DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance

🎥 Every country has its own context, challenges, and priorities. So what does DCAF's work look like on the ground? 💡 In this second #HoCo interview video, we asked our colleagues in #Lebanon, #Belgium, #Slovenia and #Niger this question: what difference does DCAF make in your country? Hearing directly from the Heads of our Contry Offices offers a valuable insight into how DCAF's work is tailored to local needs and contributes to meaningful change. Active in over 60 countries and with 15 country offices worldwide, DCAF continues to advance the #security of all people through nationally owned, #inclusive, and participatory #securitysector reforms. 👉 Hear from Adam Styp-Rekowski, Head of DCAF #Lebanon Office, Justine VERDIER, Head of DCAF #Brussels Office, Rok Derenčin, Head of DCAF #Ljubljana Office, and Salissou Salamou, Head of DCAF #Niamey Office, as they share how DCAF is making a difference in their respective contexts. A big thank you to our colleagues for participating!

For the 8th consecutive time, #DCAF organized the Seminar on #Cybersecurity Legislation, held on 16–17 June in Athens, #Greece, as part of the joint programme on cybersecurity in the #WesternBalkans, supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany. We collaborated once again with the National Cybersecurity Authority of Greece | Εθνική Αρχή Κυβερνοασφάλειας (ΕΑΚ) and Mr. Ioannis Alexakis, to discuss the latest developments shaping cybersecurity legislation, with updates to the Cybersecurity Act and the Digital Omnibus initiative. This year’s seminar featured the participation of representatives of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)'s - Dr. Panagiotis Trimintzios and Mr. Martin Spät – who shared valuable insights into the latest #cybersecuritypolicy developments across #Europe, as well as the challenges #EU Member States face in implementing and strengthening their cybersecurity frameworks. The role and competencies of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) were also explored with a presentation by Ms. Rodica Tirtea. A key seminar moment was the exchange of national experiences and developments in #cybersecurity. Representatives from #Albania, Ms. Irma Droboniku and #Montenegro, Mr. Samir Orahovac, shared updates on the work of their national cybersecurity agencies, while Ms. Maja Lakusic concluded the session with an insightful presentation on #Serbia's approach to cybersecurity risk assessment. 💡 Each year, we think cybersecurity legislation has been thoroughly explored – yet the field continues to evolve at an extraordinary pace. Its dynamic nature and rapid evolution continue to generate new challenges, opportunities, and areas for discussion that we are glad to be a part of.

#HybridThreats demand more than reaction; they require innovation, #prevention, & enhanced cooperation. I am grateful that DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance can contribute to the emerging #NewDemocraticPact at the Council of Europe. Viewing these challenges through a security sector #governance lens fundamentally shifts how we counter #hybrid tactics. In this new era of hard security, the lines between civilian infrastructure, political instability, & #military capability have blurred. We must address their interdependencies. As our partnerships in the field demonstrate, a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach is not optional—it is crucial. Societal #resilience is not a switch to flip; it is an ecosystem to activate. Ultimately, these discussions converge on one asset: #trust. Its erosion is both a primary objective & a key enabler for hybrid threats, creating vulnerabilities adversaries exploit. Public trust in institutions must be treated as a strategic asset, inseparable from how we govern our #security & #justice sectors. #SecuritySectorGovernance #Democracy #DemocraticSecurity Tatiana Monney Anu Juvonen Hanne Juncher Alice Alunni, Ph.D.

Last week, #DCAF Deputy Director Béatrice Godefroy joined the European #Defence and #Security Summit in #Brussels to discuss the growing challenge of hybrid threats on the panel "Countering hybrid threats: strengthening democratic #resilience and information integrity." ❓ At the center of the discussion was a simple, yet complicated question: how can #democracies strengthen their resilience against #hybridthreats while protecting the values they seek to defend? In today's geopolitical landscape, it has almost become commonplace: #disinformation, foreign funding, cyber operations and other hybrid threats are challenging democratic institutions, #publictrust and civic space on the daily. The panelists examined how #governments, international organizations, industry, media and technology actors can work together to strengthen #democraticresilience while safeguarding information integrity. 🙌 As hybrid threats continue to evolve, building #accountable institutions, fostering #cooperation and reinforcing public trust remain essential to protecting democratic societies. Thank you to Hannah Neumann, Filip Grzegorzewski, PhD, Carlos de Passos, Dr. Benedetta Berti, PhD, and Teri Schultz for their insightful contributions. #EDSS2026 _________________________________________ 📷 European Business Summits European Parliament European External Action Service European Defence Agency NATO Parliamentary Assembly NATO

📢 Check out our news from #WestAfrica: #BurkinaFaso: 2 weeks in full swing with 3 trainings and 2 workshops ✍️ 👉 On 15-19 June in Koudougou, Boulkiemdé province, #DCAF, together with the Community #Police Directorate, organized a training on the co-production of #security for Local Citizen Committees for the #Oversight of Public Action and for women leaders’ associations. It aimed to familiarize participants with #community policing concepts and improve their knowledge of prevention of radicalization and #violentextremism, small arms and light weapons, and improvised explosive devices. 👉 In parallel, on 16-18 June in Ziniaré, Oubritenga province, with the National Human Rights Commission we organized a training for #humanrights defender networks focused on mechanisms for protecting human rights. 👉 On 18-19 June in Koudougou, Boulkiemdé province, in partnership with the Centre for Citizen Information and Documentation, we held a workshop to develop a national roadmap on the #security, investment, and trade nexus. It brought together #government representatives, regulatory and #oversight authorities, #privatesecurity sector, and civil society. 👉 On 22-26 June back in Ziniaré, Oubritenga province, DCAF and the Directorate General of Internal Security organized a workshop to review the community policing training modules for internal #securityforces, in order to equip them with tools better suited to today's challenges and to people-centred security. 👉 Last but not least, on 23-26 June still in Ziniaré, we supported the Directorate General of Prison Administration in training #prison staff capacity on #gender-based violence and victim support. #GBV _________________________________________ #Gambia 👉 On 15 June, DCAF and the Gambia Immigration Department launched a 12-month #Gender Promotion Initiative, preparing 20 #femaleofficers to take up senior #leadership roles. The programme adapts a successful initiative with the Gambia Police force, which most of their participating female officers promoted to senior positions. _________________________________________ #Mali 👉 On 24-29 June in #Bamako, DCAF and the National Human Rights Commission organized awareness-raising sessions for students at the Université Kurukanfuga de Bamako on how #humanrights are rooted in Malian values and traditions.

DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance participe à cette table ronde consacrée aux dynamiques pastorales au Sahel qui a lieu à Bruxelles ce jeudi 2 juillet. À cette occasion, ma collègue Ornella Moderan partagera son analyse en mettant notamment en perspective le rôle de la gouvernance de la sécurité, les effets des représentations du pastoralisme dans les réponses politiques, ainsi que les liens entre inclusion des femmes et prévention des conflits dans l’accès aux ressources. Si ces questions vous intéressent, n'hésitez pas à venir assister aux échanges. Au plaisir de vous y retrouver !

On 18 June, DCAF Deputy Director Béatrice Godefroy participated in the "20 Years of PCC SEE: Reflections on regional #partnership and #cooperation" event, held as part of the 35th Meeting of the PCC SEE Expert Working Group in Sofia, #Bulgaria. The event brought together representatives of #ministries responsible for home affairs from the 13 #Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe Secretariat (PCC SEE) contracting parties. 💡 The session marked the 20th anniversary of PCC SEE, which was signed in #Vienna on 5 May 2006. The #Convention created a framework for #cooperation among #lawenforcement authorities to prevent and fight organized cross-border crime, enabling participating countries to exchange information, coordinate investigations and develop common approaches to shared #security challenges. 🔊 "Twenty years ago, the signatories demonstrated both vision and determination in establishing a mechanism that recognized a simple but important reality: that the #securitychallenges facing the region could not be effectively addressed by individual countries acting alone." - Béatrice Godefroy 👉 During the event, discussions looked ahead to the future, examining how regional cooperation can continue to adapt to increasingly sophisticated #criminalnetworks, technological developments, and a rapidly evolving security environment. Participants exchanged views on the continued importance of #trust-based partnerships, coordinated approaches and #resilient cooperation mechanisms in addressing cross-border security challenges. 🔊 "By strengthening cooperation and fostering #trust among partners, frameworks such as PCC SEE contribute not only to addressing criminal threats, but also to the broader objective that we all share: making our societies safer and more secure for the people we serve." - Béatrice Godefroy. ****** Katarina Lednik Rok Derenčin

📢 DCAF’s #AnnualReport2025 is hot off the press! Are you curious to know what we have been up to? ➡️ Explore our highlights from 2025 supporting transparent, #accountable and inclusive #securitysector governance all around the world. A special thank you to our core founders, partners and donors, whose support makes our work possible. 🙏 Swipe for a sneak peak of our Annual Report below 🔍 👉 Check out the full version: https://lnkd.in/ey9EQinn ****** Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten (MFA Austria) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belgium Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Sida Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Geneva Centre for Security Policy Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) Geneva Peace Forum & Geneva Peacebuilding Platform (GPP) NATO United Nations

"Building bridges" is what matters. It is about connecting people's security needs & concerns with the institutions & actors responsible for protecting them. Last week in #Geneva, DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance hosted a delegation of Libyan professionals. This dialogue platform for #security governance has proven to be very effective. Our discussions were open, fruitful, & driven by concrete recommendations. We also had the privilege of addressing specific barriers faced by #women & #youth in the security sector. I was truly inspired by the commitment & insight of the women & men in the room—a vital reminder that successful security arrangements require the active participation of everyone. #DCAF #Libya #SecuritySector #SSG #WomenInSecurity #ConflictResolution #Switzerland Emma Behrens Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA

💡 How can countries rebuild their #securitysector after #war without undermining #democracy? - The case of #Finland ⬇️ DCAF’s comparative policy research project "Striking a balance between effectiveness and democratic accountability within the #defencesector” explores this question through the experiences of #Finland, #SouthKorea, and #Taiwan. Each of these countries has faced war or long-term external threats and responded with far-reaching post-war #securitysector reforms aimed at strengthening #nationaldefence while upholding #democraticoversight and #accountability. 👉 This paper in particular examines post-war #security sector reform in #Finland, with a focus on the country’s strategies of external and internal balancing in a context of long-standing geopolitical pressure. It demonstrates how the dual pressures of external threat and internal division were addressed through a pragmatic balancing of #defence effectiveness and #democraticaccountability. All these case studies in this project show that it is possible to pursue credible deterrence and #democraticgovernance in parallel, even under conditions of sustained #insecurity. 📕 Read the second publication of this new "post-war" series, this time on #Finland: https://lnkd.in/evNTmVGn ****** Gabriela Manea