Security Sector Reform in the DR Congo

29-31 January 2008

• Seminar on good practice in SSR

• OECD DAC Handbook on SSR - DRC Launch

• SSR Workshop for the FARDC

Seminar on good practice in SSR

29-31 January 2008
Kinshasa, DRC

Working with DFID DRC, GFN-SSR organised and facilitated a three-day seminar in Kinshasa. While the seminar did not set out to answer how SSR should be done in the DRC, its primary function was to bring together experts from different SSR fields, drawing on their practical experience in order to provoke discussion about their work and the potential for increasing donor cooperation in the DRC.

Over the three days, the seminar was attended by approximately 40 people from a variety of governmental backgrounds, including representatives from the DRC, Canadian, French, South African, Swedish, UK and US governments, EUPOL, EUSEC, MONUC and UNDP, and a number of non-governmental organisations.

Presentations and practical case studies were given on topics including defence reform, intelligence, rule of law and reform of the justice sector, the importance of non-state justice, police reform, the role of civil society and gender and human rights in SSR, by experts from the UK, South Africa and the DRC. These were well received, prompting vibrant discussion among the participants.

Course Details: Programme Speakers' Biographies

Presentations:

• An Introduction to SSR
• Democratisation, governance and accountability in SSR
• Defence Reform
• The realities of SSR in Liberia - a case study
• Intelligence and Security
• Police Reform
• Linking the Justice Sector
• The importance of non-state security
• The role of civil society
• Working with partners and coordination in SSR
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Gender and Human Rights (in french)
  La problématique des droits humains et du genre dans le processus de la réforme du secteur sécuritaire en R.D.C.

For further information on the event, or if course participants would like to obtain the contact details of fellow attendees, please contact Ben.Kelly@ssrnetwork.net.

OECD DAC Handbook on SSR - DRC Launch

29 January 2008
Kinshasa, DRC

Following on from the first day of the seminar, the OECD-DAC Handbook on Security System Reform: Supporting Security and Justice was officially launched in the DRC by the British Ambassador, Nick Kay. This event was well attended both by course participants and a number of other representatives of local organisations, foreign governments, international governmental organisations, and the Congolese government.

The Handbook has been developed through a two-year consultative process - it has been designed by and for international actors working to address insecurity and to support access to justice, and with regular engagement from host governments and the broader development community.

It contains valuable tools to help encourage a dialogue on security and justice issues and to support an SSR process through the assessment, design and implementation phases. It also provides new guidance on monitoring, review and evaluation of SSR programmes, and highlights how to ensure greater coherence across the different actors and departments engaged in SSR.

The purpose of the Handbook is to ensure that donor support to SSR programmes is both effective and sustainable. The DAC’s work has provided a platform from which to reach out to non-development actors and to partner countries. In particular, there is growing acknowledgement that the DAC’s governance principles for SSR can help frame the technical inputs provided by diplomatic and security policy communities. This approach provides a framework for supporting countries to address the diverse security and justice needs of their people through greater coordination and integration of development and security policies and practices.

• OECD-DAC Handbook on Security System Reform:
  Supporting Security and Justice
• Manuel de l’OCDE sur la réforme des systèmes de sécurité :
  soutenir la sécurité et la justice

For further information on the event, please contact Ben.Kelly@ssrnetwork.net.

SSR Workshop for the FARDC

30 January 2008
Kinshasa, DRC

On the request of the Forces Armées de la Republic Democratic du Congo (FARDC) Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Kayembe Mbandakulu, GFN-SSR worked with the Defence Attaché to the British Embassy in Kinshasa, Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Woodman, to organise and facilitate a day-long workshop for the Lt Gen and 40 high-ranking officers on the broader issues of SSR. Presented in both English and French, topics discussed included Defence Reform; Intelligence Reform; Police Reform; a case study looking at how lessons learned in Liberian SSR could be implemented in the DRC; and an overview of democratisation, governance and accountability within SSR.

Photo of the FARDC SSR workshop participants, including:
COS FARDC Lt Gen Kayembe Mbandakulu
Chief Air Force Gen Maj Massamba
Chief HQ Ops Gen Maj Amuli
Chief HQ Int Mil Bde Gen Kitenge
Chief HQ Log Bde Gen Wayamasiona
Chief HQ Admin Bde Gen Mbala Musense

For further information on the event, please contact Ben.Kelly@ssrnetwork.net.