Sunday, 19 July 2009
DCAF- 2 pages A must read
GENEVA CENTRE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CONTROL OF
ARMED FORCES (DCAF)
Background and Objectives
Within the framework of security sector governance, especially after 9/11, parliamentary oversight is
paramount in balancing the commitments to democracy and security. Parliamentarians play an important
role in keeping the services effective, accountable and within the rule of law. The inherent nature and
dynamics of the security sector, however, poses a real challenge to parliamentarians. The variety of the
often very technical issues involved, the sheer size of the sector, its complexity, its secrecy laws, rules
and practices, all make it very difficult for parliamentarians to work effectively unless they can avail
themselves of independent advice, research and expertise.
DCAF’s parliamentary programmes are undertaken with the intention of informing, advising and cooperating
on security sector issues with national parliaments and governments. Research and operational
activities provide DCAF’s partners with opportunities for discussion of lessons learned from their own
experiences, the opportunity to co-ordinate international activities in the parliamentary field, and to
launch projects aimed at improving security sector governance. DCAF's mandate allows it to document and
analyse good parliamentary oversight and guidance practices, and make the results available to
parliaments in partner countries and the international community.
In most cases, DCAF works in response to the requests of national parliaments and governments, and civil
society organisations. To date, cooperation with the following international organisations has occurred:
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary
Assembly (OSCE-PA); North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly (NATO-PA);
Council of Europe (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly (PACE); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
CIS Parliamentary Assembly (CIS-PA); and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Parliamentary Assembly.
Activities
1. Research and Analysis (selected projects and publications)
(a) Reference material
In cooperation with international parliamentary assemblies, DCAF is committed to draft handbooks for
parliamentarians (among others the IPU-DCAF Handbook ‘Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector’ –
available in 40 languages), which can be used as reference material by parliamentarians, parliamentary
staff and civil society organisations.
(b) Peace-Support Operations
DCAF’s project on the role of parliaments in overseeing peace support operations addresses, how, since
the end of the Cold War, the use of force under international auspices (e.g. UN, NATO, EU) has increased
substantially yet such actions have not necessarily been accompanied by improvements in their
democratic accountability. The project pays special attention to the role of parliaments in overseeing
military deployment abroad.
(c) Security and Intelligence Services
Together with the Norwegian Parliament and the Human Rights Centre of Durham University (UK), the
Handbook ‘Making Intelligence Accountable’ has been published (in available in 10 languages), containing
good practices and legal procedures as well as recommendations for strengthening democratic oversight.
DCAF Parliamentary Programmes (April 2007)
FACTSHEET
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2. Advice
(a) International Parliamentary Assemblies
On request, DCAF provides expert assistance to international assemblies. Among others, DCAF has drafted
an expert report on Democratic Oversight of the Security Sector for the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council Europe as well as Model Laws on ‘Parliamentary Oversight of the State Military Organisation’ and
on ‘Peace Support Operations’ for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS-PA). With a mandate of the ECOWAS parliamentary assembly, DCAF is drafting a handbook on
security sector governance in West-Africa
(b) Legal Online
As there is a constant need for good legal practices, DCAF has made available online, a legal database of
laws on armed forces; state of emergency; democratic control of armed forces; intelligence; national
security; police; and non-military security forces from various countries of the Euro-Atlantic area.
http://www.dcaf.ch/legal/intro.htm
(c) Legal Political Assistance Group
DCAF has set up a 'Legal-Political Assistance Group' (LPAG) to parliaments, which not only inventories,
inspects and assesses laws and draft laws dealing with aspects of civil-military relations, parliamentary
oversight and reform of the security sector, but which is also used as an instrument to provide, on
demand, expert advice on politico-military issues to parliamentary collaborators. To date cooperation has
included projects with the Russian State Duma Defence Committee, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, the
Georgian Parliament and the CIS-PA. http://www.dcaf.ch/lpag/about.html
(d) Advice to specific parliaments
DCAF has given its good offices and advice to various parliaments, e.g. the State Union Assembly of Serbia
and Montenegro, the Parliament of the Ukraine, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia Herzegovina as well
as the Parliament of Macedonia. DCAF’s assistance involved, among others, drawing up expert reports,
giving advice in parliamentary hearings, providing a second opinion on draft legislation, as well as
reporting on possible improvements on the functioning of parliamentary committee structures.
3. Operational Activities
(a) Network of parliamentary staff experts
With support of the UNDP Democracy Fund DCAF maintains a network of parliamentary staff experts in
defence and security matters intended to facilitate and improve expertise, transparency, and information
sharing on best practices between South East European parliaments. The network is carried out in close
co-operation and partnership with the OSCE, through its regional missions, including Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania as well as Serbia and Montenegro.
(b) Training of parliamentarians and parliamentary staff
In cooperation with international assemblies such as NATO-PA and ECOWAS, DCAF has organised tailormade
training workshops on budget control, peace support operations, intelligence and defence reform.
Workshops have been organised for all parliaments in the Caucasus, State Duma of Russia, Ukrainian
Verkhovna Rada, parliaments of the Western Balkan, Baltic and West African states, the Middle East and
Northern Africa as well as South East Asia.
(c) Expert seminars
DCAF organises in-house regional and national parliamentary seminars on issues relevant to parliamentary
oversight, e.g. security policy review, security sector governance, intelligence accountability, police and
defence reform, demobilisation, gender mainstreaming in security sector. These workshops take place in
West and Eastern Europe, West and Northern Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
For more information about DCAF’s Parliamentary Activities:
All publications of DCAF’s Parliamentary Programme are available at: http://www.dcaf.ch
For more information, please contact Dr. Hans Born, h
23 Pages And of course, this one
Venice Commission
United states Northern Command
Poland Civilian Common Structure
Civil and Military
Hansard
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