Partners for Security in Guinea

Partners for Democratic Change Collaborates to Strengthen Security Sector in Guinea

Partners for Democratic Change (Partners), in collaboration with our partners, COGINTA, CECIDE and Partners West Africa (PWA),  announce the Partners for Security in Guinea:Reforming the Police to Better Serve Citizens program. The initiative will complement the current security sector reform initiatives led by the European Union and the United Nations in the urban communities of Dixinn and Kaloum, in the of capital Conakry.

The program demonstrates Partners’ ongoing commitment to improving security for citizens in Guinea, which began with Partners West Africa, through the Guinea Citizen SecurityProgram (GCSP). The GCSP program encourages greater civil society involvement in security policy discussions at both the local and national levels. GCSP has enhanced the capacity of local and national Guinean Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to participate in dialogue with members of the security forces around issues related to security. Participants have become better positioned to advocate for policies that address the security challenges faced in their communities.

The Partners for Security program will support the establishment of community-oriented policing through training and institutional support of the Guinea National Police (GNP). Another integral piece is the rebuilding of community trust with police by increasing citizens’ knowledge of their security rights and responsibilities and the role of the GNP. As a country previously ruled by authoritarian leaders and military regimes, both approaches are integral to creating trust and legitimacy of the police.

There are many challenges facing Guinea. One of the main contributions to the lack of development has been persistent instability and insecurity, with an abundance of small arms and light weapons, widespread drug trafficking and other organized crime, high levels of domestic violence, and conflict between ethnic groups. However, many of the challenges facing Guinea are amplified in urban areas, and this is certainly the case in Conakry, which is home to one out of four Guineans. The disconnect between the population and the security sector is particularly significant in the country’s capital, where the security forces were most often used to forcefully quell dissent in the past.

Recognizing the centrality of these challenges and obstacles to development and stability, the Government of Guinea began working with international partners in early 2011 to reform the country’s security sector. The national Security Sector Reform (SSR) process is considered a central element in establishing a more peaceful, stable and democratic country. The reform is also a key tactic in Guinea’s poverty reduction strategy. The national SSR program has been divided into five sectorial technical committees,[i] including a Police Sectorial Committee, which has highlighted seven key challenges. Three of these include: human resources and management capacity, police training and identification of the degraded links between the civilian population and the security services.[ii]

In addition, a central focus of the police reform effort includes the program, police de proximité (“proximity police” or “community police”). Supported by the UN, the program is creating a closer relationship between the police and communities, while also improving coordination between the GNP and local leaders. The move demonstrates an understanding that the ultimate goal of reform is to establish a security sector that is democratically accountable, with the police at the center of internal security issues.

Common to the current work in Guinea, Partners also embraces a comprehensive view of SSR. By working with militaries, police forces and other security stakeholders, Partners holds a steadfast belief that policies and programs are better designed and implemented if citizens are engaged in the process. The collaborative process helps to improve citizen-security sector relations by providing a safe space for people-to-people engagement to express shared concerns. With a strong background in SSR in Guinea, Partners’ work in the region includes the Citizen Engagement in Security Sector Reform regional symposium. Supported by the State Department, the event enabled 80+ key government, security sector and civil society leaders from Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone to discuss efforts on improving communication, information-sharing and conflict resolution.

Our partner COGINTA will provide technical assistance on local security governance and police training with a focus on community-oriented policing. With a long track record on security sector reform in Guinea, COGINTA has provided technical assistance to the Commission Nationale de Suivi to develop the National Programme on Security Sector Reform – Strategy and Plan of Action 2012-2015. In 2012, COGINTA also developed the UNDP strategy and action plan to strengthen civilian and democratic control of defense and security forces. In 2013, COGINTA was mandated by CIVI.POL, a consulting firm associated with the French Ministry of Interior, to support the Guinean authorities in conducting acomprehensive local security diagnostic in three municipalities of Conakry and N’zerekore.^[1]COGINTA was also tasked to facilitate dialogue between police and communities through outreach activities, and to support the establishment of Community Security and Crime Prevention Councils in pilot areas.

CECIDE (Centre du Commerce International Pour le Development), a Conakry-based NGO will work with women and youth to engage with the police to local security challenges to develop solutions at the local level with the support of the Community Security Councils. CECIDE is one of the leading organizations in Guinea working on security reform issues and has worked closely with Partners and Partners West Africa on the Guinea Citizen Security Project. In September 2015, in advance of the presidential elections, CECIDE will lead a Citizens Forum on Security as part of the Conseil National des Organisations de la Société Civile Guinéenne (CNOSCG) effort to influence the debate on security among candidates.

Partners West Africa (PWA), a Dakar-based independent NGO and member of the Partners for Democratic Change International network, is comprised with staff that have decades of experience in security issues, including Board Chair General Lamine Cissé, one of the continent’s foremost security reform experts who has played a central role in Guinea’s SSR process. Together, PWA and Partners have engaged more than 500 local community members through Guinea Citizen Security Project in Guinea, which was funded by theNational Endowment for Democracy. The project successfully incorporated the perspectives of local-level citizens and security sector personnel into Guinea’s national SSR agenda. In 2011, Partners with the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) and the Geneva based Democratic Control of the Armed Forces (DCAF) held a conference on Developing a Guinean National Security Policy. Participants included the Ministries of Defense, Security, the National Transition Council, and the Guinean civil society organizations.

The partnership brings three strengths that will enable significant local buy-in at the grassroots and national levels. With strong working relationships with local CSOs and the Government, Partners and our colleagues are excited to begin this two-year initiative. The funding for this program is provided by the United States Department of State Office for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

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