Welcome to yet another edition of the ASSN newsletter, this one marking ten years of the organisation's existence. The ASSN was founded in 2003 to promote the harmonisation of efforts of African organisations and institutions involved in Security Sector Reform, Transformation and Governance. These objectives are as urgent as ever. Political events across the continent suggest that the role of security actors remains a challenge. Most recently, events in Egypt with their ripple effect across North Africa and the Middle East have the world guessing about the eventual outcome. International interventions have had to be undertaken in addressing the spread of violence in the Sahel region, and in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At the same time, more optimistically, a pattern of citizens insisting on the rule of law, and settling political contestation through the ballot is emerging. The holding of elections in Mali, Guinea, and Zimbabwe over the coming weeks and months is a sign that violence is rejected by a critical mass as the answer to Africa's political problems. Integral to this wave of thinking is deep consideration about the principles that ought to govern the relationship between the security sector and the citizens of a democratic country.
assn_newsletter_july-2013.pdf