The United Nations and Security Sector Reform: Policy and Practice edited by Adedeji Ebo and Heiner Hänggi

The UN has been engaged in support to security sector reform (SSR) processes for over two decades. Despite significant advances, many challenges to SSR support remain in practice. Against this background, DCAF – the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, published an edited volume – The UN and SSR. Policy and Practice – which draws from the experiences of UN practitioners, combined with those of external experts on SSR, to explore avenues for strengthening the UN’s approach to SSR support. The edited volume highlights that the main problem is not the UN’s extensive policy framework. It is rather the disconnect between institutional policy and operational practice. For instance, despite clarity in policy frameworks that SSR should always be implemented towards political solutions, in practice, approaches are often technical in nature, and consequently, unlikely to bring about transformative change. The UN Secretary-General’s third Report on SSR, released in March 2022, advances an ambitious agenda for shaping the UN’s future SSR engagement. The roundtable will critically discuss the relevance of the book’s recommendations, not least in the context of the new Report. It will thus aim to identify evidence-based solutions for rendering the UN more fit for purpose to meet its goals.