On 28 April the Security Council capped its open debate on security sector reform with the adoption of its first stand-alone resolution on the topic, reaffirming the importance of such reform in stabilizing countries recovering from conflict and resolving to prioritize reform aspects in both peacekeeping and special political mission mandates.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2151 (2014), the Council reiterated the centrality of national ownership for security sector reform processes, recognizing the need to consider host country perspectives in the formulation of peacekeeping and special political mandates.  It encouraged States to take the lead in defining an inclusive national vision on security sector reform, informed by the needs of their populations.

The Czech Permanent Representative Edita Hrda in her address to the Security Council  said that security sector reform was a key step in the transition from conflict to sustainable development.  It had emerged as a relevant concept to address core deficiencies of a State with the aim of improving “State security”, and in a wider sense, “human security”, that was to say the security of every single human being within the society.  She welcomed the creation of the Security Sector Reform Task Force, which covered all important departments of the United Nations Secretariat and its programmes.  She stressed the active participation of Czech experts in the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy missions whose mandates included security sector reform in such places as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa and Mali.

Foto: Czech Permanent Representative to the UN Mrs. Edita Hrdá in UN Security Council on 28 April 2014

You can find the text of the speech in the enclosure.