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Past events26-28 June 2008, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, AlmatyDemocratic Governance in the Security Sector: Defence A three-day try-out training course organised by: The Centre for European Security Studies, the Netherlands, in cooperation with the al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Almaty 24 June 2008, Radisson SAS Hotel, Astana, Kazakhstan INTRODUCING THE STARLINK TRAINING PROGRAMME ON DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE SECURITY SECTOR This high-level meeting will introduce the Starlink programme to Kazakhstan and will discuss Kazakhstan’s domestic security dynamics in more depth. Besides, it will provide ample opportunity to the Kazakh security community in the broadest sense (government officials, members of parliament, NGO representatives, journalists, etc.) and international security experts to engage in discussions. 18-21 April 2008, Den Haag MPP Seminar: Draft Expert Report and Visit Moldovan Delegation to Netherlands During this seminar the main preliminary conclusions of a first draft of the Expert Report were presented and discussed. The meeting gave ample opportunity to elected representatives to evaluate the project and to contribute to the main conclusions and recommendations. Although CESS and EIPS management will decide on the final recommendations, we took this opportunity to elicit the input of the involved Moldovan Members of Parliament and independent experts. The event took one working day, after which the Moldovan delegation visited relevant institutes in the Netherlands such as the Netherlands Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Court of Audit and The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. 27 February 2008, Chisinau MPP seminar: Human Rights and International Obligations Parliament is regarded as an important institution in defending human rights and liberties and this certainly applies also to the field of defence and security. Moreover, it is parliament that has to approve international treaties and commitments in the field of human rights. Issues to l be discussed during this meeting will include: How can parliament act when human rights abuses in the armed forces come to light? What are the limits to oversight of intelligence and secret services? Can parliament scrutinise the work of these agencies to ensure human rights are not breached? The main issue to be dealt with is analysing together with the parliamentarians what the role of parliament is in defending human rights in the security sector. 13 December 2007, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Hague Concluding Conference: “Democratic Governance in the Security Sector: Lessons of the STARLINK Programme in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine” On 13 December 2007 CESS organised the conference called Democratic Governance in the Security Sector: Lessons of the STARLINK Programme in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. This was the climax of a programme which for two years provided transitional countries with training programmes for democratic reform in their security sector. About 100 CESS partners and other SSR experts gathered at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague. They came from the five Starlink beneficiary countries, neighbouring countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, international organisations like NATO and the OSCE, and government departments and research institutes in the Netherlands. The morning sessions focussed on the Starlink programme, its contents and its achievements. Our partner organisations used the opportunity to explain how Starlink operated in their respective countries, and how cooperation between their institutes and CESS developed. In the afternoon three working groups dealt with specific obstacles to democratic governance in the security sector. After these sessions three Rapporteurs highlighted in the findings of the working groups. During the final session the floor was again given to Starlink partners and the sponsors of the programme, namely the Netherlands Foreign Ministry and the OSCE offices in Armenia and Azerbaijan. They reflected on the potential for further development and wider use of the Starlink modules and training courses. The message of our partners was constructive and hopeful: Starlink was received well in the beneficiary countries and there is a need for the programme to be continued in the ‘old’ Starlink countries, and extended to new ones. 13 December 2007, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague Starlink concluding conference: “Democratic Governance in the Security Sector: Lessons of the STARLINK Programme in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine” See events Starlink. 11 December 2007, Groningen Evaluation meeting Starlink programme, Groningen In February 2008, CESS and its partners in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will conclude their Starlink programme. On 11 December 2007 CESS will evaluate the Starlink I & II programme together with its NGO partners from the beneficiary countries, NGO partners from the neighbourhood countries and module writers. The Evaluation Meeting takes place in Groningen, where the CESS Office is based. 11 December 2007, Groningen Evaluation meeting Starlink II programme, Groningen See events Starlink 5 December 2007, Chisinau MPP seminar: Overseeing Implementation of Policy The topic of December’s seminar was the implementation of defence policy and the role of parliament in overseeing this process. We also stressed the importance of the role of parliament overseeing the implementation of international agreements and discuss the instruments, tools and ways available for doing this in an effective manner. We paid specific attention to the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan Moldova as agreed upon with NATO and the EU – Moldova Action Plan. The relevance of this topic, was illustrated by the fact that during the seminar, the Moldovan Parliament was discussing laws that drafted in the framework of IPAP and the EU-Moldova Action Plan. Furthermore, the Moldovan President was in Brussels at that time to conduct discussions with NATO and the EU. In his meetings he stipulated Moldova’s commitment to closer co-operation. 12-13 November 2007, Ankara, Turkey Conference on Peace Operations: The past and the future CESS and Bilkent University (Ankara) organized on the 12th and 13th of November 2007 a conference on Peace Support Operations. The organizers of the conference aimed to address new challenges to Peace Support Operations. Distinguished academics, diplomats and the executive branch of government, as well as military officials, were present and shared their experiences. In his key-note speech Lt. Gen. Zorlu, Chief Plans and Policy Division of the Turkish General Staff pointed out that mutual trust and respect between the local people and the peacekeepers is extremely important in any peace support operation. This main lesson has been underscored numerous times during the conference. The participants consider the conference a success. A fruitful and promising cooperation between CESS and Bilkent University has started. 27-29 September 2007, Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Yerevan, Armenia) 19 September 2007, Chisinau MPP seminar: Institutional Renewal and Creating Effective Mechanisms The aim of this seminar was to share and discuss ideas with regard to institutional renewal. Institutional and procedural renewal is essential for the improvement of the efficiency of parliamentary oversight. By assessing the needs of the parliamentarians, we wanted to shed light on possibilities for the improvement of institutions, procedures and mechanisms. Some of the ideas CESS has already developed on institutional renewal, were discussed during this seminar. Mainly the presentation of the representative of the German Military Ombudsman set discussion in motion on the need for such a body in Moldova. 6-8 September 2007, Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Baku, Azerbaijan) 21-23 June 2007, Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Yerevan, Armenia) 7-9 June 2007, Training Course on Democratic Governance: Intelligence (Kiev, Ukraine) 24-26 May 2007, Vadul-lui-Voda, Moldova Training Course on Democratic Governance: Intelligence (Chisinau, Moldova) The course on intelligence within the Starlink framework took place in Vadul-lui-Voda, Moldova from 24th to 26th May. Again, our local partners were the European Institute for Political Studies (EIPS), Moldova, in partnership with the Institute for Public Policy (IPP), Moldova. The organization left no room for complaints, thanks to the excellent work of Ana Rudico and her colleagues. The conference venue was the ‘Odiseu’ resort which is located in the countryside near the Dniester river at the Moldovan border to Transnistria. The resort was well equipped and provided a good service. The conference room was fine and met the standards of a Starlink training course. The IPP did a great job in inviting the audience which CESS is aiming for. They accomplished to ensure both a sufficient number of participants for a successful accomplishment of the role-play and excellent expertise. Furthermore, the audience represented a great variety of institutions. This young group of participants was both very eager and ambitious. In the end the participants drew the conclusion that training was useful, efficient and fruitful. Moreover, they recommended that similar trainings should be provided in the future, too. 23 May 2007, Chisinau MPP seminar: Financial Accountability and Budgetary Transparency The second seminar in Chisinau focused on the role of parliament in financial accountability and budgetary transparency. Probably the most important instrument of a parliament is the ‘power of the purse’. A parliament in a democracy should be well-equipped to scrutinise, judge, review and approve the annual national budget including the defence budget. During this seminar we aim to discuss the main procedures in reviewing defence budgets, both ex ante and ex post. Specific attention was devoted to communication on the budget between the Ministry of Defence and the Parliamentary National Security, Defence and Public Order Committee. We also looked at defence reform in connection with the defence budget. Finally, we devoted particular attention to the role of the government accounting office or chamber of audit, which is an essential mechanism for parliaments in exercising budgetary oversight. In this regard, a special word of thanks goes out to the Swedish National Audit Office, which is working closely with their Moldovan counterparts on reforming the Moldovan audit office. Because of the combined contribution of the Swedish and Moldovan Audit Office, this seminar really addressed the Moldovan reality and the needs and options for reform in this regard. 19-21 April 2007, Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Baku, Azerbaijan) 30 March - 1 April 2007, Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Yerevan, Armenia) 26-28 March 2007, Hotel “Gudauri” Gudauri, Georgia. Training Course on Democratic Governance: Intelligence (Gudauri, Georgia) A three-day course for security community representatives. 22-24 March 2007, Kiev, Ukraine. Training Course on Democratic Governance: Intelligence (Kiev, Ukraine) Three-day course for security community representatives. 21 February 2007, Chisinau MPP seminar: Reviewing Defence and Security Documents During the first seminar we officially launched the Moldova Parliamentary Programme in the stately main hall of the parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The seminar focused on the role of parliament in reviewing, assessing and evaluating defence-related documents. The main documents under consideration in Moldova are the National Security Strategy, the National Defence Doctrine, the Annual Defence Review; the White Paper and Moldova’s extensive Concept of Military Reform. Most of these basic documents are outdated. Some have yet to be created. A few years back Moldova started a process of creating a new legislative framework for defence and security. Naturally, parliament plays a crucial role in this process. Nonetheless, the expertise to review these drafts in a constructive and critical manner is scarce. During this event we aimed to show that the input of the legislature is not merely a requirement of democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration. It can and should also enhance the practical applicability and indeed the quality of the policy documents discussed. We cast doubt on notions that seek to minimise the role of parliament, such as ‘the government knows best’ or ‘defence is best left to the military.’ They are not consistent with good governance as promoted by the Euro-Atlantic community that Moldova wants to join. Apart from basic national documents, laws and procedures, we also discussed Moldova’s participation in NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme (PfP). 14-17 February 2007, Park Inn Hotel, Baku, Azerbaijan Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Baku, Azerbaijan) 14–16 Dec. 2006, The Ukrainian Academy of Customs Dnipropetrovsk Training Course on Democratic Governance: Law Enforcement (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukr.) 15-19 Nov. 2006, Chisinau, Moldova Training Course on Democratic Governance: Law Enforcement (Chisinau, Moldova) 20-21 October 2006, Belgrade, Serbia Training Course on European and Euro-Atlantic Defence and Security Co-operation: SCG's and BiH's Future Role The main question at this Roundtable was how the Western Balkan region, and Serbia in specific, proceed towards integration into the European Union and NATO from a security point of view. Within this theme we accordingly discussed how Serbia shapes and implements its integration policy towards NATO (PfP programme and maybe a Membership Action Plan – MAP) and the European Union (ESDP); the dynamics of the defence and security reform process in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the challenges and prospects in this context; the question whether there are sufficient conditions in place for the Serbian and Bosnian parliaments to hold their respective governments accountable with regard to above-mentioned integration policies (how could transparency and accountability be improved?); how the neighbouring countries reform their security and defence structures with the aim of joining the Euro-Atlantic framework and which lessons might be useful for the Bosnian and Serbian case; and, finally, to what extent regional and bilateral co-operation take shape with regards to defence and security issues. 11-15 October 2006, Tbilisi, Georgia Training Course on Democratic Governance: Law Enforcement (Tbilisi, Georgia) 28 - 30 September 2006, Lviv, Ukraine Training Course on Democratic Governance: Law Enforcement (Lviv, Ukraine) 22-23 September 2006, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Training Course on Defence Reform and Parliamentary Oversight in the Security Sector Context Three key questions and issues were addressed during this Roundtable. First, we discussed the specific dynamics of the defence reform process within the security-sector reform context of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and, more specifically, how both countries are reforming their Armed Forces in different circumstances. Secondly, we talked about the way Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are proceeding to make their security and intelligence structures more efficient and effective and how this influences the search for indicted war criminals that are still at large. Finally, the subject of how the parliaments of both countries exercise oversight of the security sector and how they contribute to the reform of this sector came up. We looked into the neighbourhood experiences and practices that could be useful to BiH and Serbia. 1-3 June 2006, Kiev, Ukraine Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Kiev, Ukraine) 18-20 May 2006, Tbilisi, Georgia Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Tbilisi, Georgia) 13-15 April 2006, Chisinau, Moldova Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Chisinau, Moldova) 10-11 March 2006, Ani Plaza Hotel, Yerevan, Armenia Expert Roundtable and Seminar Armenia 9-11 February 2006, Kiev, Ukraine Training Course on Democratic Governance: Defence (Kiev, Ukraine) This was the first Defence Training Course on Democratic Governance in the Security Sector in Kiev, Ukraine. The second Defence Training Course in Kiev is planned for 1-3 June 2006. 1-2 April 2005, Ministry of Defence, Conference Hall, Chisinau, Moldova Tools for Reform and Decision-Making in Defence and Security This was the fifth workshop in Moldova within the NOSTRUM framework. The main purpose of the event was to define tools for reform and decision-making in defence and security after the elections of 6 March 2005. |
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