An Introduction to Human Rights and Security Sector Reform

Successful security sector reform (SSR) must be guided by the understanding of people as rights-holders and the state, including core security actors, as duty-bearers in providing security as a service to the people.

Human rights and security are closely linked. Human rights violations can be a cause of conflict, a result of conflict or an early warning of conflict.

This paper describes international human rights obligations, the concept of SSR, how human rights are relevant to successful SSR, what a human rights-based approach to SSR entails and provide practical examples of specific human rights.

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New report: Ukrainians’ perceptions of security during the war

How do people in Ukraine experience their security during the war – and which issues are most critical for the country’s future stability? These issues are in focus in the report Beyond the Frontline: Public perceptions of security in Ukraine, developed by the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) in cooperation with the Ukrainian think tank Razumkov Centre.

2025-10-01 10:31

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The Gender-Responsive Leader's Handbook

Gender equality is both a goal and a prerequisite for sustainable peace and development. FBA’s Gender-Responsive Leadership (GRL) Initiative is designed to support leaders and managers within organizations such as the EU, UN, ECOWAS, OSCE and the African Union to fulfill their central role in enabling gender equal peace, security and development work.

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THE FBA BLOG

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Posted by Marie Blomdahl
A safe online space to share experiences to support leadership in the UN

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When I joined the Leadership and Cooperation Unit at the Folke Bernadotte Academy in August 2018, after working many years mainly in the private sector, I had a feeling that this job really would offer me an opportunity to use my skills and experiences to make a difference, and at the same time grow as a professional. FBA was at the time already working actively with leadership development support for leaders in key functions within the ... Read entire post »
2021-06-03 10:54
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Posted by Rhodri Williams
Civil Society as a Critical Partner: Rule of Law and Accountability in the Liberian COVID-19 Response, Part II

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Part One of this post highlighted the importance of the rule of law in supporting crisis response in countries struggling with the effects of conflict. One of the most important rule of law principles in such settings is accountability, particularly “downward accountability”, in which state authorities focus on serving citizens dependent on them.

Corruption and poor governance can lead to excessive upward accountability directed toward political superiors, leaving a gap between the state and ordinary citizens. Civil ... Read entire post »

The post Civil Society as a Critical Partner: Rule of Law and Accountability in the Liberian COVID-19 Response, Part II first appeared on FBA-bloggen.
2021-02-15 13:43
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Posted by Kristin Valasek
Time for a joint vision on gender-responsive leadership

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Right before the winter break, 236 women and men from 105 different organizations and 46 countries around the world joined our International Dialogue on Gender-Responsive Leadership, to discuss an absolutely critical and often missing part of the gender equality puzzle: gender-responsive leadership.

After twenty years of struggling to achieve the commitments of the global women, peace and security agenda, we at the FBA have learned that executives and managers are essential to success. Not just as supporters, ... Read entire post »

The post Time for a joint vision on gender-responsive leadership first appeared on FBA-bloggen.
2021-02-10 16:09

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An Introduction to Human Rights and Security Sector Reform

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