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News

Female leaders driving change in armed forces

Last week DCAF was privileged to speak at a meeting of the Women, Peace & Security Chiefs of Defence Network (CHOD) hosted by the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The CHOD is a platform for collaboration amongst senior leaders of armed forces and an exciting example of security sector leadership driving forward gender equality and the Women, Peace & Security agenda. The Network is currently chaired by Jamaica’s Chief of Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman.

19 Nov 2024

Helping the police to police themselves

DCAF was in North Macedonia recently to support a training course on best practices for conducting internal criminal investigations into crimes committed by police officers. The course brought together representatives from the Department for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations, and Professional Standards, and was led by judicial experts including a prosecutor, defense lawyer, and judges. Participants discussed key coordination challenges with the judiciary and proposed solutions to enhance the effectiveness of internal criminal investigations. Effective internal oversight and accountability helps police forces’ maintain the trust and confidence of the populations they serve.

13 Nov 2024

Enforcing the ‘rules of war’ in conflict zones

DCAF’s Director Nathalie Chuard (centre left) welcomed Inna Zavorotko (top right) of the International Law Division in the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine to discuss our ongoing cooperation to mainstream International Humanitarian Law in the operations of the country’s armed forces. DCAF supports Ukraine to strengthen IHL implementation and compliance through training, and by providing technical advice on the creation of laws, policy, and regulation.

11 Nov 2024

Strengthening protection for human rights defenders

The Colombian Ombudsperson's Office, led by Iris Marín Ortiz, has announced the creation of a working group on Human Rights Defenders and Social Leadership within the Ibero-American Federation of Ombudspersons. It’s an important step towards protecting human rights defenders and civil society leaders throughout the region. Marín Ortiz also stressed the urgent need for robust national policies and greater cooperation between ombudspersons and national human rights institutions. This initiative is possible thanks to the generous support of Germany.

08 Nov 2024

Improving civilian oversight in North Macedonia

We recently hosted the third session of our training-the-trainers programme that’s dedicated to enhancing the skills of representatives from civil society organizations, media, and parliamentary staff in North Macedonia. This recent session focused on theories and types of instructional design, equipping participants with crucial skills to develop effective training programs, curricula, and instructional frameworks. The goal is to strengthen democratic oversight by empowering civil society groups and journalists with advanced knowledge and skills to effectively disseminate information on security sector reform and governance across their organisations and networks.

07 Nov 2024