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DCAF is a Swiss-based organization whose vision is a world in which human and national security are provided within democratically governed, accountable, and effective security sectors. DCAF believes that good security sector governance and reform (SSG/R) is a decisive contributor to peace and sustainable development.
Over 20 years since its inception, DCAF has supported national partners to implement SSG/R in over 80 countries, and assisted many bilateral donors and multilateral organizations to be more effective in their support for national reform processes.
DCAF’s mission is to improve the governance of security sectors around the world through nationally owned, inclusive, and participatory reforms based on international norms and good practices.
The Centre has four operating principles that shape all its work: A human rights-based approach with gender equality at its core; Democratic control and the rule of law; Impartiality and a commitment that, while DCAF promotes democracy, it does not take sides politically; Local ownership and recognition that the needs of DCAF’s partners and affected populations are always DCAF’s first concern.
DCAF is governed by a Foundation Council consisting of representatives of 60 countries. The Centre is headquartered in the Maison de la Paix in Geneva, Switzerland. DCAF also maintains offices in Addis Ababa, Bamako, Banjul, Beirut, Brussels, Kyiv, Ljubljana, Niamey, Ramallah, Skopje, Tegucigalpa, Tripoli, and Tunis.
In 2020 DCAF employed 203 staff, of whom 60% were women, from 40 different nationalities. Its budget was 32 million Swiss francs.
DCAF receives core funding from Switzerland, Sweden and Liechtenstein. Projects and programmes are substantially supported by generous funding from Germany, the European Union, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, Open Society Foundations, France, Slovakia, Australia, the United States, Denmark, and several other donors. All funding to DCAF qualifies as official development assistance.
DCAF is a member of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform (GPP), a knowledge hub that connects the critical mass of peacebuilding actors, resources, and expertise in Geneva and worldwide.
The Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments (SFVC) online platform allows stakeholders to inform the public about their work on DRR. The SFVC online platform is a useful toolto know who is doing what and where for the implementation of the Sendai Framework, which could foster potential collaboration among stakeholders. All stakeholders (private sector, civil society organizations, academia, media, local governments, etc.) working on DRR can submit their commitments and report on their progress and deliverables.