On the 27th of July, the NATO SFA COE gave a lecture during the Building Integrity Focal Point Training, organized by the Allied Command Operations (ACO).

The Allied Command Operations (ACO) is responsible for the planning and execution of all Alliance operations. It consists of a small number of permanently established headquarters, each with a specific role.

The Building Integrity (BI) works to support NATO in promoting good governance and implementing the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in the defence and related security sector. NATO BI contributes to the three core NATO tasks: collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security.

Within this framework, the NATO SFA COE Director, Col. Massimo DI PIETRO, described the SFA Role in Building Integrity and how to better ensure that the right knowledge, competence and skills are deployed within the context of NATO’s engagement in fragile environments through the embedding of BI into training and education by using SFA.

During the lecture, he also provided a general overview of the origin of the SFA COE’s Concept and the founding principles of the SFA activities, highlighting its comprehensive approach that must consider an appropriate range of civilian and military activities and actors.

The legal advisor continued the briefing, presenting an overview of the SFA COE editorial project on Rule of Law and Good Governance and the SFA Implications in International Initiatives.

Moreover, she explained the importance of recognising that the impact of corruption on local forces and local institutions can influence the operational effectiveness and success of a mission.

The lecture ended by giving the stakeholders the notions that a well-tailored and contextualized training in BI through a Security Force Assistance mission can be more effective in shaping the behaviour of the assisted local forces.