Excerpts
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
„Security is fundamental to people´s livelihoods, reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It relates to personal and state safety, access to social services and political processes. It is a core government responsibility, necessary for economic and social development and vital for the protection of human rights.“
Reference: DAC Guideline „Security System Reform and Governance, Policy and Good Practice“ OECD 2004, Page 7.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
„Safety and security - or their absence - is not just a question of conflict, crime, and public disorder, but, as significantly, is an issue of good governance. Where the justice and security sector is not accountable to democratic institutions of governance, human development is not be sustainable.“
Reference: UNDP, Justice and Security Secor Reform, BCPR´S Programmatic Approach, November 2002, Page 4.
„The concept of security has for too long been interpreted narrowly: as security of territory from external agression, or as protection of national interests in foreign policy or as a global security from the threat of a nuclear holocaust. It has been related more to nation-states than to people…Forgotten were the legitimate concerns of ordinary people who sought security in their daily lives. For many of them, security symbolized protection from the threat of disease, hunger, unemployment, crime, social conflict, political repression and environmental hazards.
… For most people, a feeling of insecurity arises more from worries about daily life than from the dread of a cataclysmic world event.“
Reference: UNDP, Human Development Report 1994, Page 22
Clingendael Institute, prepared for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
„In fact, sound governance of the security sector is crucial for the success of democratic consolidation and sustainable economic and social development. It is also essential for the quality of security, i.e., creating a safe and secure environment for the state and its entire population. If people and states are not secure from the fear of random, capricious, systemic or unsanctioned violence at the local, national, regional and international levels, development will not become sustainable.This means both that states must be adequately protected against aggression and internal subversion and that the lives of individuals must not be crippled by state repression, violent conflict, or rampant criminality. Governments and security bodies must adhere to the principles of democratic governance, which is closely linked to human rights and the rule of law.“
Reference: Enhancing Democratic Governance of the Security Sector: An Institutional Assessment Framework, 2003, Page 30.
Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom
„Security is an essential condition for sustainable development and a strong concern of the poor. The role of the state and its security forces directly impact upon the opportunities for sustainable development and people´s physical security. There is growing consensus that security needs to be approached just as much from the perspective of protecting individuals and communities from violence as from the degree to which defence spending crowds out development expenditure.To this end, it is important to understand the composition of the security sector as a whole, the roles and responsibilities of the various actors, and the relationships between them. Too often, the military is used to sustain governments in power and is inappropriately involved in internal security. Police forces are often underfunded and unable to guarantee security thus giving rise to coercion and corruption.
Security Sector Reform must account for the overall security context and adress the fundamentals as well as the specifics. Effective management, transparency and accountability of the security sector is just as necessary as with any other part of the public sector. Resources need to be managed efficiently to allow the provision of security that does not threaten democracy or human rights, or undermine other development goals.“
Reference: DFID Guidelines, Understanding and Supporting Security Sector Reform, 2003, Page 7.
Stv. Generalsekretär der VN, Ambassador Mahmoud Kassem
„Am wichtigsten ist die Gewährleistung der Sicherheit für die Bevölkerung. Zu dieser Aufgabe gehört die Verhinderung von Invasionen und Infiltration über die Grenzen hinweg, die Beseitigung von Bedrohungen der staatlichen Ordnung oder der Gesellschaftsstruktur aus dem Inneren des Landes heraus sowie die Prävention von Verbrechen und die Beseitigung anderer ähnlicher Gefahren für die innere Sicherheit und die Sicherheit der Bevölkerung. Ferner muss es den Bürgern ermöglicht werden, ihre Differenzen mit dem Staat oder mit ihren Mitbürgern gewaltfrei zu klären. Dazu sind vollstreckbare und einklagbare Gesetzeswerke und ein funktionierendes Justizsystem nötig.“
Reference: „Staaten am Rande des Abgrunds“, Politische Studien 393, Hanns-Seidel Stiftung, Februar 2004, S.38.
Adelphi Paper 344, for the International Institute for Strategic Studies
„Where there is the most potential for ownership, a tangible means and desire for society to support and maintain security change, the prospects for external support are the highest. Where these means or commitment are absent - really absent, as opposed to being overruled or ignored - then externally driven SSR may not be possible until fundamental political change occurs.“
Reference: Jane Chanaa, Security Sector Reform: Issues, Challenges and Prospects, Page 76.