Security Sector Governance Course in Addis

A training course on Security Sector Governance or Reform/SSR/ was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between the 8th & 10th of March 2010. The training was aimed at familiarizing officers form the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense and the Federal Police with Security Sector Reform issues. The ‘Good Practice in Security Sector Reform’ course was jointly organized by the University of Birmingham, the Global Facilitation Network on SSR /GFN-SSR/ and the African Security Sector Network /ASSN/. The GFN-SSR and ASSN have been active in spreading knowledge and experience on SSR issues in Africa and beyond. The ASSN was created in 2003 out of recognition of the need to harmonize the work of various African organizations carrying out activates in the general area of Security Sector Reform /Transformation/ Governance. The British Embassy in Addis played a crucial role in facilitating and providing all rounded support to the training course.

Welcoming speech and opening remarks were delivered by UK’s Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia John Marshal and Medhane Tadesse representing the ASSN.The three day course covered a range of issues such as an overview of SSR; the SSR context in Africa particularly the Horn of Africa; Defense and Police Reform in Sub-Sahara Africa; Rule of Law and Reform of the Justice Sector; the role of Civil Society in the Governance of Security; Local Responses to Justice and Insecurity: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration /DDR/ in the Horn and its linkages with SSR: SSR Programmes and Gender Issues: Intelligence Dynamics and SSR in Africa and group exercise on a Case Study of SSR in Guinea Bissau. Medhane Tadesse provided two courses: the SSR Context in Sub-Saharan/ Horn of Africa and the Role of Civil Society in SSR.

The CA wants to thank GFN SSR and the British Embassy for initiating and implementing this training course as it helps to introduce the second generation of SSR principles to Ethiopian Security institutions. This will lead to further generate interest, understanding and engagement in SSR at the national level. The CA also wants to take this opportunity to pay tribute to GFN-SSR-as its future is in doubt- for the role it had played over the years in spreading the SSR agenda at a global level, particularly Africa.

 For further details go to the Security Sector Section.