DCAF is dedicated to making states and people safer, within a framework of democratic governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
What is DCAF
DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance is dedicated to making states and people safer through more effective and accountable security and justice. Since 2000, the Centre has facilitated, driven and shaped security sector reform (SSR) policy and programming around the world.
Good security sector governance (SSG), based on the rule of law and respect for human rights, is a cornerstone of development and security. DCAF assists partner states in developing laws, institutions, policies and practices to improve the governance of their security sector through inclusive and participatory reforms based on international norms and good practices. In everything we do, DCAF adheres to the principles of impartiality, local ownership, inclusive participation and gender equality. DCAF also advises governments and international organizations in designing and implementing their own programmes for supporting states in developing their security sector governance.
DCAF creates innovative knowledge products, promotes norms and good practices, and provides legal and policy advice. DCAF supports capacity building of state, civil society and private sector stakeholders by providing access to independent expertise and information on Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R). DCAF’s Foundation Council comprises representatives of 63 member states and the Canton of Geneva. With programmes that touch on more than 80 countries, DCAF is internationally recognized as a leading centre of excellence for SSG and SSR. Headquartered at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva, DCAF has field offices in Addis Ababa, Bamako, Banjul, Beirut, Brussels, Kyiv, Ljubljana, Niamey, Ramallah, Skopje, Tegucigalpa, Tripoli and Tunis. DCAF employs more than 200 staff with a broad range of expertise from over 40 countries.
Mission and Values
DCAF is guided by the principles of impartiality, local ownership, human rights and democratic control.
DCAF is devoted to making states and people safer, within a framework of democratic governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
DCAF works towards this ultimate objective by assisting partner states, and international actors supporting these states, to improve the governance of their security sector through inclusive and participatory reforms based on international norms and best practices, and in response to specific local contexts and challenges.
Member States
ALBANIA
(2000)
ARGENTINA
(2009)
ARMENIA
(2002)
AUSTRIA
(2000)
AZERBAIJIAN
(2002)
BELARUS
(2002)
BELGIUM
(2004)
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
(2001)
BULGARIA
(2000)
BURKINA FASO
(2009)
BURUNDI
(2010)
CANADA
(2003)
CÔTE D'IVOIRE
(2001)
CROATIA
(2001)
CYPRUS
(2008)
CZECH REPUBLIC
(2000)
DENMARK
(2002)
ESTONIA
(2000)
FINLAND
(2000)
FRANCE
(2000)
GENEVA
(2002)
GEORGIA
(2001)
GERMANY
(2000)
GHANA
(2011)
GREECE
(2002)
HUNGARY
2000
INDONESIA
2007
IRELAND
2000
ITALY
2001
KYRGYZSTAN
2011
LATVIA
2000
LEBANON
2007
LIECHTENSTEIN
2006
LITHUANIA
2000
LUXEMBOURG
2003
MADAGASCAR
2015
MALI
2011
MALTA
2008
MOLDOVA
2002
MONGOLIA
2014
MONTENEGRO
2006
NETHERLANDS
2001
NIGER
2018
NIGERIA
2000
NORTH MACEDONIA
2000
NORWAY
2002
PHILIPPINES
2011
POLAND
2000
PORTUGAL
(2003)
ROMANIA
2000
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
2000
SENEGAL
2011
SERBIA
2001
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
2001
SLOVENIA
2001
SOUTH AFRICA
2001
SPAIN
2001
SWEDEN
2001
SWITZERLAND
2000
TUNISIA
2011
TURKEY
2003
UKRAINE
2000
UNITED KINGDOM
2000
UNITED STATES
2000
DCAF Governance
DCAF's governance arrangements include a Foundation Council comprising representative of 63 states and the Canton of Geneva. The Foundation Council is the supreme body of the DCAF Foundation The Bureau of the Foundation Council makes policy decisions in between formal sessions of the Foundation Council.
All of the internationally supported foundations established by the Swiss Confederation between 1995 and 2000 – the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and the Geneva Centre for International Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), as well as DCAF – are strategic partners of the Swiss government and are accommodated together in the ‘Maison de la Paix’. Along with its sister centres GICHD and GCSP, DCAF is also managed by a multi-departmental steering committee in Bern.
Any nation with a demonstrable commitment to the democratic governance of the security sector is most welcome to join DCAF's Foundation Council. By joining, nations do not automatically commit themselves to support DCAF financially: however, they are offered opportunities to influence and shape DCAF’s programming priorities not only at national, but also at regional and international levels.
Our Statutes and Bylaws
The statutes are DCAF’s main constitutional document that determine DCAF’s legal status, purpose, activities, membership and governance structure. They also determine how DCAF’s assets are used, decisions taken and how DCAF is supervised. The current DCAF statutes entered into force on 5 March 2019.
Read DCAF’s Statutes – English
Lire les statuts du DCAF - français
DCAF’s bylaws lay out in more detail the provisions of the statutes pertaining to the powers, duties and functions of the Foundation Council, the Bureau and the Director of DCAF. They also clarify procedural aspects related to the conduct of meetings and decision making. The current DCAF bylaws entered into force on 11 March 2020.
