In collaboration with ASSET members, GFN-SSR together with DCAF ISSAT, the Philippines based Institute for Strategic and Development Studies (ISDS), and the Sri Lanka based Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), organised a Regional Workshop and Training on Security Sector Transformation (SST) from 12-14 May 2009, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop brought together 25 participants, exclusively from civil society organisations, from 11 countries in South and South East Asia in a bid to assist regional civil society organisations in developing their own specific training materials, for roll-out both regionally and nationally. The workshop also aimed at initiating dialogue and encouraging the sharing of experiences in the field of SST in South and South East Asia.
The Kathmandu workshop was a follow-up to the Security Sector Reform Training Workshop held in Manila in December 2008, where the need to conduct similar training in South Asia had been identified. On the first day, participants were offered an overview of the key policies and principles of SST and the various contexts within which SST is conducted. Through the use of case studies, participants were then introduced to various SST related issues in four South and South East Asian countries. The key focus on the second day was on SST training. Participants were then introduced to the specific skills and methodologies required to design and deliver SST training and were offered hands-on experience in designing and delivering SST modules. The third day highlighted various trends and processes of STT in the region and explored possibilities for future collaboration.
The uniqueness of this workshop was that several participants from the Manila training programme were invited to design and deliver training sessions at the workshop. As such, the introductory session on key SST policies and principles, and four case studies on the region, were conducted by participants. In preparation for the workshop, ISSAT’s training team worked closely with these participants to help them design and deliver their respective sessions. The four case studies delivered dealt with the following issues: SST in the Tribal Areas – a case study of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) in Pakistan; Policing Organised Crime in India – a case study of the Mumbai police; Reforming without Transforming – challenges and opportunities for SST in the Philippines; and Human Rights and Justice Reform in Cambodia. Through these case studies, the organisers hoped to gain more insight on key SSR issues in the region and also encourage discussion and comparison across sub-regions.
The workshop ended with a roundtable discussion that identified trends and best practices related to SST, and as presented during the previous two days, in South and South East Asia.
