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Public Oversight of the Security Sector
A Handbook for Civil Society Organizations

CRISIS PREVENTION AND RECOVERY

Public Oversight of the Security Sector
A Handbook for Civil Society Organizations

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Editors Eden Cole (DCAF) Kerstin Eppert (UNDP) Katrin Kinzelbach The analysis and policy recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do notnecessarily represent those of the United Nations, including UNDP, or their Member States. This publication is an independent publication commissioned by UNDP. It is the product of a collaborative effort by a team of prominent consultants, advisers and authors. Language editing Christopher Grollman

Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right): (1) DCAF- OSCE, Parliament of Armenia workshop(2) UNDP Sudan, Rule of Law Programme, Darfur (3) UNDP FYR Macedonia, Partnership for Community Safety and Security (4) DCAF, Civil society training course (5) UNDP El Salvador, Justice and Security Programme Layout, design and print: Valeur, Slovak Republic

ISBN 978-92-95042-93-3 This publication is available at: UNDP Bratislava Regional Centrehttp://europeandcis.undp.org/home/list/publications

Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)
http://www.dcaf.ch/publications/kms/index.cfm

© United Nations Development Programme, 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form by or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, withoutpermission in writing from the copyright holder.

Acknowledgements

The completion of this handbook would not have been possible without the assistance, support and guidance of a great number of colleagues and partners alike to whom we are profoundly thankful for their dedication and commitment. The initial idea and concept for this handbook were developed by Marina Caparini (ICTJ,formerly DCAF) and Dr. Philipp Fluri (DCAF) whom we thank for their generosity in consenting to make it a part of the UNDP-DCAF “Democratising Security” series. Our sincere thanks and gratitude go to Dr. Jafar Javan and Agi Veres, (UNDP), and Dr. Philipp Fluri (DCAF) for management oversight and support throughout the preparation of this publication. Furthermore, heartfelt thanks go to AlejandroAlvarez, Monica Blagescu, Alison Buchanan, Marina Caparini, Nadja Dolata, Marcela Donadio, Vanessa Farr, Francis James, William Ko, Dario Kosovsky, Michaela Lednova, Markus Lenzen, Gloria Manzotti, Lauren Matthews, Amrei Mueller, Mamura Nasirova, Louise Nylin, Sidonie Porterie, Geoff Prewitt, Rustam Pulatov, Juan Rial and Louise Sperl for offering their expertise and their relentlessefforts in providing constructive comments that made the completion of this work possible. For continued and dedicated support to the coordination of this project, additional research and support to editorial work, we would like to recognise Vahan Galoumian, Suying Lai, Timothy Melvin, Mamura Nasirova, Geoff Prewitt and Peter Serenyi. Finally, we would like to express our deep appreciation foradditional financial support from the Civil Society Division, UNDP Partnership Bureau.

Table of Contents

Preface (Manfred Nowak)..........................................................................................................................7

About this handbook..............................................................................................................................9

PART I: Definitions and Stakeholders

1. The Case for Public Oversight of the Security Sector (Marina Caparini and Eden Cole) ....................................11 2. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Oversight and Guidance over the Security Sector (Ian Leigh)..................31

PART II: Strategies and Methodologies

3. Research and Information (Duncan...