Compendium - Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le progrès ...

DEUXIÈME PARTIE – Interventions en Séances PlénièresColloque International, 8-11 novembre 2010 - DAKARForces de Défense et de Sécurité au cœur de la Séurité Humaineconditions and dynamics (an inception period) which is imperative for obtaininglocal commitment. In particular, it is important to get to understand the relationshipbetween the army, the overnment and society at large, and howpower relations are structured. In other situations, advisors have been put onteams who are former military or police officers, but who lack a solid understandingof security and justice reform. For these reasons and other, there is aclear need for more and better SSR training in general.3. Recognition of technical bias and need to become more politicalFollowing from the previous point is that for SSR to be successful in the longrun, there is a need to engage with the politics of reform, even if within the developmentcommunity, there has been a tendency to eschew this aspect.Once more, the reason for engaging stakeholders at the political level is notonly because SSR and defence reform are by definition sensitive issues, butalso because of the need to establish local ownership, without which SSR interventionscannot succeed.4. Better Coordination between SSR partnersIn the context of SSR programmes, and in particular when it concerns largescaleproject involving the military, there is a strong need for better coordinationand cooperation between SSR facilitators and local stakeholders, as wellas between SSR facilitators. Guidelines for coordination are contained in the2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the 2008 Accra Agenda forAction. The enumerated criteria include a need for alignment between objective,harmonization through sharing information and avoiding duplication aswell as donors and recipients making each other mutually accountable. TheAccra Agenda adds notions such as predictability and conditionality. A goodexample in the defence context is the 2006 “Afghanistan Compact”, whichcommitted donors and local stakeholders to aligning support to the countryʼspriorities and national strategy31.Lessons related to post-conflict situations1. Need for a realistic assessment of the situationDue to the myriad issues that call for attention in post-conflict situations, it iseasy to become too impatient in beginning to restore security and justice infrastructures.However, given the enormous challenges that are faced and thecorresponding lack of resources, it is important to ensure that reconstructiontakes place at a measured pace with which all stakeholders are comfortable.2. Promote transparency as a trust-building measure31OECD DAC Handbook on SSR, p. 244In the wake of a conflict, there is an urgent need –and demand- for state institutionsto re-assert themselves. In order to inculcate a sense of trustworthinessand visibility, there are various measures that can be taken. One is tocreate reliable databases through audits, censuses and surveys. Such informationis not just useful for governance purposes, but can also serve to makean inventory of citizensʼ needs. Another measure is to promote formality thoroughthe use of transparent selection and promotion procedures, and clearbudget procedures. These will help create a sense that the authorities treattheir employees in a non-discriminatory manner. An additional confidencebuildingmeasure would be to enhance visibility through the use of ID cards,badges and uniforms. These measures –like the ones above- are very useful38