Rule of Law and Security Sector Governance – Catherine Lena Kelly
Channel: Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Date: 2023-06-20

Presentation from Session 10 of our Emerging Security Sector Leaders Seminar

At the root of some of Africa’s stalled democratization efforts lie weaknesses in security governance and rule of law. In its simplest form, the rule of law means that nobody is above the law, including those who govern; all people are treated equally under the law, regardless of who they are. Laws are clear, well-known, and applied transparently and evenly by an independent judiciary. Maximally, rule of law includes accountability, just laws, open government, and accessible justice for all.55 The African Union’s Agenda 2063 further advances such a vision by calling for an Africa where people “enjoy affordable and timely access to independent courts and judiciary that deliver justice without fear or favor.” Thus, rule of law is not just about security officials enforcing the law; it is “an ongoing process in which state officials forge relationships of trust with citizens, based on relevant local, national, and international standards about rules, rights, and redress.”56 In other words, fostering the rule of law is a core part of governments building a “social contract” with citizens.

Rule of law is a core element of sound security sector governance, which facilitates the provision of transparent, accountable, and legitimate security to citizens on the basis of democratic and civilian control of the security sector. Rule of law is particularly relevant to security governance in light of empirical evidence that some security threats, like violent extremist recruitment, tend to be exacerbated by state-perpetrated abuses of civilians and people’s perceptions of unfair treatment by state officials. The professionalism of the security services, as well as citizens’ perceptions of it, hinge upon having a system of checks and balances that ensures everyone respects civil liberties, human rights, and the rule of law. Local oversight in security sector governance and security governance as a whole also depends upon the work of civil society organizations, media, customary or religious authorities, women and youth groups, and non-state security providers.

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https://africacenter.org/programs/2023-essl/

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