The Department has civil and military elements and was established by the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924. The primary role of the civil element of the Department is to support the Minister as head of the Department and in particular to provide policy advice and support on Defence matters, including assistance with policy formulation and the implementation of policy as directed by the Minister.
Support to Workshop "The Defence Forces and SSR"
ISSAT has been requested by the Irish Defence Forces to support a workshop which aims at evaluating the role of the Defence Forces in supporting SSR and at considering future options for the Defence Forces and its national partners.
This workshop is organised in response to the recent adoption by the UN General Assembly of UNSCR 2151 on the national ownership of SSR processes, and the ongoing contribution of the Irish Defence Forces personnel to SSR programmes in Kosovo (KFOR), Mali (EUTM) and Uganda (EUTM Somalia).
In keeping with the principles of SSR, the workshop is structured to capture perspectives from across the SSR spectrum and therefore bring together civilian and military practitioners and analysts with experience of governance, rule of law, police reform, defence reform, justice reform, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration from across the Irish government.
Advanced Training Course on Security Sector Reform (SSR) (County Kildare, Ireland)
The Irish Ministry of Defence organised a five-day advanced training course on “Security Sector Reform (SSR)”, in County Kildare, Ireland from November 26-30 2018. The course was carried out in partnership with DCAF/ISSAT.
The course targeted senior practitioners and professionals – including civilian, military and police personnel, as well as civil society representatives and professionals from the private sector – who are working closely on issues related to SSR and the specific challenges of violent extremism such as governance, rule of law, police reform, defence reform, justice reform, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. The course also targeted those involved in programme design, management and implementation, mission conduct and planning and/or in political/ policy dialogue.
Topics addressed included concept, policy framework and contexts of SSR, governance, justice and defence reform, police, effective advising on SSR as well as cross-cutting issues such as the human rights and gender equality standards.
Indeed, special attention was paid to the introduction of practical examples through case studies. Interactive co-learning methodologies and simulation exercises that encourage participants to share their own experiences were used throughout the course.