GENEVA CENTRE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CONTROL OF
ARMED FORCES (DCAF)
Ombuds-Institutions for the Armed Forces
Fact sheet May 2011
Context
DCAF supports the International Conference of Ombuds-Institutions for the Armed Forces
(ICOAF) that brings together representatives of ombuds-institutions from various countries
with the purpose of exchanging information and experiences about the functioning of
ombuds-institutions. The objective of the initiative is to establish best practice and lessons
learned related to the mandate, powers and functioning of these institutions. The initiative
also reaches out to states that do not have a ombuds-institution for the military but have
expressed an interest to learn from experiences from other states, for example Argentina.
Participating states
To date, representatives of ombuds-institutions of the following 25 states have participated
in the ICOAF initiative: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, The
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom
and the United States. The European Union, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, the United Nations and EUROMIL have sent observers to previous ICOAF
conferences. The aim of the ICOAF conferences is to reach out to other states in the near
future, in particular post-conflict and transition states.
ICOAF Conferences
To date, three International Conferences of Ombuds-Institutions for the Armed Forces
(ICOAF) have taken place:

1st ICOAF was co-hosted by the German Parliamentary Commissioner for the Federal
Armed Forces and DCAF, in the Bundestag, Berlin, May 2009;

2nd ICOAF was co-hosted by the Austrian Parliamentary Commission for the Federal
Armed Forces and DCAF, in the National Assembly, Vienna, April 2010;

3rd ICOAF was co-organised by the Serbian Protector of the Citizens of the Republic of
Serbia and DCAF in the Palace of Serbia, Belgrade, 13-15 April 2011.
At the 2nd ICOAF conference in Vienna in April 2010, participating states requested DCAF to
develop a website (www.icoaf.org ) and a handbook on ombuds-institutions for the armed
forces, with the aim of promoting the exchange of ideas and information between ombudsinstitutions and to strengthen ombuds-institutions in transition states. DCAF prepared
proposals for these two projects and they were discussed at the 3 rd ICOAF in Belgrade.
In the coming period, the 4th ICOAF is planned in Ottawa (September 2012); the 5th ICOAF will
be held in Oslo (2013) and the 6th ICOAF will be organised in Paris (2014).
ICOAF Handbook
Tel. : +41 22 741 77 00 – Fax : +41 22 741 77 05 – P.O. Box 1360 – CH-1211 Geneva 1 – Switzerland – www.dcaf.ch
The handbook intends to harness good practices from the world’s leading institutions in this
area; to assist in knowledge transfer and exchange of good practices; as well as to support
the development of ombuds-institutions for the armed forces in transition states. The
handbook will cover national models and/or approaches to specialised oversight and
complaints-handling institutions related to the armed forces. In addition, the handbook will
review the range of functions performed by ombuds-institutions for the armed forces,
including complaints-handling, supervision of complaint-handling by the armed forces,
mediation, investigations, own-initiative investigations and thematic inquires. The handbook
project was presented and discussed at the 3rd ICOAF in Belgrade and it will be published in
2012.
ICOAF Website
The goal of the project, www.icoaf.org, is to develop a website which will function as a
resource centre and information sharing platform for existing ombuds-institutions for the
armed forces in Western democracies, transition states and post-conflict states, as well as for
those states that would like to set up an ombuds-institution for armed forces. The website
will provide a database of national legal frameworks for ombuds-institutions (e.g. laws,
administrative decrees etc), thematic and annual reports of ombuds-institutions,
compilations of best practices, as well as research and comparative analysis of ombudsinstitutions. Key-legislation of selected states will be made available in English. The
preparations are underway and the website will be up and running starting from Summer
2011.
Publications
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Hans Born, Aidan Wills and Ben Buckland, Comparative Perspective of Ombudsman
Institutions for the Armed Forces, DCAF Policy Paper nr. 34, Geneva, 2011.
Austrian Parliamentary Commission for the Federal Armed Forces and DCAF, Proceedings
of the 2nd ICOAF, Vienna, 25-18 April 2010 (available in English and German).
German Parliamentary Commissioner for the Federal Armed Forces, Oversight, Protection
and Welfare: The Ombudsman Institutions as Advocates for Military Personnel,
Proceedings of the 1st ICOAF, Berlin, 10-12 May 2009 (available in English and German).
Hans Born and Ian Leigh, Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces
Personnel, OSCE-ODIHR and DCAF, Warsaw and Geneva, 2008 (available in Albanian,
Bosnian, Croatian, English, French, Russian and Serbian).
Eden Cole and Katrin Kinzelbach, Monitoring and Investigating the Security Sector:
Recommendations for Ombudsman Institutions to Promote and Protect Human Rights for
Public Security, DCAF and UNDP, Geneva and Bratislava, 2007 (available in English and
Russian)
Point of contact
Hans Born, Senior Fellow, DCAF, Email h.born@dcaf.ch , phone + 41 22 741 77 00
Tel. : +41 22 741 77 00 – Fax : +41 22 741 77 05 – P.O. Box 1360 – CH-1211 Geneva 1 – Switzerland – www.dcaf.ch