With the permission of the Council of Europe, DCAF has translated the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights’ May 2015 Issue Paper on ‘Democratic and effective oversight of national security services’ (link to original source here) into severa … read more

This publication was, originally, developed in order to provide assessment guidelines in the systematic evaluation of the integrity systems of nine countries. The international standards and principles contained in this publication cover a broad spectr … read more

This Building-Integrity handbook contains a questionnaire, guidance on organising the process in-country, a sample note which can be used to brief the Defence Minister or Head of the Armed Forces on how to introduce the peer review process, and an outl … read more

This SSR Backgrounder addresses why gender equality is essential to security sector reform (SSR). Gender equality stipulates the equal right of women and men to opportunities and resources irrespective of their gender. Good security sector governance ( … read more

Unanimously adopting resolution 2151 (2014), the Council reiterates the centrality of national ownership for security sector reform processes, recognizing the need to consider host-country perspectives in the formulation of peacekeeping and special pol … read more

This third version of the DCAF-NATO PA ‘Vademecum’ underlines the essential role that parliaments must play in ensuring democratic oversight of the security sector. Updating key information on best practices related to parliamentary oversight and guida … read more

This report reviews the United Nations support to security sector reform, and includes recommendations on how best to strengthen the Organization’s comprehensive approach in this area, pursuant to the statement by the President of the Security Council … read more

This paper represents a further addition to the series of publications on issues in parliamentary practice from the Office for Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy (OPPD). The main objective of this publication is to provide an overview of the main iss … read more

DCAF’s toolkit on overseeing intelligence services is a compendium of booklets (tools) that provides policy-relevant information on the establishment and consolidation of independent bodies to oversee state organisations involved in the collection, ana … read more

The concepts of good governance and human rights are mutually reinforcing. Human rights principles provide a set of values to guide the work of governments and other political and social actors. They also provide a set of performance standards against … read more

This booklet contains the South African Military Discipline Supplementary Measures Act in its original form as well as its articles reorganised by topic. This allows legislators to easily identify the specific subjects that need to be covered in such a … read more

This booklet contains the Japanese police legislation in its original form as well as its articles reorganised by topic. This allows legislators to easily identify the specific topics that need to be covered in a police law and compare between differen … read more

This booklet contains the Swedish police law in its original form as well as its articles reorganised by topic. This allows legislators to easily identify the specific topics that need to be covered in a police law and compare the different models.

This toolkit contains the European Code of Police Ethics accompanied by commentaries and recommendations. The European Code of Police Ethics together with the Guidebook on Democratic Policing (OSCE) and the Ten Basic Human Rights Standards for Law Enfo … read more

This booklet contains the Colombian military criminal code reorganised by topic. This allows legislators to easily identify the specific topics that need to be covered in such a law and compare between different models of laws.

This booklet contains the South African Military Discipline Supplementary Measures Act in its original form as well as its articles reorganised by topic. This allows legislators to easily identify the specific subjects that need to be covered in such a … read more

This publication contains the 20 Principles Governing the Administration of Justice through Military Tribunals as outlined by the Commission on Human Rights.

The objective of this guide is to provide readers with essential information about the function and principles of military justice in a democratic society. The guide also focuses on policies and the role of different stakeholders in shaping legal and i … read more