Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector in Afghanistan

405 Pages·2011·2.62 MB·English

DCAF REGIONAL
PROGRAMMES
AfghAnistAn’s
security sector
governAnce
chAllenges
DCAF Afghanistan
Working Group
The Geneva Centre for
the Democratic Control
of Armed Forces
Published with the generous support of the Ministry of Defence of Latvia
DCAF Afghanistan Working Group

AFGHANISTAN’S SECURITY
SECTOR GOVERNANCE
CHALLENGES
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control
of Armed Forces
(DCAF)
www.dcaf.ch

The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces is one
of the world’s leading institutions in the areas of security sector reform
(SSR) and security sector governance (SSG).
DCAF provides in-country advisory support and practical assistance
programmes, develops and promotes appropriate democratic norms at
the international and national levels, advocates good practices and
makes policy recommendations to ensure effective democratic
governance of the security sector.
DCAF’s partners include governments, parliaments, civil society,
international organisations and the range of security sector actors such
as police, judiciary, intelligence agencies, border security services and
the military.
DCAF Afghanistan Working Group

AFGHANISTAN’S SECURITY
SECTOR GOVERNANCE
CHALLENGES

Geneva
DCAF Afghanistan Working Group, Afghanistan’s Security Sector Governance
Challenges, DCAF Regional Programmes Series # 10 (Geneva: Geneva
Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2011).
DCAF Regional Programmes Series no. 10

© Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces
Executive Publisher: Procon Ltd., <www.procon.bg>
Cover Design: Angel Nedelchev
ISBN 978-92-9222-174-4
I
NTRODUCTION
In recent years, the need for improved public security has become a critical is-
sue in Afghanistan. For Afghan citizens, the provision of public security is but
one of many governance issues facing society including access to public ser-
vices, justice, transparency, accountability and freedom from fear. Democratic
institutions, the media and civil society have all ensured that the governance of
the security sector, not only at national but international levels, has remained a
high profile issue. Moreover, NATO partner-nations have made institution
building a central—and legitimating—pillar of assistance rendered through the
International Security Assistance Force.
In a governance context, it is presupposed that the security sector is trans-
parent, accountable, that democratic institutions have appropriate instruments
with which to analyse and amend security policy and practice, and citizens are
able to voice their security needs to security providers. The challenge in Af-
ghanistan remains one of how to create long term solutions to clearly identified
security governance problems. In this regard, understanding the capacity de-
velopment needs of Afghan institutions will remain crucial in the long term.
Since 2007, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces
(DCAF) has worked with the National Assembly if Afghanistan, civil society or-
ganisations and the Ministry of Defence on security sector oversight needs and
good practices. This limited engagement has, nevertheless, been fruitful, and
this book contains a series of articles commissioned while DCAF implemented
a small-scale project in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009.1
The intention of the survey was to preliminarily map the security governance
needs of Afghanistan and the valuable contributions still reflect the salient as-
pects of the challenges facing national and international actors in Afghanistan.
Regrettably, three chapters of this ultimately survey could not be published due
to the sensitivity surrounding their subject matter, leading, in turn, to a major
delay in circulation of this publication. DCAF thanks the remaining authors for
their patience and hopes the papers contribute to the wider—and ongoing—

1 For more information please see <www.dcaf.ch/dcaf/Projects/About?lng=en&id=123752>.
v
vi Afghanistan’s Security Sector Governance Challenges
discussion on rendering meaningful security governance assistance to Afghan
institutions and society.

DDr. Philipp Fluri
Deputy Director
DCAF

December 2010
C
ONTENTS
PART 1: Reforming the Security Sector
Chapter 1 Reconstructing the Defence Sector...........................................................1
Antonio Giustozzi
Chapter 2 Reinventing the Police: Output versus Impact.........................................23
Tonita Murray
Chapter 3 “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”: The Privatized Security Sector
in Afghanistan .........................................................................................45
Susanne Schmeidl
Chapter 4 Cost and Fiscal Sustainability of Afghanistan’s Security Sector..............77
William A. Byrd, Yoichiro Ishihara, and M. Khalid Payenda
PART 2: The Role of Institutions
Chapter 5 Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector in Afghanistan...............89
Oren Ipp
Chapter 6 Reforming Afghanistan’s Justice Sector................................................107
John Dempsey
Chapter 7 The Dual Face of Subnational Governance in Afghanistan...................123
Hamish Nixon
Part 3: Demilitarizing Society
Chapter 8 Replacing the Rule of Guns with the Rule of Law: Demilitarization
of Afghan Society and Its Impact on Security Sector Reform
(The 3Ds Approach: DDR, DIAG and De-mining)..................................141
M. Masoom Stanekzai
Chapter 9 Narcotics and Counter-narcotics: Responding to an Irrepressible
Market?..................................................................................................159
Adam Pain
2 Afghanistan’s Security Sector Governance Challenges
Part 4: Building Local Ownership
Chapter 10 The Task of Rebuilding a Human Rights-sensitive Security Sector
in Afghanistan........................................................................................187
Ahmad Nader Nadery
Chapter 11 Women and Children – Continuing Challenges.....................................199
Ancil Adrian-Paul
Chapter 12 The Media and Peace-building in Afghanistan......................................229
Aziz Rafiee
Chapter 13 The Role of Civil Society in Security Sector Oversight..........................245
Christian Dennys
Part 5: Regional and International Actors
Chapter 14 Regional Dimensions of Afghan Security...............................................263
Anna Paterson
Chapter 15 The Role of ISAF in SSR in Afghanistan...............................................287
Vahan Galoumian
Chapter 16 International, Regional and Bilateral Security Arrangements................303
Vahan Galoumian