Middle East and North Africa

Who we are

In the Middle East and North Africa, DCAF seeks to make states and people safer. We assist national institutions in strengthening their public legitimacy and improving public services.  Through our country offices, we work with partner countries to enhance their governance in the justice- and security sectors.  

Many countries face challenges in ensuring that the police, armed forces, security organizations and the justice institutions respect the law and the citizens. We believe that rule of law, especially respect for human rights, integrity and strong accountability form the very basis of development and security. By offering to our partner countries the knowledge, expertise and experiences of more than 60 democratic states, we help them design and implement reforms in line with international norms and good practices. Those national reforms may involve changes to the legal system, the institutional framework, policies and/or practices. In order to ensure that these programs can count on broad societal support, we pursue a highly inclusive approach: we cooperate closely with governments, parliaments, security providers, ombuds-institutions, civil society organizations and the media. In doing so, DCAF contributes to building strong and resilient institutions, and to remove some of the root causes of violence and extremism in the region.  

In North Africa, these programs are funded by the DCAF Trust Fund for North Africa (TFNA) and in the Middle East through bilateral grants from DCAF member-states.