ISF International Security Forum

Tuesday, 31 May 2011, 16:00 - 17:30

Hosted by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)

The linkage between peace and security frameworks and national security policies in West Africa will be examined in the light of the governance of the security sector. Professor N’Diaye will expand on the need of having a shared vision of security in West Africa and of implementing required reforms in the security sector. He will also discuss ECOWAS' efforts to reach its objective of moving from a community of states to a community of citizens. The West African regional organization has pursued this objective by adopting norms and values that promote the democratic governance of the security sector as part of the consolidation of democratization in its Member States. Colonel Nombre will describe how Burkina Faso is inculcating these norms –toward improving the rule of law, civil-military relations and respect for human rights – on the members of its security services. He will then consider how this approach constitutes a confidence-building measure and how it connects to the national security policy and the international obligations of Burkina Faso.

Listen to Linking Regional Peace and Security Frameworks to National Policies: Lessons from West Africa (Audio)

Chair

Jean-Jacques Gacond
Deputy Head of Operations for Africa and the Middle East, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces (DCAF), Switzerland

Speakers

The ECOWAS Regional Security Sector Framework: From a Community of States to a Community of Citizens
Boubacar N’Diaye
Associate Professor of Black Studies and Political Science, Wooster College, Wooster, OH, UK

Bridging Policies to Practice: The Code of Conduct for Armed Forces and Security Services
Honoré Nombre
Colonel and Director of International Cooperation, Ministry of Defense, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

More on Discussion Topic

ECOWAS, Security Sector Governance and Western Africa

Location

Red Room