The Africa Forum on Security Sector Reform (SSR) brought together senior government officials and leading experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges of security sector reform as a component of stabilisation and peace-building in Africa. It complemented and built on the discussions of the SSR High Level Panel held in Nairobi in 2012, as well as the numerous and increasing number of discussion events on SSR that took place in the interim.

***

It is universally accepted that security is fundamental to people’s lives and livelihoods; it is a foundation of, and an enabler for, political, economic and social development as underscored by UN Security Council resolution 2151 on SSR. Prior to the forum, the number, scope, and complexity of SSR programmes and processes in Africa had increased and SSR gained traction in development, peace-building and post-conflict discourses and programming. SSR had been recognized by the African Union (AU) as an essential item on the agenda of peace, security and sustainable development in Africa.  There had been a similar rise in the number and types of actors that have become more readily engaged or directly support SSR processes.

In January 2008, the Assembly of the AU Heads of State and Governments encouraged the AU Commission to develop a comprehensive AU Policy Framework on SSR. Following an extensive AU-led consultation and drafting process with Member States, Regional Economic Communities and civil society representatives, and assisted by the SSR Unit in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and ASSN, this Policy Framework was adopted by the AU Heads of States and Government during the Summit in January 2013.

Key normative developments—including the adoption of the  AU Policy Framework on SSR and the publication of the second UN Secretary General’s Report on SSR in August 2013, as well as the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2151 – the first stand-alone resolution on SSR—have further spurred the momentum in SSR policy and programming discourse in Africa.

These documents had also raised attention to the outstanding challenges faced by multilateral organisations, regional and sub-regional organisations, and bilateral donors when supporting national SSR processes: the challenges of building effective, efficient and accountable and security institutions in complex stabilisation, peace-building as well as developmental environments.

Despite the increased amount of resources committed to SSR across the African continent, the inconsistent successes of SSR processes to address root causes of insecurity, coupled with new and changing security threats, underscored the need to assess if the right tools, concepts and approaches are being deployed. The varied successes of SSR in peace-building, or even development contexts, also necessitated a look at existing gaps in SSR design and implementation. The forum took place at an opportune time to take stock of current trends and opportunities in SSR and evaluated the national, regional and international approaches, structures, norms and processes in adapting to keep pace with sources of insecurity. The debate also explored the further application of the growing myriad of lessons and good practice identified across successful SSR programmes and processes in Africa.   

***

The outline agenda:

Day 1 -  Monday, 24 November 2014 (start time 11.00, and registrations available from 10am)

Opening Keynote Address

Session 1: The AU Policy Framework on Security Sector Reform and the UN Secretary General’s Report and EU Support to SSR: opportunities, gaps and challenges in implementation

Session 2: Towards an African Group of Friends on Security Sector Reform

Day 2 - Tuesday, 25 November 2014

Session 3: From securing peace to ensuring stability – Lessons from Somalia, the Central African Republic and Libya

Session 4: From securing peace to ensuring stability – Lessons from South Sudan and Mali

Session 5: Bridging the  gaps in SSR – enhancing effectiveness, efficiency and accountability

Session 6: Looking at SSR from a longer-term perspective - Lessons from Burundi and Côte d'Ivoire  

Day 3 - Wednesday, 26 November 2014

Session 7: Sustainability of SSR – a view at the long term

Session 8: The role of sub-regional organisations and national actors in SSR and regional dynamics influencing effective SSR: the cases of the Sahel and/or the Horn of Africa

Conclusions

***

    

This event was hosted by the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in co-operation with the Slovak Republic, the European Union (EU), the  United Nations (UN), the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), the African Security Sector Network (ASSN), and with the support of DCAF’s International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT).