West African Parliamentarians Forum 2023

Strengthening Relationships between Parliament and the Security Sector

Academic Program

February 27 – March 3, 2023

 English | Français

Information Note
Schedule
Syllabus
Biographies

Program Overview

Presented by:

Dr. Catherine Lena Kelly

Keynote:

The Right Honorable Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin
Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana

Session 1  |  February 27, 2023

What is the Security Sector and Why is Oversight Important

Presented by:

1. Dr. Boubacar N’diaye
   Professor Emeritus, The College of Wooster

2. Dr. Catherine Lena Kelly
   Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Justice and Rule of Law, Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Objectives:

• Understand the range of executive branch, legislative, and judicial institutions that facilitate democratic and civilian oversight of the security sector, as well as why strengthening relationships between the security sector and parliamentary officials is important for making oversight effective
• Explore how security sector governance can help to address the current security threats and emerging security trends in West Africa that parliamentary and security sector officials encounter in their work
• Get familiar with a practical framework for analyzing the quality of oversight of the security sector, based on assessing the “3As”: ability (whether legislators have the resources and capacity to conduct oversight), authority (whether legislators have the legal mandate and standing orders to conduct oversight), and attitude (whether legislators have the motivation and incentives to conduct oversight).

Session 2  |  February 27, 2023

Role of Parliament in Oversight

Presented by:

1. The Honorable Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings
   Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defense and Interior, Parliament of Ghana

2. The Honorable Hama Assah
   Former Principal Advisor to the President of the National Assembly, Parliament of Niger

3. The Honorable Ophelia Mensah
   Vice Chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defense and Interior, Parliament of Ghana

Objectives:

• Understand the core roles that parliaments play in democratic and civilian security sector governance
• Delineate parliamentarians’ key responsibilities in the domains of oversight, accountability, and outreach
• Analyze the range of successes and challenges that West African parliamentary officials have experienced in the exercise of these roles and responsibilities

Session 3  |  February 28, 2023

Role of the Security Sector in Oversight

Presented by:

1. Brigadier General Mohammed Mustapha
   Inspector General, Ghana Armed Forces

2. Brigadier General (ret.) Saleh Bala
   CEO, White Ink Consult

Objectives:

• Understand the core roles that various parts of the security sector play in democratic and civilian security sector governance
• Delineate the responsibilities that the military, law enforcement, and judicial officials play in the domains of oversight, accountability, and outreach
• Analyze the range of successes and challenges that West African security sector officials have experienced in the exercise of these roles and responsibilities

Session 4  |  March 1, 2023

Professionalism and Ethics

Presented by:

1. Dr. Emile Ouédraogo
   Adjunct Professor of Practice, Africa Center for Strategic Studies

2. Kojo Asante
   Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement, Ghana Center for Democratic Development

Objectives:

• Explore similarities and differences in the professional norms and ethical codes of conduct that define the relationships of parliamentarians and the security sector to the citizens that they serve, identifying points of synergy and areas of tension in these sectors’ approaches to their missions
• Analyze the ways and means that parliamentarians have to foster security service professionalism vis-à-vis citizens, and how best they can use those tools to address security actors’ abuses or breaches of ethics and conduct
• Compare and contrast the tools that parliamentarians and security sector officials have to ensure transparency in security and defense procurement, and how these different actors can best use the tools at their disposal to improve the management of security resources

Session 5  |  March 2, 2023

Budgeting and Strategy

Presented by:

1. Fairlie Chappuis
   Independent Expert in Conflict and Security

2. Joel Amegboh
   Assistant Professor for African Security Studies, Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Objectives:

• Analyze the ways and means that security sector officials have to engage with parliamentarians in order to develop and implement national security strategies and policies that facilitate the delivery of security and justice to citizens
• Assess the ways and means that parliamentarians have to engage with the security sector in order to effectively oversee defense and security budgets
• Discuss and debate how parliamentarians and security sector officials should deal with secret and classified information that is relevant to budgetary oversight and national security strategy making

Session 6  |  March 2, 2023

Building Relationships with Communities and Civil Society

Presented by:

1. Annelizé van Wyk
   Trustee and Deputy Chairperson, African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF)

2. Joseph Asunka
   CEO, Afrobarometer

3. ‘Kemi Okenyodo
   Executive Director, Rule of Law Initiative (Partners West Africa-Nigeria)

Objectives:

• Consider the approaches and tools that parliamentary and security sector officials can use to help governments advance security policies that reflect the interests of constituents and incorporate civil society expertise
• Compare and contrast different ways that parliamentarians and security sector officials can learn from the citizens they serve, whether through site visits, research consultations, open days at government institutions, constituency funds, civil affairs engagement, or otherwise
• Analyze what tools parliamentarians and security sector officials have to enhance their print and online media communications with constituents and communities about security issues and policies, so as to build trust between them and security actors