link below. 

This infographic illustrates the timeline of events for UNMIL between 2003 and 2018. It was created to feature in ISSAT's report Lessons Identified From United Nations Mission in Liberia Support to Rule of Law which was produced as part our mandate Lessons Identification on the Work of UNMIL's Rule of Law Pillar. 

To view a larger version of the infographic, please click on the file below. 

ISSAT and Swedepeace had a standing engagement in Honduras since 2013 providing technical assistance to the Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation (SDC) and their partners in civil society Alliance for Peace and Justice (APJ), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Secretary of Security of Honduras (SEDS). The Swiss JSSR Team supported the SEDS in their strategic planning by training on and applying a theory of change (ToC). The ToC process was a timely tool for this exercise, as it provided an opportunity to internally reflect on their current planning process and how it will impact externally. The process also allowed for a common understanding for base line to be developed as well as the definition of a desired end-state.

Kindly find the mandate report attached. 

For more information on the mandate Backstopping Support to SDC Honduras (2016-18), kindly follow the link. 

In 2018, ISSAT initiated a pilot case-study to demonstrate its commitment to gender equality during the 2017 reporting cycle. The purpose of the pilot report and the case study is to develop a model for internal monitoring of ISSAT’s gender-sensitive approach that would enable senior management to quality control our commitment to gender equality as well as select the most emblematic case studies for internal learning, public dissemination and reporting.

For ISSAT's report on Gender and SSR 2016, kindly follow the link. 

Cette note d’ISSAT propose une révision des stratégies des médias engagés dans le secteur de la sécurité afin de renforcer leurs capacités. Les acteurs médiatiques devraient être perçus comme des partenaires de la Réforme du Secteur de la Sécurité, et devraient donc participer à la construction d’une compréhension profonde et objective des contextes et tendances sécuritaires. Cette note suggère également des points d’ancrages, aussi bien pour les médias que pour les acteurs de la sécurité, afin de répondre à ce défi.  

Pour accéder à la note (en anglais) Media & SSR – A Practical Note for Enhancing Reforms, veuillez suivre le lien.