Parliamentary Oversight
of the Security Sector:
Disseminating Best Practices in
ECOWAS Member States
Regional Parliamentary Workshop
Bamako, Mali, 28-29 November 2011
Parliamentary Oversight
of the Security Sector:
Disseminating Best Practices in
ECOWAS Member States
Regional Parliamentary Workshop
Bamako, Mali, 28-29 November 2011
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
3
Summary Report
I.
Introduction
Organized jointly by the National Assembly of Mali,
the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Geneva
Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces
(DCAF) and the African Security Sector Network
(ASSN), the Regional Parliamentary Workshop
Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector:
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member
States was held on 28 and 29 November 2011 at
the Grand Hôtel, Bamako.
The workshop brought together some fifty
participants,
including
parliamentarians
representing Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali,
Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Togo and the ECOWAS Parliament; official
representatives of the Malian government;
representatives of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS);
and the Ambassador of Switzerland to Mali.
Following in the footsteps of the discussions
broached in Dakar in September 2010, the Bamako
regional workshop constitutes a continuation
of the reflections on the general principles and
mechanisms of parliamentary oversight of the
security sector in West Africa, notably with a
view to carrying out relevant action reflecting
the effective application of those principles and
mechanisms.
II.
Inaugural ceremony
The inaugural ceremony, chaired by the Speaker of
the National Assembly of Mali, was punctuated with
speeches by Ms. Kombi Aline Koala, Representative
of the IPU President, Professor Boubacar N’Diaye,
Representative of the ASSN President, Mr. JeanJacques Gacond, Representative of the DCAF
Director, and Her Excellency Mrs. Muriel BersetCohen, Ambassador of Switzerland to Mali.
In her address, Ms. Kombi Aline Koala exhorted the
parliamentarians to maintain a dynamic presence
in the security sector through greater oversight of
the transparent and responsible implementation
of policies in that respect and to take bold
initiatives in order to preserve the sociopolitical
and economic structures ensuring social harmony.
She then pleaded in favour of responsible
recommendations reflecting the real needs of the
countries of West Africa and setting forth firm and
effective action for better parliamentary oversight
of the security sector.
Professor Boubacar N’Diaye introduced the African
Security Sector Network. He emphasized that there
could be no talk of democracy without an active
parliament and that security must be regarded
as a public good and not as the preserve of the
Executive. He also specified that the workshop
offered an opportunity to develop dialogue,
beyond the initial stages already covered, between
the representatives of the ECOWAS Parliament,
the national assemblies of the Member States and
the civil society organizations to help strengthen
the rule of law, peace and security in the region.
Mr. Jean-Jacques Gacond mentioned the goals
of the DCAF, an intergovernmental forum on
good governance of the security sector. He cited
parliamentary capacity-building as one of the key
dimensions of improved democratic oversight
of the security sector, which itself represents
an essential dimension of the regional strategic
framework seeking to promote peace and security
in West Africa.
In her address, Her Excellency Mrs. Muriel BersetCohen affirmed that the challenges facing the
security of persons and property were constantly
growing in Mali, as in other ECOWAS Member
States; hence the need for the States to work
together and take tangible steps to cope with
those challenges. She expressed her hope that the
workshop would enable participants to familiarize
themselves with the ECOWAS Parliament-DCAF
Guide for West African Parliamentarians and to
work very concretely on some of its dimensions.
In conclusion, she thanked the authorities of Mali
for their commitment in this area.
Opening the proceedings, the Speaker of the
National Assembly, Professor Dioncounda
Traoré, said that the holding of the workshop
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
5
reflected the importance that parliamentarians
attached to preventing and resolving the security
challenges faced by the ECOWAS countries and
their commitment to increasing parliamentary
treatment of the aspirations of the African peoples
regarding the promotion of peace and security.
He further emphasized that the knowledge and
other lessons of the workshop should provide
parliamentarians with the requisite expertise for
strengthened oversight of the security sector.
III.
Plenary discussions (1st day)
Several presentations provided background for
the discussions.
1. Presentation of the ECOWAS
Parliament-DCAF Guide for West
African Parliamentarians Parliamentary
Oversight of the Security Sector
The presentation was given by Mr. Okey
Uzoechina, DCAF Representative to the ECOWAS.
with security matters; help to strengthen
ties between parliamentarians and the other
security sector stakeholders, with special
reference to civil society organizations, both
nationally and regionally.
•
The presentation was not discussed.
2. Communication from the Chairman of
the ECOWAS Parliament’s Committee
on Political Affairs, Peace and Security
The Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah, Chairman of the
Committee on Political Affairs, Peace and Security
of the ECOWAS Parliament, drew the attention of
participants to two important observations:
•
Security questions do not feature among those
matters in respect of which the opinion of the
ECOWAS Parliament is required as a matter of
obligation;
•
The main ECOWAS instruments relating to
peace and security matters do not stipulate
any precise role for the ECOWAS Parliament.
The presentation centred on the following points:
•
•
•
6
The process of drawing up the guide:
modelled on the IPU-DCAF Handbook
for Parliamentarians published in 2003,
Parliamentary Oversight of the Security
Sector: Principles, Mechanisms and Practices;
need to produce a guide tailored to the West
African context and responding to the specific
needs of the parliamentarians of the region;
taking advantage of West African expertise
for preparing the guide, particularly of ASSN
experts; consultations and review of the
guide by a review committee of the ECOWAS
Parliament.
The content of the guide: abstract of the
chapters, use of boxed text for specific
examples and case studies; recommendations
on “what you can do as a parliamentarian” at
the end of each chapter.
The purposes of the guide: attune
parliamentarians and other security sector
stakeholders to the importance of efficient
and effective parliamentary oversight in
West Africa; contribute to capacity-building
for parliamentary committees concerned
The practical utility of the guide: a resource for
the development of training tools; advocacy
tool for strengthening the role of parliaments
in oversight of the security sector; reference
tool concerning parliamentary best practices
in this area in West Africa.
The Hon. Mensah nevertheless stated that, for all
those limitations, the ECOWAS Parliament had
always played an important part in managing the
crises that had affected the West African region.
Much experience had thereby been accumulated.
With a view to specifying the rightful role of the
ECOWAS Parliament in achieving the ideals of
peace and democracy in the region, consideration
was being given to the possibility of modifying
particular basic texts of the Community relating
to security and democracy matters.
The Hon. Mensah further mentioned the
significant progress made at the level of ECOWAS
in the integration process. In conclusion, he said
that the ECOWAS Parliament remained convinced
of the need to establish a regular framework
of exchanges and concerted action between
the committees responsible for defence and
security matters of the Member States around the
equivalent committees of the ECOWAS Parliament
and of the IPC-WAEMU.
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
3. Making
alliances:
the
political
challenges of parliamentary oversight
of the security sector
This topic was introduced by Professor Boubacar
N’Diaye, Senior lecturer and member of the ASSN
Executive Committee.
establishing mutual trust between civilians
and the military. Confidentiality must not
amount to a blank cheque for the Executive.
•
The presentation sought to answer the following
questions:
•
What are the obstacles to parliamentary
oversight of the security sector?
•
What players are involved in the oversight
process?
•
What are the strategies to be applied in order
to turn opponents into allies?
Professor N’Diaye stressed the urgent need to
institute and to institutionalize parliamentary
oversight of the security sector, which was not yet
in place in all ECOWAS Member States. To move
forward in that respect, there was in particular a
need to keep the aims of parliamentary oversight
well apart from “petty politics” and to separate the
institutional role of parliament from its political
role.
4. Parliament and budgetary decisionmaking power: best practices
regarding the security budget
This topic was introduced by Ms. Lena Andersson,
independent consultant, and Colonel Nouhoum
Sangare, ASSN member.
Ms. Andersson’s introduction hinged on the
following points:
•
The nature of the budget: the budget is not
a technical product but a political product,
lending substance to security policies and
meting out responsibilities.
•
The role of parliaments: ensuring that the
interests of citizens are taken into consideration
in the course of budget preparation; holding
the Executive to account in the utilization of
funds.
•
The budget cycle: after describing the
four phases of the budget cycle (budget
formulation, budget execution, accounting
and reports, and verification and external
audit), Ms. Andersson clarified the role of
parliamentarians at each stage of the cycle.
•
The basic functions of parliament: legislative
functions (establishing the legal framework
for financial responsibility; adopting the
annual budget; adopting laws on governance
of the security sector) and oversight functions
(examining the budget of security sector
institutions; discussing any amendments; and
asking questions about expenditure policies
at public hearings).
•
Purchase and acquisition of arms: Ms.
Andersson reviewed the various stages of
arms procurement processes.
The discussions on the topic related to:
•
The role of the opposition in oversight of
the security sector: the opposition must be
associated with the process of parliamentary
oversight and scope for collaboration must
be established. Over and above political
convictions and interests, parliamentarians
must agree on minima for the purpose of
associating the stakeholders in order to
achieve the aims of parliamentary oversight.
•
Relations between the Executive and the
Legislature: a strong Executive often results
in undue deference on the part of parliament.
Parliament must be enabled to play its part
to the full. For that, parliamentarians must in
particular acquire the necessary knowledge
and information to be able to hold the
Executive to account.
•
Confidentiality
as
an
obstacle
to
parliamentary oversight of the security sector:
parliamentarians must be able to discuss
the question of confidentiality openly; for
which purpose work must be undertaken on
The role of civil society organizations:
parliamentarians, and particularly those on
committees responsible for security matters,
must strengthen their ties with civil society
organizations.
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
7
•
•
The challenges: obstacles to transparency,
tradition of secrecy, complexity of the domain
(particularly for arms purchases), specific
nature of the sector, the relationship between
power and policy (differences between the
rules adopted and informal practices).
The conditions of effective parliamentary
oversight: authority (legal powers), capacity
(knowledge, resources) and attitude (resolve
to hold the Executive to account).
Colonel Sangare for his part hinged his
introduction on the specific example of budget
oversight in Mali. He notably gave an account of
the reforms implemented in Mali in this sphere, in
particular the reforms relating to the institutions
and procedures of preparation, implementation
and oversight of the security sector.
He explained how security sector reform had
evolved in Mali since 1991, the year of the
revolution which had overthrown the military
regime. The progress recorded calls for a
permanent watch and action to ensure greater
budgetary oversight of the security sector.
5. Systematic gender mainstreaming in
parliamentary oversight of the security
sector
This topic was introduced by Ms. Awino Okech,
Researcher at the African Gender Institute,
University of Cape Town, and ASSN member, and
Ms. Oulie Keita, Gender and Security Adviser to
the African Union and ASSN member.
Both speakers formulated the various reasons why
it is essential to bring gender mainstreaming into
the various aspects of parliamentary oversight of
the security sector in order to ensure the latter’s
effectiveness.
The discussions concerned:
•
The present situation concerning the
representation of women within the parliament
and the security structures in the various
ECOWAS Member States, and in particular
the need to go further than the introduction
of quotas to ensure better representation of
women.
•
The role that women have to play to make
their voices heard within the decision-making
structures, whether in parliament or in the
other policymaking entities.
•
The need for parliamentarians to cooperate
with the civil society organizations and
specifically
women’s
organizations/
associations.
The discussions around this topic covered inter
alia:
•
Transparency of the security sector: in order
to permit effective oversight, the budget
document of the security sector must be
designed as a comprehensible and transparent
document.
•
The
strengthening
of
management
procedures: rather than increasing the
number of oversight structures, the budget
management system must make for
transparent and effective management up the
line.
•
The training of parliamentarians for their tasks:
given the complexity and technical nature of
the documents to do with the security budget,
training workshops need to be put in place that
give parliamentarians a better understanding
of these documents and enable them to
acquire the necessary knowledge to be able,
as appropriate, to propose amendments, and
understand the consequences of the proposed
allocations.
IV.
Group deliberations (2nd day)
On the second day of the workshop, the
participants split into three working groups to
continue the discussions opened in plenary on
the following topics:
•
Making alliances: the political challenges of
parliamentary oversight of the security sector
•
Parliament and budgetary decision-making
power: best practices regarding the security
budget
•
Systematic gender mainstreaming in
parliamentary oversight of the security sector
Upon completion of the group proceedings
and following the statements, testimonies and
discussions, the participants recommend:
8
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
Concerning the political challenges of
parliamentary oversight of the security sector
•
•
Encouraging the sharing of experience
between security sector stakeholders, particularly through:
o Furtherance of the knowledge of
parliamentarians
and
parliamentary
assistants about organization and
legislation relating to the security sector;
o The establishment of dialogue platforms
between security sector stakeholders;
o The organization of events, at
regional and national level, fostering
a relationship of trust between armed
forces and security services and the
other security sector stakeholders
(open-house days, lectures, etc.);
o Amplification of the work of committees
concerned with budgetary matters;
o The organization of training workshops
on budget oversight before each budget
session.
•
More on-site visits by parliamentarians
to gain a better understanding of the
difficulties facing the armed forces and
security services.
•
- The
parliamentary
committees
responsible for defence and security
matters and the funding entities.
Ensuring better access of citizens to
information on the security sector,
particularly through:
- The parliamentary committees on
Finance and Budget, Defence and
Security, and Foreign Affairs;
- The parliamentary committees dealing
with security issues and the national
audit institution.
o Greater
cooperation
between
parliamentarians, local elected officials
and civil society organizations.
o At the regional level:
- The parliamentary committees in
charge of matters relating to public
finance/ accounts of the Frenchspeaking parliaments and those of the
English-speaking parliaments.
Engaging in active promotion of human
rights, particularly through:
o The wide dissemination of information on
human rights and on the rights and duties
of citizens;
- The parliamentary committees in
charge of matters relating to public
finance/accounts and those in charge
of defence and security issues.
o The organization of training courses on
human rights for security personnel;
o The adoption and application of sanctions
against armed forces and security service
members committing violations of human
rights.
Concerning systematic gender mainstreaming in
parliamentary oversight of the security sector
•
Raising to the status of major policy guidance
in the ECOWAS States the schooling of girls
and the capacitation of women in the world
of work.
•
Working to transform the existing social
structures to permit better capacitation of
women in the world of work, particularly
through:
Concerning best practices with respect to
parliamentary oversight of the security sector
•
Ensuring the standardization and general
introduction of systems for the management
and oversight of public finances.
Developing specific partnerships between:
o At the national level:
o An effective utilization of the media and
existing means of communication (tracts,
posters, etc.);
•
Ensuring
greater
involvement
of
parliamentarians in drawing up the security
budget, particularly through:
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
9
o Making the public more aware of the
cultural and social practices impeding the
advancement of women in the world of
work;
o Promoting the involvement of women in
politics, and notably in senior posts.
•
Promoting gender mainstreaming in all
aspects of parliamentary oversight of the
security sector, particularly through:
o Monitoring of the effective and adequate
application of legislation already enacted;
o Draft legislation seeking to increase the
number of women and their retention in
national assemblies, the armed forces and
the security services;
o Promotion of improved representation
of women in parliamentary committees
dealing with security matters;
o More visits by parliamentarians to security
and defence structures to inquire about
the working conditions of women.
10
The participants insisted on the need to ensure
monitoring of the implementation of the above
recommendations.
For this purpose, the DCAF, the ASSN and the
IPU, as organizers of the workshop and partners
of the ECOWAS Member States in their efforts to
strengthen good governance of the security sector
at national level and in the region, recommend:
At the national level
•
The establishment of a steering committee
to identify the priorities and practical steps
to be taken to ensure implementation of the
recommendations of the present workshop
and of that of Dakar;
At the regional level
•
The establishment of a mechanism for
monitoring the implementation of the
recommendations contained in the ECOWAS
Parliament-DCAF Guide for West African
Parliamentarians Parliamentary Oversight of
the Security Sector;
•
The setting up of an informal contact and
concerted action mechanism liaising between
the committees dealing with defence and
security, the various national parliaments and
the ECOWAS Parliament;
•
The incorporation of these national and
regional processes in the action plan relating
to the ECOWAS Framework on Democratic
Governance and Reform of the Security Sector,
at present under preparation.
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
List of participants
Name and
surname
Country/
Organisation
Fonction
Phone number
Parliamentary delegations
Chair of the Peace
and Security
Committee
MP
+226 70737545
E-mail
OSEI MENSAH
Simon
ECOPARL
DAH K Nicolas
ECOPARL
DELGADO Carlos
Alberto
ARBONCANA
Oumarou
HOUANGNI Parfait
BIO KANSI Boganse
KAFANDO Yacinthe
T.
SANOU Alfred
GUITANGA Samuel
Ibrahim
NFOJOH George
ACHEAMPONG
Seth
SARKU Gloria
ECOPARL
MP
+ 238 99 19 052
ECOPARL
Parliamentary
assistant
MP
MP
MP
+229 96 96 55 33
+229 90 92 88 66
+226 70 00 20 20
dahdelidji@yahoo.fr
raoulbiokansi@yahoo.fr
kyacynte@yahoo.fr
+226 70 21 52 55
+226 70 41 41 93
hereso@fasonet.bf
guitanga@hotmail.fr
DIOP Abdoulaye
Demba
UEITELE Festus
Tulonga
LUTUTU Georges
Mauritania
Commission
secretary
Senator
Namibia
MP
Namibia
ZANGAOU Moussa
ILLA OUSMANE
LAOUALI Ibrahim
Niger
Niger
Niger
Commission
secretary
MP
MP
Adviser
DIA Lamine
Senegal
MP
KALAWA Charles
Hudson
BOYAH Komba E.S.
Sierra Leone
MP
+264 81 246 6347 f.ueitele@parliament.
gov.na
+264 61 288 2601 g.lututu@parliament.
gov.na
+227 90118348
zangaou@refer.ne
+227 97 63 56 44
+227 90 67 74 03 laouali.ibrahim59@
yahoo.fr
+221 77 913 0225 laminedicab@hotmail.
com
+232 33 350 244 kalatara06@yahoo.co.uk
Sierra Leone
MP
+232 76 601 222
MOMODU-LAMIN
Roger Deen
Sierra Leone
Parliamentary
assistant
+232 33 310717
Benin
Benin
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Ghana
Ghana
Ghana
MP
Parliamentary
assistant
MP
MP
oseimensa2@yahoo.
com
koumbanico@gmail.
com
cacaidelgado@hotmail.
com
+233 244 017 900 camfodjoh@yahoo.com
+233 247 072 421 acheampong.seth@
yahoo.com
+233 244 268 546 gloriasarku@yahoo.com
+222 469 126 47
kesbee2004@yahoo.
com
laminu303@yahoo.com
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
11
Name and surname
Country/
Organisation
Togo
Togo
Togo
Mali
Mali
Mali
Mali
Mali
Mali
Mali
Mali
MP
MP
Assistant
MP
MP
MP
MP
MP
MP
MP
MP
+228 90 04 15 99
+228 90 28 94 86
+228 90 83 65 46
+223 76 20 57 01
+223 76 24 53 99
+223 66 78 69 43
+223 66 78 59 47
+223 66 72 48 17
+223 66 72 29 43
+223 66 79 95 35
+223 76 36 11 14
ayitou@hotmail.com
kouevi2011@yahoo.fr
takpayakossi@yahoo.fr
dicko620@yahoo.fr
fdkalifa50@yahoo.fr
Mali
Mali
MP
MP
+223 66 74 46 36
+223 70 93 93 93
KEITA Moriba
CISSE Abdoul Kadri
SANGARE Yaya
TANGARA Issa
Mali
Mali
Mali
Mali
+223 66 72 97 10
TEMBELY Cheick T.
Mali
DOUMBIA Somobary
TRAORE Siaka Simbo
DOUMBIA
Souleymane
Cmd BAGAYOKO
Abdoulaye
Mali
Mali
Mali
MP
MP
MP
Deputy Secretary
General
Legislative
Secretary
Assistant
Assistant
Assistant
aliouaya@yahoo.fr
safiatoumodibo@
yahoo.fr
moribakeita@yahoo.fr
Mali
CNM
+223 66 71 86 41
Observers
Consultant
+221 77 637 4201 latifaidara@hotmail.com
SINGO Ayitou
FOLLY Kouevi Koko
KOSSI Takpaya
DICKO Boureima
DOUMBIA Kalifa
SOFARA Habibou
HAIDARA Yaya
DUANESSY Ibrahim
BERIDOGO Bréhima
DIASSANA Mariam
SIMPARA Mamadou
Gaoussou
AYA Aliou
TRAORE Safiatou
HAIDARA Latif
LOHMANN Annette
DOUMBIA Salabary
12
Femmes Africa
Solidarité
Friedrich Ebert
Foundation
Friedrich Ebert
Foundation
Fonction
Phone number
+223 76 44 00 12
+223 76 36 24 05
E-mail
haidarala@yahoo.fr
beridogo@yahoo.fr
kiassou01@yahoo.fr
modiere@yahoo.fr
+223 76 43 56 39
+223 20 22 444
nabysiaka@yahoo.fr
Resident
Representative
Programme
Manager
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
info@fes-mali.org
info@fes-mali.org
Name and surname
UZOECHINA Okey
Country/
Organisation
DCAF
ANDERSSON Lena
SANGARE Nouhoum
OKECH Awino
Member of the
ASSN
Member of the
ASSN
KEITA Oulie
Member of the
ASSN
N’DIAYE Boubacar
Member of
the Executive
Committee of
the ASSN
IPU
KOALA KABORE
Aline
AFOUDA Akiyo
IPU
GACOND JeanJacques
DCAF
GRENET Aurélie
DCAF
Fonction
Phone number
Speakers
Representative to +234 803 668
the ECOWAS
2174
Independent
consultant
Colonel Major
+223 70 21 52 55
Researcher,
African Gender
Institute at the
University of
Cape Town
SSR Gender
Advisor to the
African Union
Organisers
Associate
Professor at
The College of
Wooster
Deputy Speaker
of the National
Assembly of
Burkina Faso
Human Rights
Programme
Manager
Deputy Head
Africa and the
Middle East
Division
Project Officer
E-mail
okeysoffice@yahoo.com
lena.andersson@
balkansanalysis.org
nsangareml@yahoo.fr
awino@fahamu.org
+223 66 54 71 24
+1 330 749 0192
bndiaye@wooster.edu
+226 70 20 83 64
tinsomde@yahoo.fr
+41 22 919 4123
aa@mail.ipu.org
+41 22 741 7713
j.gacond@dcaf.ch
+41 22 741 7748
a.grenet@dcaf.ch
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
13
Concept Note
Introduction
Parliaments in West Africa are expected to
enact and monitor implementation of security,
intelligence, public order and defence-related
legislation. They are also expected to scrutinize
and approve the budget of the defence and
security sector and to ensure that security policies
reflect the needs and aspirations of the citizens
they represent. Such parliamentary oversight is
vital to democratic security sector governance.
However, the capacity of parliaments, and in
particular parliamentary defence and security
committees, to deliver on these expectations is
usually limited. This may be due to combinations
of any of the followings reasons:
Follow-up regional workshop in
Bamako, Mali
Focus and objectives
DCAF, IPU and ASSN are now joining forces to
organize a two-day follow-up regional workshop,
to be hosted by the Parliament of Mali, which will
look more closely at how parliaments and their
members can apply principles and mechanisms of
parliamentary oversight in specific areas such as: :
-
Poor appreciation by parliamentarians of
the scope of their constitutional roles and
powers;
The politics of security sector oversight:
making allies
-
Oversight of defence and security budgeting/
arms procurement
-
Lack of capacity by parliamentarians to fully
exercise their roles;
-
Gender-mainstreaming of security sector
reform policies and programmes
-
Lack of parliamentary research or advisory
support capacity;
-
Inadequate incentives and resources required
for effective parliamentary oversight;
-
A legacy of executive monopoly on security
and defense matters.
The seminar will draw on the recommendations
of the ECOWAS Parliament-DCAF Guide for West
African Parliamentarians “Parliamentary oversight
of the security sector”, which is modeled on the
IPU-DCAF Handbook for parliamentarians entitled
“Parliamentary oversight of the security sector:
Principles, mechanisms and practices” issued in
2003. Various experts in the field of security sector
governance, many of whom are members of the
ASSN, have contributed to the guide for West
African parliamentarians which is tailored to the
realities of the region. The guide was unanimously
endorsed by the plenary of the ECOWAS Parliament
on 29 September 2010.
-
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control
of Armed Forces (DCAF), the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) and the African Security Sector
Network (ASSN) have conducted a number of
activities in different West African countries
aimed at building the capacity and expertise of
defence and security committees and their staff
so as to strengthening the role of parliaments
and enable them to carry out effective oversight
of the security sector.
The seminar on Parliamentary Oversight of
the Security Sector in West Africa, hosted by
the Senegalese National Assembly in Dakar
in September 2010, was the first joint activity
organized by DCAF and the IPU at the regional
14
level aimed at analysing the relevance of general
principles and mechanisms of parliamentary
oversight of the security sector in West Africa.
Programme set-up
The workshop will start with a plenary session.
Participants will subsequently take part in
working group sessions with a view to discussing
challenges to the full implementation of the
recommendations contained in the ECOWAS
Parliament-DCAF Guide and ways of addressing
the challenges. Each working group will focus on
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
one topic and will be facilitated by an expert on
the topic to be discussed. Each working group will
report back to plenary on day-2 on the outcomes
of their discussion.
The workshop will also allow further discussion
on policy development around parliamentary
oversight over the security sector. In that
perspective, it will constitute a valuable opportunity
for participants to network, share experiences and
exchange ideas and best practices.
Participants
The ECOWAS Parliament and parliaments of
ECOWAS member states will be invited to send
a delegation, preferably comprised of members
of defence and security committees as well as
parliamentary staffers, to take part in the seminar.
Parliaments will be requested to cover the costs
of participation of their delegations. The host
Parliament will be requested to provide on-site
logistical support.
Representatives of civil society, including the
media and contributors to the ECOWAS ParliamentDCAF Guide, will participate in the event. Partner
organisations will be invited to contribute to
the organisation of the seminar or be invited as
observers.
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
15
Agenda
28 November 2011
8:30-9:00
Registration of participants
9:00-10:00
Welcome address
Mrs Kombi Aline Koala, Representative of the IPU
Dr. Boubacar N’Diaye, Representative of the ASSN
Dr. Jean-Jacques Gacond, Representative of the DCAF
M. Natié Plea, Minister of Defence of Mali
H.E. Mrs Muriel Berset Cohen, Ambassador of Switzerland in Mali
H.E. Honorable Dioncounda Traoré, Speaker of the National Assembly of Mali
10:00-10:30
Coffee break
10:30-11:15
Presentation of the ECOWAS Parliament-DCAF Guide for West African
parliamentarians “Parliamentary oversight of the security sector”
Speaker: Mr. Okey Uzoechina, DCAF representative to the ECOWAS
11:15-12:30
Presentation and discussion :
“The politics of security sector oversight: making allies”
Speaker: Prof. Boubacar N’Diaye, Associate Professor at The College of Wooster, Ohio
and member of the Executive Committee of the ASSN
12:30-13:45
Lunch
13:45-15:45
Presentation and discussion :
“Financial oversight of the security sector: strengthening the role of parliaments”
Speaker: Mrs Lena Andersson, independent consultant
“Defence budgeting in Mali”
Speaker: Colonel Nouhoum Sangare, Head of Finances, Ministry of Territorial
Administration, Mali and member of the ASSN
15:45-16:15
16
Coffee break
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
16:15-17:30
Presentation and discussion :
“Integrating gender into parliamentary oversight of the security sector”
Speakers:
Ms Awino Okech, Researcher, African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town,
and member of the ASSN
Ms Oulie Keita, SSR Gender Advisor to the African Union and member of the ASSN
17:30-17:45
Introduction of the working group session: objectives and organisation (discussion
and formation of three working groups)
29 November 2011
8:30-9:00
Executive summary of the previous day’s work and breakdown of participants in 3
working groups
9:00-10:30
Working group discussion
10:30-11:00
Coffee break
11:00-12:30
Working group discussion
12:30-13:30
Lunch
13:30-15:00
Working group discussion
15:00-15:30
Coffee break
15:30-17:30
Reporting back to plenary of the group discussion
(20 minutes to report and 20 minutes for discussion)
17:30--18:00
Summary, evaluation and closing address
Reception
Cocktail buffet offered
Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States
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Disseminating Best Practices in ECOWAS Member States